Skip to content

Feature Highlights🔗

Fomin Report Builder (FRB) offers a rich set of features that empower both developers and end-users to create, manage, and print professional-quality reports—without writing code. This page highlights the key capabilities across user interface, data handling, formatting, and extensibility.

🖥️ User Interface🔗

  • Word processor–style layout editor with familiar toolbar buttons
  • Supports English, Russian, and any custom language via FRB_NLS.INI
  • Coordinate system: Inches or Metric
  • Export report pages as WMF to Microsoft Word (for preview, editing, printing)
  • Customize default Frame properties (font, alignment, borders, etc.)
  • Per-printer scaling (X/Y % stored in WIN.INI) for precise hardcopy output

🗂️ Report Management🔗

  • Tree-style ReportManager interface with unlimited folders and report types
  • Create unlimited .rpt files
  • Use long filenames (Windows 95+ style)
  • Clone reports easily via Open → Save As...

🧮 Data Handling & Expressions🔗

  • Uses Clarion VIEW structures for multi-table access (ISAM & SQL)
  • High-speed filters using fields, expressions, and Clarion functions
  • Sort by any field or expression
  • Dictionary-driven expression builder with tree-style hierarchy
  • End-user–defined totals:
  • Sum, Count, Average, Min, Max, Evaluate
  • Reset on group, page, or report end
  • Calculated fields (Evaluate-only, never reset)
  • Runtime prompts for user-entered values or browse selections
  • Array support (up to 4 dimensions)
  • Built-in date/time variables (TODAY(), CLOCK())
  • Page number and record count per page
  • Picture formatting for strings, dates, numbers (e.g. SSN → 123-45-6789)
  • Wizard-style Picture builder
  • Developer-defined computed fields indistinguishable from dictionary fields

🖋️ Layout & Formatting🔗

  • Supported sections: Page Header, Report Header, Group Break, Group Header, Detail, Group Footer, Report Footer, Page Footer
  • Unlimited Frames per section
  • Frame contents:
  • Static text
  • Dynamic expressions (e.g. =CustomerName)
  • Borders and fills for Frames (color, thickness)
  • Grid-style layout using adjacent bordered Frames
  • Font selection per report, section, or Frame
  • Vertical and horizontal alignment
  • Multi-select Frames for group operations
  • Developer-exposed runtime functions usable in expressions
  • Embed graphics (e.g. logos, letterheads)
  • Trailing Text: prints long MEMO fields with page overflow control
  • Mail Merge: combine raw text with data fields
  • Barcode Frames: vertical/horizontal barcodes (requires Taboga Barcode Library)

🧩 Extensibility🔗

  • Developer-defined runtime functions (e.g. SQL(), CalcTax())
  • Runtime prompts for user input (e.g. date range, selection)
  • Computed fields and filters based on user input
  • Support for third-party previewers:
    • CPCS
    • RPM (Lodestar)
    • IceTips
    • TinTools
  • Compatible with:
    • J-Spell
    • SoftVelocity IP Driver
    • ClarioNET
    • Query Wizard
    • xSearch, xQuickFilter
    • Many others

🧠 Advanced Features🔗

  • Runtime scaling per printer (adjust X/Y % in WIN.INI)
  • Export to Word via DDE (each page as WMF image)
  • Developer-defined “invisible” computed fields
  • Conditional section printing (e.g. Page_Counter > 1)
  • Page-level counters and totals
  • Dynamic Picture formatting at runtime