The merge field represents the basic concept of Text Control's reporting engine. Merge fields are textual, formatted placeholders in a template that are populated with data from connected data sources. Such fields are compatible to MS Word which makes existing templates created in Microsoft Office compatible to Text Control Reporting.
Merge fields have a specific name that is used to match the associated data source column. Text Control Reporting is matching those fields with associated column data content automatically.
In order to insert a field, open the Insert Merge Field drop-down list from the Merge Fields group of the Reports ribbon tab and choose a table.
In the opened dialog box, select the field from the tree view control and confirm with Insert Field.
The formatting of the field is preserved when data is merged. This gives designers the ability to create templates in a true WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) manner.
Merge fields have various switches that can be adjusted in the Merge Field Options dialog:
The Format of a field defines the string format of the merge field and can be set to one of the following options:
Merge fields can have a date/time format or a numeric format. Example: A field Price is formatted as a currency string with the format $#,###.00 which renders the results with a currency symbol and 2 decimal places: Input: 2.4m, Output: $2.40.
Additionally, optional text can be defined that is inserted before and after the field during the merge process.
Related events: