Layout Basics

After an item is positioned on the design panel it can be changed. You must select an item before you can:

• change font characteristics;
• revise label text;
• change the value selection from the drop-down list;
• re-align items.

There are two ways to select an item:

• Hold down the ALT key and click (ALT+Click).
• Right click on the item and choose "Select/Unselect Item" from the popup menu.

A border appears around the item when selected.

You can make as many changes as you want while an item is selected. For example, you can change a label name (at the text box), increase its font size or color, and underline it. You can make changes to more than one item at a time.

After making all changes, you must cancel the selection. Click to cancel the selection of all items.

If the type of edit is common to more than one item, you can edit them all at the same time (e.g., you can change the font size of all labels simultaneously). Click each item while holding down the ALT key (ALT+Click).

When selecting multiple items, the one you select first is significant. This is the item TMLS uses as a reference for aligning the others. The border surrounding the first selected item has a black overlay to identify it. Select all remaining items in any order.  All selected items, except the first, have a red border.

To select all items on your design panel click Select All . When using Select All, if you need to re-assign the reference item, use the popup menu.

ALT+Click selection	Be sure your first selection is the reference item; select other items in any order.
Popup Menu selection	Choose "Set as Reference Item" to select the reference item; choose "Select/Unselect Item" to select other items, in any order.

The number of currently-selected items displays, in red, on the toolbar. Because all selected items are changed simultaneously, always check this number to prevent your actions from affecting more items than you had planned.

If you realize that you don't want to revise one or more of the items you've selected, you can cancel individual selections. Use ALT+Click to cancel the selection of an item. When you have multiple items selected, you cannot cancel the selection of the reference item. (However, using the popup menu you can assign a new reference item, then you can cancel the selection of the former reference item.)

After making all changes, you must cancel the selection. Click to cancel the selection of all items.

After completing changes to a selected item or items, you must cancel the selection. If you neglect to cancel the selection, and you then go on to select other items, your original selection (or selections) is affected by any action you take. Always check the number of items selected, displayed on the toolbar.

• Click , or
• Right click on the item and choose "Select/Unselect Item" from the popup menu.

While designing, if you cover an item with another without realizing it, your finished report may show overlapping items when viewed or printed. To ensure that your report has no hidden items, use the Select Next tool to select each item in turn. The Select Next tool brings hidden items to the foreground.

Caution: Select Next causes TMLS to clear currently-selected items.

After entering text for a label or selecting a value, assign the font type, size, and other font attributes. You can independently choose font characteristics for each label and value, but it is efficient to specify these before adding the new item.

NOTE: You may need to re-adjust alignment or re-centre an item after a font size change.

	Choose a font type from the drop-down list. Font type is applied to the label or value you're creating, or to all selected labels and values.
	Choose a font size from the drop-down list. Font size is applied to the label or value you're creating, or to all selected labels and values.
	Choose a font color from the drop-down list. Font color is applied to the label or value you're creating, or to all selected labels and values.
	Bold.
	Italic.
	Underlined.

Click to undo the last action. (You can only undo one action.)

If you click to add an item to the design panel, then decide to abandon the item, click to cancel.

There are two ways to delete an item:

• ALT+Click to select the item, or click to select all items, and then click to delete.
• Right click on the item and choose "Delete Item" from the popup menu.