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Q248315: PRB: Memo Fields No Longer Stretch with Overflow

Article: Q248315
Product(s): Microsoft FoxPro
Version(s): WINDOWS:5.0,5.0a,6.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbprint kbDesigner kbPrinting kbReportWriter kbvfp500 kbvfp500a kbvfp600 kbGrpDSFox kbD
Last Modified: 11-SEP-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0a, 6.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

Memo fields in reports created in the Report Designer do not stretch even though
the "Stretch with overflow" checkbox is selected in the Report Expression dialog
box for the field.

CAUSE
=====

If the report was made to be a multiple column report and the Print Order was
changed from vertical to horizontal and then back, this behavior occurs.

RESOLUTION
==========

If you are comfortable with opening the report .frx file as a table, the
following steps can be used to fix the report. Assume the report is named
Myreport.frx.

1. Make a backup copy of the .frx and .frt files.

2. Issue the following commands from the Command window:

" USE myreport.frx BROWSE " (without the quotation
marks)3. Look for records that have a nine in the objtype field and replace true
  values in the objtype field with false:

" REPLACE ALL plain WITH .F. FOR objtype=9 " (without the quotation
marks)4. Close the Browse window and the .frx file.

5. Open the report and try previewing it. The memo fields should now stretch.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Report .frx files are tables (.dbf's) with a different file extension. It is
possible to open the .frx file by issuing the following command:

" USE myreport.frx " (without the quotation marks)

The information in the .frx table can then be viewed by issuing the Browse
command. Microsoft does not recommend changing values in the .frx file in this
manner unless there is a backup of the .frx and .frt files, and the person
making the changes has some idea of the consequences.

For more information on the structure of report .frx files, see the following
Visual FoxPro report files in the \Filespec subdirectory of the Visual FoxPro
directory in both versions 5 and 6:

- 60frx1.frx or 50frx1.frx
- 60frx2.frx or 50frx2.frx
- 26frx1.frx
- 26frx2.frx

  Example: REPORT form "d:\program files\microsoft visual studio\vfp98\filespec\60frx2.frx" preview

When the Print Order of the report is changed, Visual FoxPro places a .T. in the
Plain field of the .frx file for objtypes of 9. According to the 60frx1.frx
report, the Plain field is not used by Visual FoxPro.

Steps to Reproduce Behavior
---------------------------

The following steps make use of the sample Employee.dbf table that is included
with Visual FoxPro. In Visual FoxPro 5.0, this table is located in the
\samples\data subdirectory under the Visual FoxPro directory. With Visual FoxPro
6.0, this table is found in the C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual
Studio\MSDN\99OCT\1033\SAMPLES\VFP98\data directory.

1. Create a new report. Do not use the Report Wizard.

2. Add the Employee table to the report's data environment.

3. Drag the Notes field from the employee table in the data environment and into
  the detail band of the report.

4. Reduce the width of the Notes field to about two inches. The width can be
  selected by going to the View menu and choosing the Show Position command.
  The width along with the other position information shows in the Visual
  FoxPro status bar if "set status bar on" is true. Keep the field on the
  left-side of the detail band.

5. Double-click the field to display the Report Expression dialog box. Select
  the Stretch with overflow checkbox and click OK.

6. Preview the report. The memo field should be stretching. Close the Preview
  window.

7. Open the Page Setup dialog box from the File menu. Change the number of
  columns to two. Note that the Print Order is vertical
   - Data prints down the left-side of the report and then it prints down the
     right-side of the report. Click OK.

8. Preview the report. The memo field should be stretching. Close the Preview
  window.

9. Open Page Setup dialog box from the File menu. Change the Print Order to
  horizontal. Click OK.

10. Preview the report. The memo field should not be stretching this time. Close
  the Preview window.

11. Go back into Page Setup and change the Print Order back to vertical. Click
  OK.

12. Preview the report. The memo field should not be stretching this time
  either. Close the Preview window.

13. Open the Report Expression dialog box for the field. Note that Stretch with
  overflow is still selected.

Additional query words: kbDSE

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbprint kbDesigner kbPrinting kbReportWriter kbvfp500 kbvfp500a kbvfp600 kbGrpDSFox kbDSupport 
Technology        : kbVFPsearch kbAudDeveloper kbVFP500 kbVFP600 kbVFP500a
Version           : WINDOWS:5.0,5.0a,6.0
Issue type        : kbprb
Solution Type     : kbpending

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