Customize Reports

In addition to the Report Setup Configure ability to customize the report (see the Configure Reports page for details), the Options Reporting tab allows you to set some defaults for the following items in the report.

Custom Logo Section

Use the Custom Logo Preferences section to specify whether to use a custom logo or not. The custom logo appears at the beginning of the HTML report. If the Use Custom Logo check box is activated, you can browse for the file to use. If the check box is not activated, the default logo will be displayed at the beginning of the report.

Custom Watermark Section

Use the Custom Watermark Preferences section to specify whether to use a custom watermark or not. The custom watermark appears as a static background image in the HTML report. If the Use Custom Watermark check box is activated, you can browse for the file to use.

Note: The custom logo and watermark are placed into the report when it is first created for the model. If either check box on the Tools: Options: Reporting tab is toggled on or off after the report is created, the logo and watermark will not be changed. (However, you can use the Configure Report command and manually replace the logo or watermark afterward it is already created.)

Image Defaults

The default alignment and size of images added to the report can be defined using the Modify Image Defaults button. Any default options can be overwritten for specific images in the Configure Report.

The Left, Center, and Right alignment options will align the images at the respective positions in the report.

The size of the image can either be specified either with Use Scale in percentage or Use Size in units of length. (The final size of the image will be slightly different since a whole number of pixels must be used.) If the Maintain Aspect Ratio box is activated, then the width and height of each image added to the report will be scaled to keep the same width-to-height ratio. When specifying the size with the Maintain Aspect Ratio activated, you can specify the width or the height of the image; the other dimension will be scaled.

Custom Styles Section

Although the message sections of the report (Analysis Parameters, Parts, Element, Material, Loads, Constraints, and so on) cannot be customized through the Action: Configure Report command, they can be customized by using an alternate Cascading Style Sheet (css). The alternate css file can be defined using Options Reporting. If the Use Custom Style Sheet check box is activated, a css file can be selected or defined by pressing the Select Directory/Filename button. This css file can be modified by pressing the Modify Cascading Style Sheet Information button. A dialog will appear with 12 buttons. Each button will access a dialog where the font, background and other applicable parameters can be defined for that particular section of the report. The dialog will have two radio buttons at the top. If the Use Autodesk Simulation Standard Style radio button is selected, the ALG_RPT.css file will be used for that section. If the Define Custom Style radio button is selected, the settings in the dialog will be used. The Custom Style settings section will show a preview of the new css file for that section.

Once a custom style sheet is created, it will be used for the report instead of the standard style sheet if the Report Setup Use Custom CSS File check box is activated on the menu in the Report environment. Use Report Setup Refresh to update the report after toggling the Use Custom CSS File.

Note: If Results Presentations are included in the report, and if any windows are opened in the Results environment, refreshing the report will update the previous Results images with images of the current Results windows. If no Results windows are opened, then the previous Results images will remain in the report when it is refreshed.

Report Templates Section

After a report template has been saved (see the Configure Reports page for details), one of the report templates can be chosen as the default. The default template is used for any new report that is created. To use an existing template for all new reports,

  1. Click the Select Default Reporting Template/Maintain Templates button for the design scenario reports or Select Default Master Reporting Template/Maintain Templates button for the master report.
  2. Highlight a template name from the list of templates on the left side of the dialog. The layout of the template is shown in the pane on the right.
  3. Click the OK button. The name of the selected template will appear on the Options dialog, and the Use Custom Report Template check box will be activated. De-activate the check box to not use a default template for new reports.
Note:
  • Existing templates cannot be edited directly. Instead, they can be replaced with the following procedure:
    1. View the report for a copy of the original model from which the template was created or for a similar model. Since the report is being changed, do not use a model in which you need to keep the original report.
    2. Use Report Setup Configure.
    3. Use the Report pull-down menu and choose the Use Report Template command, select the saved template to be modified from the list, and click the Select Template button. This replaces the current report with the template.
    4. Make any changes to the layout, images, and so on
    5. Use the Report pull-down menu and choose Save as Report Template.
    6. With either the entry Enter Name selected or with no entries selected in the Saved Templates list, enter the name of the report in the Save Template Name field. If you type the name of an existing template, you will get an overwrite confirmation when the Save Template button is clicked.
Tip:
  • The report templates are stored in a folder under your account. To share the templates with other users on the same computer or with multiple computers, then do the following:
    1. Open My Computer or Windows Explorer to view the contents of your computer.
    2. Navigate to the path specified by the %APPDATA% variable (type %APPDATA% in the Address bar of My Computer). This path is typically C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data. It may be necessary to show hidden files and folders to see the %APPDATA% folder; go to My Computer's Tools: Folder Options: View and activate the option Show hidden files and folders.
    3. Navigate to the .algor\21.01\ReportComponent folder, where the number (such as 21.01) indicates the version of the software installed.
    4. Copy the entire Report folder and/or Master folder to the equivalent path on the other computer when logged in to the appropriate user.

Parent topic: HTML Reports