Printing an inventory report
An inventory report can be prepared in Ewida Standard. This function makes it possible to generate a document for a selected object type, such as a user, a set, a device, or another inventory item.
To open the report printing window, use the Print report option in the main menu of the selected object type. The same function can also be opened from the context menu, that is, by right-clicking the object.
At the beginning, the wizard requires you to select the main object for the report. This can be a single item or a larger group of records. Only after selecting these objects can you move on to configuring the appearance and content of the document.
Customizing the inventory report
In the next step, you can adjust the way the document is prepared to match the company’s needs. One of the most important fields is Inventory report, which lets you choose your own report variant if it was created earlier. You can also define a new report name and save a separate print configuration under it.
Print template lets you load or edit your own template. It determines the appearance of the document beyond the presentation of object data itself. This makes it possible to prepare a format that matches the organization’s requirements, internal document layout, or company style.
If more than one object was selected at the beginning, you can also use the Print on separate reports option. This creates a separate document for each selected record instead of combining everything into one printout.
How objects and relationships are presented
The inventory report can present objects in two ways:
- Single-line object description — each object is presented as a single record using its description.
- Detailed mode — the object is described in a property - value layout across multiple records.
The Customize button works depending on the selected mode and lets you adjust how the data is presented. This allows the report to be more concise or more detailed, depending on the purpose of the document.
An important option is also Print related objects. It lets you include not only the main object in the report, but also its relationships. In practice, this means, for example, that you can print a set together with its devices or a user together with the items assigned to them.
The Skip properties with empty values setting can also be useful, as it simplifies the document and removes records that do not contain any data.
Previewing and printing the document
The Print preview button lets you check how the document will look before it is finally printed. This is an important step because it makes it possible to catch layout problems, check the order of sections, and assess whether all required data is visible.
After accepting the document layout, you can continue with the Finish button, which opens the actual print wizard. The printing mechanism is available not only for inventory reports, but also for other summaries and reports in the program. Thanks to this, the whole process keeps a consistent way of working with documents.
It is worth remembering that Ewida Standard is a classic Windows desktop application, so print configuration is done directly in the program and can be adapted to the local needs of the user or the company.
Print wizard and report design
The print wizard is opened after selecting the Print button. This applies to summaries, reports, and inventory reports. It consists of two complementary panels:
- Print preview,
- Design report.
By default, the preview panel is opened first. It lets you review the generated document and prepare it for printing. However, if you need to change the page layout, add elements, or modify the appearance of sections, you should switch to the Design report panel.
This is where the user can build their own document layouts and create print formats tailored to the organization’s way of working.
Structure of the Design report panel
The print design panel contains several important work areas.
The top button panel lets you manage print templates, change the measurement units used in the design, and restore default settings.
The upper design panel is used to manage objects placed on the page with Drag&Drop. It lets you copy, cut, paste, delete, change order, and align elements.
The page design view shows the structure of the printed page and lets you place objects visually.
The Drag&Drop object list contains elements that can be dragged onto the page design, such as a text field, image, line, page number, date, report name, statistic, record count, and fields related to document numbering.
The quick selection control makes it easier to choose the active element or section, while Properties of the selected object let you configure its details.
Thanks to this, the design panel gives you a lot of freedom to prepare the document layout without having to create a separate reporting tool outside the program.
Page structure, data tables, and XML templates
To make print design easier, the document page is divided into sections:
- Header section — printed on every page,
- Section before data — printed once,
- Data section — responsible for the actual presentation of data,
- Section after data — printed once,
- Footer section — printed on every page.
The most important section in terms of content is the Data section, because this is where the tables with records are placed. Data can be presented in one table or in multiple tables arranged one below another. Their configuration is available through Data section > Customize : Data tables.
In the table configuration, unwanted elements can be enabled or disabled, their order can be set, and you can also move to column settings. Columns can also be customized separately — their order, properties, and the scope of presented data can all be changed.
The print template controls the entire page layout outside the data section and is saved to an XML file. This makes it possible to prepare your own document formats and reuse them many times later. If a design is meant to be used as the main print variant, it can be saved as the default.
This approach means that the inventory report in Ewida Standard can be more than just a simple printout of an object list. It can become a full document tailored to the requirements of a specific organization.