Defining the Table Format

Atoll lets you format the data tables to customise the presentation of data. You can change data table formats by:

• "Setting Column Background Colours" on page 61

• "Changing Table Cell Format" on page 61

• "Changing Column Widths and Row Heights" on page 62

• "Displaying and Hiding Columns" on page 63

• "Freezing or Unfreezing a Column" on page 63

• "Moving Columns" on page 64

1.5.4.1 Setting Column Background Colours

You can change the background colours of columns in a data table.

To change the background colour of one or more columns in a data table:

1. Open a data table as explained in "Opening a Data Table" on page 58.

2. Select the headers of the columns whose background colours you want to change.

3. In the Table toolbar, click the arrow next to the Background Colour button ( ). A colour palette appears.

4. In the colour palette, select a background colour. The colour is applied to the background of the selected columns.

In the colour palette, you can click Other to open the Colours dialog box and select a colour that is not listed in the main palette.

You can also click Default to revert to the default column background colour corresponding to your Windows theme.

1.5.4.2 Changing Table Cell Format

You can change the format of the content of table cells.

To change the format of the content of table cells:

1. Open a data table as explained in "Opening a Data Table" on page 58.

2. Select the headers of the columns whose content you want to change the format and do one of the following change:

• To align the content of the selected cells to the left, click Align Left ( ).

• To align the content of the selected cells to the centre, click Centre ( ).

• To align the content of the selected cells to the right, click Align Right ( ).

• To display the content of the selected cells in bold, click Bold ( ).

• To display the content of the selected cells in italic, click Italic ( ).

1.5.4.3 Changing Column Widths and Row Heights

You can change column widths and row heights in a data table.

You can also open the Record Properties dialog box by double-clicking the record. To avoid editing the record when you double-click, double-click the left margin of the record instead of the record itself. You can also select the record and click the Record Properties button ( ) in the Table toolbar.

Table formats can be saved to and loaded from user configuration files. For more informa-tion, see "User Configurations" on page 85.

To change a column width:

1. Open a data table as explained in "Opening a Data Table" on page 58.

2. Click the border separating two column headers and drag to change the column width. The column width changes as soon as the mouse button is released.

To change a row height:

1. Open a data table as explained in "Opening a Data Table" on page 58.

2. Click the border separating two row headers and drag to change the row height. The row height changes as soon as the mouse button is released.

1.5.4.4 Displaying and Hiding Columns

You can choose to hide or display individual columns in the data table.

To display or hide a column:

1. Open a data table as explained in "Opening a Data Table" on page 58.

2. In the Table toolbar, click the Display Columns button ( ). The Columns to Be Displayed dialog box appears.

Figure 1.24: Changing a column width

• You can change the width of several columns at the same time by selecting their headers before clicking and dragging the border separating any two column headers.

• Double-clicking the border separating two column headers resets the width of the column to the left of the border.

Figure 1.25: Changing a row height

• You can change the height of several rows at the same time by selecting their headers before clicking and dragging the border separating any two row headers.

• Double-clicking the border separating two row headers resets the height of the row above the border.

3. To display a column, select the corresponding check box.

4. To hide a column, clear the corresponding check box.

5. Click Close.

You can also hide one or more columns in the table by selecting their headers and clicking the Hide Columns button ( ) in the Table toolbar.

1.5.4.5 Freezing or Unfreezing a Column

In Atoll, you can freeze one or more columns of a data table so that they always remain visible as you scroll horizontally through the table. For example, while scrolling through the Sites table, you might want to have the Name column always visi-ble. You can keep this column, or any other column visible, by freezing it.

To freeze a column:

1. Open the data table as explained in "Opening a Data Table" on page 58.

2. Select the header of the column you want to freeze. Click and drag over several headers to select more than one column to freeze.

3. Right-click the selected header or headers and select Freeze Columns from the context menu or click the Freeze Col-umns button ( ) in the Table toolbar. Frozen columns are grouped to the left of the table and separated from other columns with a vertical red line.

To unfreeze columns:

• Right-click the table and select Unfreeze All Columns from the context menu or click the Unfreeze All Columns button ( ) in the Table toolbar.

1.5.4.6 Moving Columns

In Atoll, you can change the column order so that you can group similar columns or present data in a determined order.

Figure 1.26: Columns to Be Displayed dialog box

• You can search for a column in the table by entering its name in the search field.

• You can display or hide all the columns by selecting or clearing the (Select all) check box.

• You can change the order of columns in the table by selecting them in the list and clicking the Up and Down buttons.

• You can restore the default list of displayed and hidden columns by clicking the Reset button.

• Column display settings can be saved to and loaded from configuration files using the Save and Load buttons under Configuration.

You can only freeze adjacent columns.

To move a column:

1. Open the data table as explained in "Opening a Data Table" on page 58.

2. Select the header of the column you want to move. Click and drag over several headers to select more than one column to move.

3. Click again on the selected column and drag to the desired position. As you drag the column, the position the column will occupy is indicated by a red line.

4. Release the mouse button to place the column.