How to work with the Layout Tools palette
The Layout Tools palette is used to work with text blocks and geometric objects that can be added to report and invoice layouts.

The report layout tools palette

You can set the left and top of any selected object by typing a value in the corresponding field of the tool palette.

You can set the width and height of filled and unfilled rectangles, and text blocks, by typing a value in the corresponding field of the tool palette.

You can set the width (length) of a horizontal line by typing a value in the Width field of the tool palette.

You can set the height (length) of a vertical line by typing a value in the Height field of the tool palette.

You can set the line width and line color for filled and unfilled rectangles, for vertical or horizontal lines, and for text blocks that don't have their Transparent value set. To set an object's line width, select it in the report layout and choose a width from the line width popup menu. To set an object's line color, select it and click the Line radio button on the right side of the palette, then click the Color rectangle to its left and make a choice in the color selector dialog.

You can set the fill color of filled rectangles and text blocks that do not have their Transparent value set. To set an object's fill color, select it in the report layout and click the Fill radio button on the right side of the palette, then click the Color rectangle to its left and make a choice in the color selector dialog.

Text block properties
Additional settings are available for text blocks.

Text Font: Change the font by selecting it from the Font popup menu.

Text Size: Enter a value in the Size text entry box to the right of the Font popup menu.

Line spacing: Available for manually added text blocks. Set line spacing by entering a value in the Spacing text entry box.

Offset: You can set a horizontal and vertical offset for manually added text blocks. This can be useful when showing text within a rectangular box. Enter values in the H and V text entry boxes respectively for horizontal and vertical offsets.

Text styles: You can set the text styles of all text fields and text blocks. Click Bold, Italic and Underline to turn text styles on or off. A text style affects all the text in the field.

Alignment: You can set text alignment of manually added text blocks to Left, Center or Right. Left and right alignment honor the horizontal offset value you set for a text block. To change alignment, select one of the options from the Alignment popup menu while the text block is selected.

Text color: You can set the text color of manually added text blocks by clicking the Color rectangle in the Text attributes section of the palette and choosing a color from the color selector dialog.

You can find more information on report text blocks in the section Working with text blocks and fields.