newbie BIRT - layout - fields side-by-side for Address etc

Question

I wanted to find out how to specify fields to appear side-by-side in BIRT layout e.g.- City State Zip in a address line. By default, it seems to put the fields one below another and I can't seem to find a way to reposition them side-by-side

BIRT 2.6.0 and Eclipse Helios

Answer 1

I would use a grid to control the placement of the controls on the page. BIRT uses a web design metaphor and as such things need to be placed explicitly on a page. When you are building a page in simple HTML you often need a table or some other structural element to control how one piece of text (or image) relates to another. BIRT is no different in this regard.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Using a grid for this is not the right solution unless you actually want elements aligned into columns.

If you set the Display value of your Data elements to Inline instead of Block they will be displayed side by side on the same line exactly like you want.

Answer 3

I use BIRT 2.3.2, and it normally puts fields side-by-side, by default. This may be an issue to do with which report item type you are using to display your data - try using a table, rather than a list report item.

Answer 4

The BIRT does not follow the placement of element based upon the X, Y coordinate instead it used relative tabular layout. So, fields can only be placed in sequential manner. To align it perfectly, Grid control can be used with needed rows and columns and set the width and height of columns.

However, this is just a workaround to place the element, exact placement of element on absolute position is yet not available. May be in future release it could be added into the BIRT.