Since the introduction of Text Frames in version 2 - 20, fixed position layouts have become redundant.To convert existng .lay files to RTF, select Import Layout files from the File menu in RTF layouts
Preview
When you process fixed position reports, a preview screen will appear
Toolbar Controls
Navigation buttons Navigate through pages (if more than one)
Zoom Lets you select a magnification factor
Print Prints the report
Exit Closes the preview screen
Fixed Position Layouts
The layout screen is divided vertically into 2 sizable panels: Contents and Preview
Contents Panel
The contents panel contains:
A Layout file box with 4 buttons:
OPEN to open an existing layout file
SAVE to save changes
NEW to create a new layout
COPY to save the current layout to another file (equivalent to Save AS)
A Report Type combo box. Select the report type (Claim, Remittance,Quote etc). Any layout can be used as any type, but special fields will not be recognized if they are not valid for that report type
A details panel with 4 tabs:
Up to 50 blocks of text can be added to each layout
Select a box by editing the Box No, using the Up/Down arrows, or right-clicking the text on the preview panel
Details and positioning of each text box can be setup and edited.
Text boxes have 2 tabs:
Plain text
Text can be entered or edited directly. However all text in a box must be the same font, size, color, attributes and justification . Special Fields can be selected from a drop-down list (populated depending on the Report Type).
press 
UPDATE To add the current special field to the text box
Rich Text Format
If you want to vary the font, size, color, attributes and justification within a text box, or to use internal tabbing, then use rich text format.
You cannot edit the text directly, but pressing the EDIT button will load your default Word Processor where you can create or edit an RTF file.
RTF format does not support embedded pictures. Use picture boxes instead.
Other options are:
| • | Force New Page. If this is selected, when the system comes to print a text box, if the previous text box has already printed past the start of the box, then a new page will be forced. Otherwise, the text boxes will overlay each other. |
| • | Line Spacing. Sets the distance between lines as a percentage of text height. |
Up to 10 pictures can be added to each layout
Select a box by editing the Box No, using the Up/Down arrows, or right-clicking the text on the preview panel
Details and positioning of each picture can be setup and edited.
Select an image file (.bmp, .jpg, .gif or .wmf) and the select sizing:
| • | Zoom adjusts the image to suit the box dimensions while retaining the aspect ratio |
| • | Crop lines up the picture with the top left corner of the box, and truncates any picture outside the box |
| • | Full Size lines up the picture with the top left corner of the box, and expands the box to fit the picture |
Some reports support headers and footers. However all header and footer text must be the same font and color, and may not contain pictures. Use watermarks to accomplish this.
This has 2 uses: The traditional watermark where a faint image appears behind the printing ( as shown above), and as a boilerplate where the image makes the page look like a pre-printed form.
Use the OPEN button to select an image file (.bmp, .jpg, .gif or .wmf)
Preview Panel
The preview panel displays the current layout and its navigation bar at the top has buttons to navigate through the pages (if more than one), to zoom in or out and to print.
Additionally, you can
| • | Select text or picture boxes by right-clicking them |
| • | Move text or picture boxes by clicking the their upper left corner and dragging to the desired position |
| • | Resize text or picture boxes by clicking the their lower right corner and dragging to the desired position |
Paging
The layout design is a single sheet design environment (unless text box height forces the second page)
However, the final result may be multi-page, generated by:
| • | If any text box contains [New Page] or [FF] anywhere in its text, a new page will be forced at that point. These texts are case sensitive. |
| • | If the text in a text box is too long, it simply carries onto the next page. If this is likely to happen, the next text box should have Force New Page checked. |
Pictures boxes print on the first page only, while Watermarks print on every page.
Toolbar
Adds a new Text box or Picture Box
Deletes the Current Text Box or Picture Box
Clears the contents of the Current Text Box or Picture Box
Refreshes the preview panel
Sorts the text boxes in order on the page. This is important when using the Force New Page option
Closes the module