Separating Sections of a Report: SKIP-LINE and UNDER-LINE

In this section:

To make a detailed report easier to read and interpret, you can separate sections of it—individual lines, or entire sort groups—by inserting blank lines between them, or (for sort groups only) by underlining them.

Adding Blank Lines: SKIP-LINE

How to:

Reference:

Report information often stands out more clearly if there are lines skipped between individual lines, or between sort groups. You can use SKIP-LINE with either a sort field, or a display field:

Syntax: How to Add Blank Lines

To add blank lines, use SKIP-LINE with the keyword ON or BY. Use the WHEN clause to specify conditional blank lines in the printing of a report. The syntax is: 

 
display fieldname SKIP-LINE 
{ON|BY} fieldname SKIP-LINE [WHEN expression;]

where:

display

Is any display command.

fieldname

Is used so that when the value of this field changes, a blank line is inserted before the next set of values.

WHEN expression

Specifies conditional blank lines in the printing of a report as determined by a Boolean expression.

You can use only one SKIP-LINE in each report request. You do not have to enter it on its own line; instead, include it after the field name or sort field for which you want to insert a blank line.

Reference: Usage Notes for Adding Blank Lines

Keep the following in mind when using SKIP-LINE:

  • If the field name is a sort field, a blank line is inserted just before every change in value of the sort field.
  • If the field name is a display field, a blank line is inserted after every printed line. The WHEN clause does not apply to display fields.
  • This is one of the only ON conditions that does not have to refer solely to sort control (BY) fields.
  • Only one SKIP-LINE option is allowed per request, and it may affect more than one sort field.

Example: Adding Blank Lines

The following example skips a line when the employee ID changes: 

DEFINE FILE EMPLOYEE
INCREASE/D8.2M = .05*CURR_SAL;
CURR_SAL/D8.2M=CURR_SAL;
NEWSAL/D8.2M=CURR_SAL + INCREASE;
END
 
TABLE FILE EMPLOYEE
PRINT CURR_SAL OVER INCREASE OVER NEWSAL
BY EMP_ID BY LAST_NAME BY FIRST_NAME
ON EMP_ID SKIP-LINE
END

The first part of the report output is shown below:

EMP_ID     LAST_NAME        FIRST_NAME                      
------     ---------        ----------                      
                                                            
071382660  STEVENS          ALFRED      CURR_SAL  $11,000.00
                                        INCREASE     $550.00
                                        NEWSAL    $11,550.00
                                                            
112847612  SMITH            MARY        CURR_SAL  $13,200.00
                                        INCREASE     $660.00
                                        NEWSAL    $13,860.00
                                                            
117593129  JONES            DIANE       CURR_SAL  $18,480.00
                                        INCREASE     $924.00
                                        NEWSAL    $19,404.00
                                                            
119265415  SMITH            RICHARD     CURR_SAL   $9,500.00
                                        INCREASE     $475.00
                                        NEWSAL     $9,975.00
                                                            
119329144  BANNING          JOHN        CURR_SAL  $29,700.00

Underlining Values: UNDER-LINE

How to:

Drawing a line across the page after all of the information for a particular section has been displayed can enhance the readability of a printed report.

Syntax: How to Underline Values 

{ON|BY} fieldname UNDER-LINE [WHEN expression;]

where:

fieldname

Is used so that a line is drawn when the value of the field changes. A line is automatically drawn after any other option such as RECAP or SUB-TOTAL (but before PAGE-BREAK).

WHEN expression

Specifies conditional underlines in the printing of a report, as determined by a Boolean expression (see Inserting Page Numbers: TABPAGENO).

Example: Underlining Values

The following example adds an underline when the bank name changes: 

TABLE FILE EMPLOYEE
PRINT EMP_ID AND BANK_ACCT AND LAST_NAME
BY BANK_NAME
ON BANK_NAME UNDER-LINE
END

The request produces the following report:

BANK_NAME             EMP_ID     BANK_ACCT  LAST_NAME      
---------             ------     ---------  ---------      
                      071382660             STEVENS        
                      112847612             SMITH          
                      119265415             SMITH          
                      126724188             ROMANS         
                      219984371             MCCOY          
                      543729165             GREENSPAN      
-----------------------------------------------------------
ASSOCIATED            123764317  819000702  IRVING         
                      326179357  122850108  BLACKWOOD      
                      451123478  136500120  MCKNIGHT       
-----------------------------------------------------------
BANK ASSOCIATION      818692173  163800144  CROSS          
-----------------------------------------------------------
BEST BANK             119329144     160633  BANNING        
-----------------------------------------------------------
STATE                 117593129   40950036  JONES          
-----------------------------------------------------------
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