Table Structure

Tables consist of cells and columns. This section provides more information about working with each of these elements.

Table Elements

A table must have at least one column, but it can have any number. A set of columns can collected into a column group with a heading that spans several all those columns.

Each table is divided into sections similar to the main document bands:

• Table header and footer - each printed only once.
• Column header and footer - repeated on each page the table spans. For column groups, the table can display a group header and footer section for each group and for each column.
• Detail - repeated for each record of the table. Each column contains only one detail section, and the section cannot span multiple columns.

Table Structure

In the Outline view, table sections are shown as child nodes of the table element node.

Table in Outline View

In the Design tab, each column has a cell for each section (for example, one cell for the table header section, another for the table footer, etc.). A cell can be undefined. If all the cells of a section are undefined, the section is not printed. If the height of all the cells of a section is zero, the section is printed but is not visible in the Design tab.

Table Cells

A cell can contain any JasperReports element. When an element is dropped on a cell, Jaspersoft Studio automatically arranges the element to fit the cell size. To change the arrangement of the elements, right-click the cell (or element) and select an option from the context menu. Alternatively, you can insert a frame element in the cell and add all the required elements in that frame.

You can delete a cell by right-clicking and choosing Delete cell. If the cell is the only defined cell in the column, the entire column is removed. Similarly, if a cell is undefined, right-click it and select Add cell to create the cell. An undefined cell is automatically created when the user drags an element into it (see Working with Columns).

Edit cell properties from the Properties tab:

• The Appearance sub-tab allows you to set location, size, color, style and print details.
• You can set cell padding as well as borders from the Properties > Borders tab.
• Cell height defines the vertical dimension of a cell. When its value is changed, the new dimension is propagated to all the cells in the row.