Frequently Asked Questions About Statement Designer

Last reviewed: 03/21/2008
Article ID: R10923

The information in this article applies to:

Summary

This article provides answers to frequently asked questions about the sample page layouts included with Tabs3 and the about Tabs3 Statement Designer in general.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I create a new page layout?

Simply right-click the layout group to which you want to add the new page layout (e.g., Sample Layouts) and select the Add Page Layout option. When you are done modifying your new page layout, press Ctrl+S to save your changes in the Statement Designer.

Can I edit the statement designer page layouts that come with Tabs3?

Absolutely. KB Article R10901, "Customizing the Sample Page Layouts Provided with the Tabs3 Statement Designer", provides step-by-step procedures for editing each of the sample page layouts provided with Tabs3. The article includes graphical images of the various page layouts making it easy to see what the page layouts look like without having to be in the software.

Can I delete any page layouts that I will not be using?

Certainly. Just right-click the page layout you want to delete, and select the Delete Layout option. Then, press Ctrl+S to save your changes in the Statement Designer.

How do I use a page layout as a background page for another layout?

First, from the Layout Tree pane at the top left of the Statement Designer window, select the page layout to which you want to add a background page. Next, click the statement designer properties button button at the top left corner of the right Page Layout pane to open the Properties for the page layout. Then, click the Background Page 1 or Background Page 2 field. Finally, click the drop-down button and select the page layout that you want to use as a background page.

Using background pages to duplicate commonly used sections of a page layout saves the time of recreating the elements for each page layout. In addition, if images are included among the duplicated elements, using background pages can save a substantial amount of disk space.

Can I make the gray outlines around my elements disappear?

Yes. The outlines around elements are enabled by default, but you can toggle them off and on using the Statement Designer right-click menu options. Simply right-click anywhere in the Page Layout pane on the right-hand side of the Statement Designer window, and then select the Display | Outlines menu options. This will clear the Outlines option, and the outlines around your elements will disappear. Switching this option off or on has no effect on the currently selected page layout; it only affects the way the Statement Designer window displays elements.

How can I tell where the left and right edges of the page are?

Statement Designer window

Statements printed using Statement Designer page layouts have the ability to print all the way across the entire width of the page. "Margins" do not apply to the Statement Designer in the traditional sense. However, the left and right margins specified in the statement printer's Page Setup window (File | Print Setup | Page Setup) do control where the left and right boundaries of the statement body (i.e., the fee, cost, payment, previous balance and other statement information) will be. For this reason, we recommend that you set the left and right guidelines to match the left and right printer margins, respectively.

When displayed, the left and right guidelines appear as dashed vertical gray lines in the Page Layout pane on the right-hand side of the Statement Designer window. These lines are useful for helping you see where the statement body will begin and end with regard to the left and right edges of the page. To display the guidelines, right-click anywhere in the Page Layout pane and select Display | Guidelines. To control the placement of the guidelines for the currently selected page layout, click the Statement Designer Page Layout Properties button at the top left corner of the Page Layout pane to open the Properties for the page layout. Then, use the Left Guideline and Right Guideline fields to indicate how far from the left and right edges of the page, in inches, that you want the guidelines to appear. Alternatively, you can click the guidelines and drag them to the left or right to move them to the desired positions.

Can I see how my statements will look with sample data instead of the field names?

Sure. If you would prefer to see a sample of the actual data that will appear on your statements instead of the field names (e.g., @firmName), simply right-click anywhere in the Page Layout pane on the right-hand side of the Statement Designer window, and select Display | Field Names.

When the field names are turned off, data such as firm information will appear in the appropriate fields and sample text will appear in fields that pull from the Tabs3 Client file. Disabling the Field Names will provide you with a better representation of how statements that use this page layout will look when printed. Turning the field names off or on has no effect on the currently selected page layout; it only affects the way the Statement Designer window displays field elements.

Where does the information in the Firm Fields come from, and how do I edit it?

The information used for the Firm Fields that can be added to a page layout, such as Name and Address (@firmFullAddr), Firm Phone Number (@firmPhone) and Firm Fax Number (@firmFax), comes from System Configuration's Firm Information program. To edit this information, start System Configuration and select File | Open | Firm.

Which graphics image formats does the Statement Designer support?

The Statement Designer supports BMP, JPG, and PNG graphics image file formats.

I embedded a JPG image in a page layout and the size of my Statement Designer data file increased by substantially more than the size of the JPG image. Why?

When a JPG or PNG image is embedded into the Statement Designer, it is converted internally to the BMP format. This is necessary so that the Statement Designer can display the image and resize it as needed. One side effect of this conversion is that the amount of disk space used by the image in the Statement Designer data file (i.e., T3STMT.PC) is greater than the amount of the disk space the image used in its native format (i.e., JPG or PNG).

However, if you embed a BMP image in a Statement Designer page layout, the T3STMT.PC file may actually increase in size by less than the amount of space used by the BMP image in its original location. This is because BMP images are compressed when embedded in a page layout. For these reasons, it may be beneficial to use a BMP image even when the image has a smaller file size in JPG or PNG formats.

The miscellaneous lines from the Custom Fields tab of Client Information are not aligning with the client's address. Why?

When the miscellaneous lines are included in the statement body, the Miscellaneous Lines 1-3 from the Custom Fields tab of Client Information are automatically indented one half inch (.500) from the left edge of the statement body. With the Statement Designer, page layouts use the left and right margins specified in Page Setup for the designated statement printer as the left and right boundaries of the statement body. Therefore, the miscellaneous lines will print one half inch from the left margin specified in Page Setup.

If you want elements such as the client's name, address, and work description information to be aligned with the miscellaneous lines, there are two ways to accomplish this:  include the miscellaneous lines where you want them on the page layout or left align the other elements one half inch from the left margin specified in Page Setup. The following provides more information regarding these two methods.

Including the miscellaneous lines on the page layout

The miscellaneous lines will not be included in the statement body if they are included on the Statement Designer page layout. To include miscellaneous lines in the statement body, simply position the miscellaneous lines where you want them on the Statement Designer page layout.

To left align elements one half inch from the left margin
  1. In the Statement Designer Page Layout pane, click the Statement Designer Page Layout Properties button at the top left corner to open the Page Layout Properties dialog box.
  2. In the Left Guideline field, enter a value that is .500 inches greater than the left margin specified in Page Setup for the designated statement printer. For example, if the printer's left margin is .500, enter 1.000 (.500 + .5000 = 1.000).
  3. In the Page Layout pane, select the element that you want to align with the miscellaneous lines (e.g., the "Client Name and Address" element).
  4. Click the Align Left Guideline button on the toolbar to align the selected element with the left guideline.
  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each element that you want to align with the miscellaneous lines.
  6. Save your changes to the page layout by pressing Ctrl+S.

Note:  If the left and right margins specified in Page Setup for the designated statement printer are equal, you may also want to add .500 to the Right Guideline in the Page Properties dialog box and then align the elements on the right side of the page with the new right guideline. This will preserve the symmetrical appearance of the client information and the statement number, statement date, etc.

When I print statements for a duplicate bill to address, the duplicate statement still has the client's address. Why?

If some of your clients have the Bill to Address field set to Duplicate on the Billing Preferences tab, your page layout should use the name and address information from the "Bill to Fields" section of the Field Selection pane (i.e., @nameAndAddress) rather than from the "Client Fields" (i.e., @clientNameAndAddress) section. For clients that have no bill to address specified, the client's name and address information will be used.

How can I add bullets to my page layout?

There are two methods of adding bullets to a page layout:

Adding a text box with an ASCII bullet character is the easier of the two methods. However, if you want the bullet to use more than one color (for example, if you want it to look like a hollow disc rather than a solid circle), using an ellipse element is the way to go.

To add a text box with an ASCII bullet character
  1. In the Page Layout pane of the Statement Designer window, click the Add Text Box button on the toolbar.
  2. Double-click the word "TextBox" that appears in the new text box.
  3. Hold down the Alt key and enter 263 to insert the ASCII bullet character. Other characters may be used if desired.
  4. Adjust the placement, size, font size, and color of the text box element as desired.
Using an ellipse element to create a bullet
  1. In the Page Layout pane of the Statement Designer window, click the Add Ellipse button on the toolbar.
  2. Double-click the ellipse element to open the Ellipse Properties dialog box.
  3. In the Ellipse Properties dialog box, specify the desired foreground color, background color, and line weight for the bullet.
  4. Adjust the placement and size of the ellipse element as desired.

Note:  If you prefer to use square bullets rather than round bullets, you could add a rectangle instead of an ellipse.

Some of our client's statements have blank lines in their address (or elsewhere). How can we eliminate these?

Each field that you add to the Statement Designer layout has a Compress Blank Lines option which, when set to Yes, suppresses a blank line if no value exists in the field. To suppress blank lines, right-click on the field, select Properties, and select Yes for Compress Blank Lines. The individual fields default to No for the Compress Blank Lines option.
 
When you add predefined blocks, such as the address blocks we provide (Client Name and Address or Client Address), the default is Yes to Compress Blank Lines. When creating a new Statement Designer form layout, consider using these address blocks to prevent having blank lines print.

REFERENCES

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY, INC. KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY, INC. DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY, INC. OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY, INC. OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.

© 1999-2008 Software Technology, Inc.   All rights reserved. Terms of Use
The maker of Tabs3 and PracticeMaster
e-Mail Suggestions for the Knowledge Base to: kb@Tabs3.com
Technical Support via e-mail is not available.
Knowledge Base:   http://support.Tabs3.com
Web Site:   http://www.Tabs3.com