Controlling labels and summary fields on shape map areas

You can control the labels and summary fields on the shape map areas by taking the following operations in the Shape Map Editor window:

• Formatting labels/summary fields
  To format a label/summary field on a map area, first select it, and then perform any of the following tasks:
  • To change the alignment, click the required alignment button on the Shape Map Editor toolbar: Justify , Left , Center or Right , or click the corresponding command from the Format > Align submenu. The content in the label/summary field will then be aligned according to your selection.
  • To change the font face, click the Font Face Box and then select the required font from the drop-down list. The fonts introduced with * are True Type Fonts. Refer to the chapter True Type Fonts for more information.
  • To change the font size, click the Font Size Box and then select the required size from the drop-down list (or enter the required value in the combo box and then press Enter).
  • To change the font style, click the corresponding font style buttons on the toolbar: Bold , Italic and Underline , or the commands from the Format > Text Style submenu.
  • To change the background color, click the Background Color button and then specify the color as required.
  • To change the foreground color, click the Font Color button and then select the desired color.
• Setting properties for labels/summary fields on map areas
  In the Map Area Inspector panel of the Shape Map Editor window, you can set properties of the labels/summary fields on the map areas. The label/summary field properties can be set either globally or respectively.
  • To set the properties globally, in the Map Area Inspector panel, expand the Map Global Setting node, select the sub node representing the label/summary field, then in the Properties panel, set the properties as required.
  • To set the properties for any label/summary field in specific, in the Map Area Inspector panel, select the node representing the label/summary field, edit the Use Default property of the label/summary field to false, then set its properties.

  For details about properties of labels and summary fields in a map, refer to Labels and Summary fields in the Property References chapter.

• Making labels/summary fields automatically connected with map areas
  You can drag the labels/summary fields out of the areas they describe and place them at other places, however, after you do this, you will not be able know clearly the connection between each label/summary field and the corresponding area. To keep you from being confused, JReport provides you with the Auto Connector property on labels and summary fields on map areas, by enabling which a line will automatically be drawn between the label/summary field and the area it describes when the label/summary field is dragged out of the area. This property can also be set globally for all the labels/summary fields in a map and for each label/summary field in specific.

  For the automatically drawn lines, you can set the properties if required.

• Hiding labels/summary fields
  To hide a label/summary field, right-click it and select Hide from the shortcut menu. To show a hidden label/summary field again, select the node representing it from the Map Area Inspector panel, then set its Invisible to false.