Custom Report Example - Name Tags

The following example will walk you through the process of creating affordable name tags using the PowerChurch Plus 7 Custom Report Writer. In this example, we will be printing our name tags on Avery 5160 30 Label Sheets.

1. From the Personal Profile menu, select the Custom Reports option.
2. We will begin by adding a new query entitled "Custom Name Tags." To do this, click on the Add button and enter the title. If this is your first time using the Custom Report Writer, you will automatically be prompted to enter a new query title. Click OK.
3. In this example, we will print name tags for all personal profiles. To do this, we will pick a field (Profile First Name) and click Next Step. Then, we will choose an operator (Is not empty). Click Done.
4. At this point, you will be prompted: "Do you want to run this query now?" Click Yes.
5. After a short instructional screen, you will be prompted to select fields to show in the query output. Select Profile First Name by double clicking and then click Done.
6. From the Query Overview Window, deselect "Browse Query Results" and then click Run Query.
7. A small dialog box entitled Setup For Column Layout Report will be displayed. Select Edit Form.
8. At the Report Designer window, double click the grey band labeled Page Header. Adjust its height to .50 inches and click OK. Do the same to the Page Footer band. Finally, adjust the Detail to 1.0 inch.
9. Just above the Page Header band, you will notice a text line that reads First Name. Click on it once and press the Delete key on your keyboard. You will want to do the same for the date and _page fields located just above the Page Footer band at the bottom of the screen.
10. We now need to direct the custom report writer to print our names in three columns. To do this, click on File and go to Page Setup. Adjust the number of columns to 3. In addition, we need to set the Print Area for this report to Whole Page. When you're finished, click OK.
11. You may now want to change the font used to print your name tags. This can be done by clicking once on the field labeled firstname and then selecting Font from the Format menu. Select the desired font and click OK. Names can also be centered by selecting Text Alignment from the Format Menu.
12. For the desired output, move the firstname field to the center of the Detail area. Do this by clicking once on the field and using your arrow keys to move it.
13. To complete this process, click on File and select Close. When prompted to save this report, click Yes.
14. Print this report by selecting Start Report.