xtrareports-405591-desktop-reporting-winforms-reporting-end-user-report-designer-for-winforms-gui-designer-settings-dialog.md
The Designer Settings dialog in the WinForms Report Designer allows users to configure report design and document generation settings globally at the application level. This dialog centralizes frequently used options, streamlines panel management, and simplifies customization of default report behavior.
The dialog groups settings into the following categories:
You can invoke the Designer Settings dialog in one of the following ways:
Click the Settings bar item in the Home ribbon tab:
Select the Settings option in the application menu:
Important
The Settings command may be missing if you set up the Ribbon using an earlier version of the Report Designer. In such cases, update the Ribbon.
The left panel of the dialog contains four categories, each with a set of Report Designer and report settings.
Specify settings and click OK to apply them and close the dialog. Click Reset to Default to restore initial values.
The following settings are available:
This category contains Report Designer UI and dock panel settings.
Default Cross Tab ControlSpecifies the default control used to present cross-tab data (XRCrossTab or XRPivotGrid).Display Chart Designer AutomaticallySpecifies whether to invoke the Chart Designer on adding an XRChart to a report.Show Dimension NotationsSpecifies whether to display exact element size (dimension notations) on the reporting surface during resize operations.Show Data Analyzer NotificationSpecifies whether to display a notification popup with errors that occurred during report creation.Properties PanelSpecifies whether to display the Properties panel on the Report Designer surface.Report ExplorerSpecifies whether to display the Report Explorer panel on the Report Designer surface.Report GallerySpecifies whether to display the Report Gallery panel on the Report Designer surface.Field ListSpecifies whether to display the Field List panel on the Report Designer surface.Group and SortSpecifies whether to display the Group and Sort panel on the Report Designer surface.Report Designer Analyzer Specifies whether to display the Report Designer Analyzer panel on the Report Designer surface.
This category contains application-wide settings related to data binding.
Data Binding ModeSpecifies if the Report Designer binds report controls to data via Expressions (default) or via Data Bindings (legacy option).Convert Bindings to ExpressionsSpecifies whether end users are prompted to convert direct data bindings to customizable expressions.Data Source Request TimeoutMaximum time the Report Designer waits for an SQL data source response, in seconds.Field List Max Search DepthField List search box does not look for fields beyond the specified nesting level.MongoDB Schema Discovery Item CountSpecifies how many documents (records) the Report Designer scans in each collection in order to build the schema.JSON Schema Discovery Item CountSpecifies how many documents (records) the Report Designer scans in each collection in order to build the schema.Display Date and Time Components in the Field ListSpecifies whether to expand date-time fields in the Field List panel to reveal their components so you can directly bind them to report controls.
This category contains default settings for all new reports created in the Report Designer.
Paper KindSpecifies the report size.SizeSpecifies report page height and width measured in report units. You can specify the report size only if Paper Kind is set to Custom.MarginsSpecifies report page margins, measured in report units.FontSpecifies the default font used in reports.Report UnitSpecifies the default units of measurement used in reports to define element locations, dimensions, and margins.LandscapeSpecifies whether report page orientation is landscape.Snap ModeSpecifies how report elements snap and align to each other.Draw GridDisplays or hides the design surface grid.Default File NameSets the default file name used when exporting a report from Print Preview.Default Export FormatSets the default export format in Print Preview.Script Language
Specifies the programming language used in report scripts.
Important
This setting is initially hidden. To activate report scripts and display the Script Language setting, allow script execution at application startup. Review the following help topic for more information: Scripts - Security Considerations.
This category contains application-wide settings for export to PDF and CSV.
Use GDI+ Line Break AlgorithmUses GDI+ line breaks to optimize text layout in certain languages.Follow Report LayoutAttempts to preserve the report layout. May add extra rows or columns to match element positions.
Call the XRDesignMdiController.SetCommandVisibility(ReportCommand, CommandVisibility) method to manage the Designer Settings dialog visibility.
The following code snippet hides the Designer Settings dialog from the Report Designer:
reportDesigner1.SetCommandVisibility(ReportCommand.Settings, CommandVisibility.None);
reportDesigner1.SetCommandVisibility(ReportCommand.Settings, CommandVisibility.None)
You can define default values for dialog settings. These values are applied when the dialog opens and restored when the user clicks Reset to Default.
Configure the following settings depending on the scope:
Use the UserDesignerOptions class properties to specify Report Designer settings at application startup. UserDesignerOptions can be accessed with the Settings.Default property.
Use ReportSettings properties to specify default values for report settings. ReportSettings can be accessed with the XRDesignMdiController.DefaultReportSettings property.
You can also specify data-related default values for MongoDB Schema Discovery Item Count , JSON Schema Discovery Item Count , and Data Source Request Timeout options using the following properties:
A DataSourceWizardSettings object can be accessed with the XRDesignMdiController.DefaultReportSettings property.
The following code snippet specifies Default File Name and Default Export Format values:
reportDesigner1.DefaultReportSettings.ExportSettings.FileName = "TestReport";
reportDesigner1.DefaultReportSettings.ExportSettings.ExportFormat = DevExpress.XtraPrinting.ExportFormat.Xlsx;
reportDesigner1.DefaultReportSettings.ExportSettings.FileName = "TestReport"
reportDesigner1.DefaultReportSettings.ExportSettings.ExportFormat = DevExpress.XtraPrinting.ExportFormat.Xlsx
When a user invokes the Designer Settings dialog, specified properties look as follows:
Note
User selection overrides default values specified in code.
Select xrDesignRibbonController and switch to the Properties window. Click the Update command to add the Settings option to the Ribbon.