Using the Watermark
Once you save the watermark as a file, go into the report's Design mode. In the property sheet, click the
Picture property, and browse to select the graphics file, as shown in Figure 4-18.
Figure 4-18. Setting the report's Picture property
A few other relevant settings work with the
- Picture Type
You have a choice of Embedded or Linked. Embedded is the correct choice here. Linked will attempt to open the graphic separately, which isn't the point of using a watermark.
- Picture Size Mode
The choices are Clip, Stretch, and Zoom. Each treats how the graphic is placed on the report in a different manner. Experimenting with these settings is the best way to understand how they work. However, as mentioned earlier, if you sized the graphic correctly when you created it, use the Clip setting here. Following this approach helps to avoid having to guess your way through the picture's placement on the report.
- Picture Alignment
You have five choices: Top Left, Top Right, Center, Bottom Left, and Bottom Right. Most people choose Center, but you might find a different setting serves your needs.
- Picture Tiling
The settings are Yes and No. The No setting places the graphic once on the page. The Yes setting tiles the graphic, which creates a repeating pattern. Try both of them to see which is better for you. The Yes setting makes a busier-looking watermark, but perhaps that is what you want.
- Picture Pages
This lets you designate on which pages the watermark will appear. The choices are All Pages, First Page, and No Pages. I hope you don't choose No Pages, or you won't see your watermark!
You also might have to change the
Back Style property on the report. You might have to do this because the watermark appears under the text, and text boxes can take up more room than the actual text they display. Figure 4-19 demonstrates this dilemma. In the report, the rectangular shape of the text box covers up part of the watermark. You don't actually see the text box, but the rectangular shape becomes apparent when it's contrasted with the watermark underneath.
Figure 4-19. Text boxes covering up the watermark
To avoid this behavior, go into the design of the report. For any text boxes that sit over the watermark, change the
Back Style property from
Transparent. This forces the text boxes to display just the text, which is exactly the effect you want. Figure 4-20 shows how the report appears when the text boxes are transparent.
Figure 4-20. The watermark, appearing through the text boxes