You can use Report Designer to add images to your reports and documents which then print as part of your design. By adding images such as company logos you can personalise your documents, creating a streamlined corporate image.
You can add an image file to a document in the following ways:
- Embedded - The image included with the report or document. If the original image is changed it does not change on the document.
-
Linked - The image is not stored on the document but in a secure central location. When the document is printed the stored image is used. When the original image is changed, the updated image also appears on the document.
This is useful when you useful for images such as your company logo, that you use on multiple documents. When you change the image, it's updated on all relevant documents.
Watch a video
Add an image in Report Designer (video)
How to locate the report or document
Open: 
Tools > Run Sage Report Designer
-
Go to File Explorer section.
The default reports are all stored under the Defaults folder by type of report and module such as nominal, purchases etc:
If you've previously amended the report or document, it will be saved in the Custom or Company folder.
Report types- Labels - prints labels for stock items and suppliers.
- Layouts - used for printing invoices and credit notes.
- Letters - for debtor letters to send to customers.
- Reports - all reports
How to add an embedded image
There are several ways you can add a logo. The simplest method is to use the Dynamic help. This adds a embedded image.
Open: View > Dynamic Help.
- Select Add image or Logo.
-
Click Browse to locate your image.
The image is shown in the Preview section.
- To prevent the image from distorting when it's resized, select Do not stretch on resize.
- If you only want to the image to appear on the first page, select Print on first copy only. Otherwise the image will appear on all pages of your report or document.
-
Choose the section of the report you want the image to appear.
The available sections vary depending on the report or document. The image will appear every time the section is repeated. Some sections may be set to only print once.
If you're adding your company logo, you probably want it to appear at the top of the page , so you'd need to add the image to the Page Header.
-
Choose where to place the image in the section:
Vertical Alignment - places the image to the Top, Centre or Bottom of the section.
Horizontal Alignment - places the image to the Left, Centre or Right of the section.
- Click Add to report.
The image is placed on the report or document. You can resize and move it around as required. You can use the mouse to resize or move it. Use the arrow keys for small changes to the position.
Use the Preview option (View > Preview) to check the position of your images.
How to add a linked image
Open: Toolbox > Add image or Logo
- Click on the document where you'd like to add your image.
- Select Browse my PC or network for an image.
- Clear the Store the image in the report option.
- Click OK.
- Browse to your image and click Open.
-
Move the image to required location.
You can use the mouse to resize or move it. Use the arrow keys for small changes to the position. To align it with the section use the
buttons on the toolbar. Use the Preview option (View > Preview) to check the position of your images.
What image files can I use
You can use .BMP, .GIF, .JPG, .JPEG, .PNG, .ICO, .EMF and .WMF files.
Where to save the amended report or document
When you save a customised report or document, make sure to save it in a new folder. This is to make sure that the original isn't lost.
If you have more than one
-
Keep the file name the same as the default file name for the report or document.
- Save your report in the custom folder using same path as the original:
- custom/reports/<module name >
- custom/layouts
- custom/letters
- custom/labels
For example, if you add a logo to the SOP Invoice (Single Plain paper) layout , the filename will look like this: custom/layouts /SOP Invoice (Single Plain Paper).layout.
-
Keep the file name the same as the default file name for the report.
- Save your report in the same folder as the original but under the company folder and add the
- <company name>/reports/<module name >/filename
- <company name>/layouts/filename
- <company name>/letters/filename
- <company name>/labels/filename
For example, if you add a logo to the SOP Invoice (Single Plain paper) layout for a company called Test, save it under company and the filename will look like this :Test/layouts/SOP Invoice (Single Plain Paper).layout
When you generate a report or document Sage 200 first looks for the version in the Company folder, then the Custom folder, and if it does not find one it uses the 'out of the box' version. For each report, it will check in a specific folder for a specific filename.
More image settings
You can make further changes using the Properties pane. Click on the image and the Properties pane is shown on the right. (If it's not visible, open View > Properties.)
- Prevent the image from distorting when resized - set Lock aspect ratio to True.
- Lock the image in position so it can't be moved accidentally - set Locked to True.
- Choose how the image fits the allocated space. Set the Size Method to one of the following:
- Autogrow - The size of the image sets the space it occupies on the report.
- Stretch - the space allocated to the image is fixed and the image shrinks or grows to fit the space.
- Clip - The space allocated to the image is fixed and the image stays the same size. If the image is too big for the space, the image is clipped.
-
Only print on the first copy - set Print on First Copy to True.
When you print more than one copy, the image is only printed on the first one. This is useful if you want to keep a copy for your records without images or logos.
If you're printing multiple copies to send out, make sure this is set to False.
Press F1 or click Help from the toolbar for more specific help for Report Designer.
More about sections
Sections control the layout of your report. Calculations, text and graphics used to generate the report are placed in sections. When the report is generated, information such as report headings, page numbers and the body of the report are laid out in the right position.
There are a number of sections that can make up the structure of a report
| Description | |
|---|---|
| Page Header and Footer | The page header and footer contains information needed on each page of a report, such as column titles and totals. |
| Report Header and Footer | The report header and footer contains information that is only needed on the first and last page of the report; such as the report title, grand totals, or an 'end of report' banner. |
| Details | The details section is typically the main body of the report. |
| Group Header and Group Footer | A group header and footer is used to divide report details into groups of information that share something in common. |
When adding images and logos, you need consider which sections are printed on the first and last pages only, and which sections may be repeated on the same page.
Use the Preview option (View > Preview) to check the position of your images.
For example, the invoice layout has eleven different sections.
- The Page header appears right at the top of every page of the invoice.
- The SLCustomerAccounts.SLCustomerAcountID header appears above the customer details and prints on every page.
- The SOPINVOICECREDITID footer contains the totals and VAT details and prints on the last page.
- The SLCusatomerAccounts,SLCustomerAccountID Footer appears under the totals and only prints once on the last page.
- The Page Footer section appears right at the bottom of every page on the invoice.