Toolbox Functions

Showing and Hiding Toolboxes

You may wish to hide toolboxes that you are not currently using to give more space for those toolboxes that you need to use, or you may wish to show toolboxes that you have previously hidden. Proceed as follows:

1. Right-click on the Toolbox header bar or click the down-arrow in the right end of the bar.

The Toolbox selection drop-down menu appears .



Figure 1 - Selecting which toolboxes are to be displayed

Those toolboxes with their checkboxes checked and shaded are displayed in the Toolbox column.

2. Click on a toolbox name in the menu to toggle the toolbox on and off.
3. Click out of the menu to close it.

Note: You can also hide a toolbox by clicking the X button located towards the right end of its header, but you must use the right-click menu to show it again.

Collapsing a Toolbox

If you do not wish to hide a toolbox but just require a bit more space for a short period, you can collapse it. The toolbox’s header will then still be visible in the Toolbox column.

1. Place the mouse pointer into the header of the toolbox you wish to collapse, and click the left mouse button, or click on the double-chevron button at the left end of the header bar .- (below, arrowed).

The pointer may be displayed as a 4-headed arrow (as shown below, circled) or as a single arrow, depending on where in the header you place it.

The toolbox collapses and the “double-chevron” button changes to point downwards.



Figure 2 - Collapsing a toolbox

2. To expand a collapsed toolbox, click again in the toolbox header.

Resizing a Toolbox

You can resize the toolboxes both horizontally (as a group) and vertically (individually).

Horizontally:

1. Move the mouse pointer over the blue vertical frame on the right side of the toolbox column until the pointer changes to the double-headed arrow .



Figure 3 - Resizing the toolboxes horizontally

2. Click and hold the left mouse button then drag the frame until the column is the desired width.
3. When the column is the desired width, release the mouse button.

Vertically:

1. Move the mouse pointer over the lower horizontal frame of the toolbox you wish to resize, until the pointer changes to the double-headed arrow .



Figure 4 - Resizing the Layout and Styles toolbox vertically

2. Click and hold the left mouse button then drag the frame until the toolbox is the desired height.
3. When the toolbox is the desired height, release the mouse button.

Rearranging the Toolboxes

You can move toolboxes such that they are in a more logical order for the job you wish to perform. Proceed as follows:

1. Place the mouse pointer into the center of a toolbox header such that the pointer changes to the 4-headed arrow .as shown below.

Figure 5 - The four-headed arrow pointer

1. Click and hold the left mouse button, and drag the toolbox up or down to the desired location.

As you start to move the toolbox, a shaded rectangle will appear to indicate its current position . as shown below.



Figure 6 - Dragging a toolbox

2. When the toolbox is in the required location, release the mouse button to drop the toolbox into position.

In addition:

• You can edit all the objects in the Layout and Styles, Report, Data Source, and Filters toolboxes. To open an object for editing, either double-click on the object or right-click and choose Properties or Edit from the menu as appropriate. You can also rename the items in the trees by right-clicking and selecting Rename, or by selecting the item and pressing F2.
• Some of the items found inside the various toolboxes are nested inside tree structures. Expand and collapse the trees by clicking on the + and – buttons beside the object icons.
• You can enter the Aggregated Table, Chart, Parameter and Hit List Edit modes directly from the Report Toolbox. Either double-click on the item or right-click on it and choose Edit.
• You can copy items here and paste them in another report page. You can also copy and paste while editing a report page.
• You can edit the properties of several report pages simultaneously by selecting several items, right-clicking and choosing Properties . Only fields that are not object-specific will be displayed.

Figure 7 - Selecting several elements in a toolbox

• Several of the items inside the toolboxes can be dragged into the various designer pages in Reportal. This functionality is described elsewhere in the documentation.

Toolbox Right-Click Menus

Many of the objects in the various toolboxes have right-click menus, through which you can access and control functionality applicable to those objects. The items and commands available in a particular menu will depend on the type of object to which the menu is attached. For example if you right-click on the report object in the Report toolbox, the resulting menu allows you to perform such operations as view or preview the report, insert pages, edit user permissions, view and edit the report properties etc. Right-clicking on the Date Range Lists object however displays just one command that allows you to add a new date range list.

The toolbox right-click menu commands are referred to in the procedures where they are used.