Printing reports is often the most important job of a database. The commands in this section allow you to use 4th DIMENSlON's flexible reporting capabilities.
BREAK LEVEL
FORM FEED
 Level
 ACCUMULATE
PAGE SETUP
PRINT LABEL
PRINT LAYOUT
 REPORT
PRINT SELECTION
 Subtotal
PRINT SETTINGS
Printing page
You can use the PRINT SELECTION, PRINT LAYOUT, and PRINT LABEL commands to generate reports with layouts created in the Design environment. You can use the  REPORT and PRINT LABEL commands to generate reports without using layouts.
A report printed with a layout can have almost any kind of design. The report can include graphics, and the elements making up the report can be arranged in any manner. A report printed with a layout also executes the associated layout procedure, which gives tremendous processing capabilities.
Reports generated with the Quick Report and Label editors are usually simpler in design. The user can design a report *from scratch by using these editors. The report designs can be stored on disk. These reports do not use layouts and therefore do not execute layout procedures.
The three primary reporting commands,  REPORT, PRINT SELECTION, and PRINT LAYOUT, vary in degree of flexibility. Generally, the more flexible a command is, the more you as a designer need to do to generate a report.
 REPORT is the simplest report generator. It uses the same Quick Report editor that you use in the User environment. The user interface is a simple point, click, and drag interface. The style of a report is a row and column format that can include headers, footers, different fonts and styles, formatting, formulas, breaks, totals, calculations, and multicolumn variable-length text. The report can be printed to a high-speed serial device. The report can also be converted to a graph or an ASCII file.
PRINT SELECTION is the most commonly used printing command. It uses an output layout that can be of any design. The command allows headers, footers, different fonts and styles, formatting, formulas, breaks, totals, and calculations. Simple reports can be generated without layout procedures, but most reports will include a layout procedure and scripts to process the report.
PRINT LAYOUT is the most flexible of all the printing commands and also the most demanding for the designer. It allows you to mix different layouts on the same page and to include form feeds at any time during the report. PRINT LAYOUT is used for the most complex printing jobs.
PRINT LABEL can print labels with a layout, providing a high degree of flexibility, or it can use the Label editor as provided in the User environment, letting the user design the label as needed. Since it can print records side-by-side, this command can also be used to generate unusual reports.
All of the print commands except for PRINT LAYOUT, print the current selection. It is common to sort the selection before printing.
When a user prints a report, he or she may elect to preview it on the screen. During printing, 4th DIMENSION displays the current page being printed and the status of the print job. If the user previews it on the screen, he or she may print the current page by clicking the Print button.
The user may cancel printing by clicking the Stop Printing button. If the user cancels printing either by clicking this button or by canceling a printer dialog box, the OK system variable is set to 0. If the printing is successful, the OK system variable is set to 1.
