Creating a Personalized Template
To create a personalized template, the user needs to open a document in WordPad and save it to the “ReportTemplates” folder in the main installed folder as a Rich Text Format (.rtf) file. Any of the SDS data tags listed in the above section can be used to create a company-specific template. For example, suppose that someone wanted to create a simple template called “NewTemplate” which displays the current date and time the report is printed, the company name, the title of the report, the number of thermocouples used, and the results of the survey. First, the user would open WordPad and save the file as “NewTemplate.rtf” in the “ReportTemplates” folder in the main installed folder. Next, the user would set up any initial formatting settings, such as margin sizes, page layout (portrait or landscape), etc. Now, the user can set up the template to his or her company’s specifications. Suppose that the current date and time will be in the top right corner of the report and should be 10-point Arial font. On the first line, the user can select the right-justified option, the 10-point font size option, and the Arial font option. This will leave the cursor in the top right corner. Next, the user will enter the following exactly (including the brackets): <SDS:PD>. This will be where the current date is displayed. On the next line, the user can enter <SDS:PT>. This will be where the current time is displayed. Now suppose the title of the report should be centered, bold, 14-point Arial font. The user will select the center-justified option, and the 14-point font size option. This will place the cursor in the middle of the line. The user will then enter <SDS:TITLE>. The rest of the report - company name, number of thermocouples used, and the results of the survey - can be left-justified, non-bold, 12-point font. On the next line, the user will select the left-justified option, the 12-point font size option, and deselect the bold option. The user can then enter: Company name: <SDS:COM>. On the next line the user can enter: Number of thermocouples used: <SDS:TCN>. On the next line, the user will enter: Survey results: <SDS:RES>. Next, make sure the document is saved and close the document out. Note: it is always good practice to save a document in progress often in case of power failure. The resulting template should resemble Figure 107 - Completed NewTemplate report template (saved as an RTF file in WordPad) below.
Figure 107 - Completed NewTemplate report template (saved as an RTF file in WordPad)
Next, the user will select the report template to use from the SDSReporter application’s Open option. Clicking on the Open button, 
, next to the Report Template field will allow the user to choose which report template to use (Figure 58 - Report Properties Report Tab). The user can choose the NewTemplate.rtf file. Next, the user will choose the “Export to RTF” print menu option on the File menu and choose the location to save the .rtf file. The actual report should resemble Figure 108 - Actual NewTemplate report below.
