Using a dynamic text element
You can place a dynamic text element directly on the page or in any of the container elements. Typically, you place it in a table or a list because the dynamic text element displays CLOB data from a data set field, and only the table and list elements iterate through the rows in a data set.
Unlike most data set fields, you do not simply drag a CLOB field from Data Explorer and drop it in the table or list. You can, but if the CLOB data is HTML text, the data element displays the contents of the field exactly as it appears, including the HTML tags. The dynamic text element, on the other hand, is designed to correctly display data that is stored as HTML.
As with any element that displays data set data, you must create a column binding that refers to the data set field. The column binding, in turn, needs access to the data set. If you insert the dynamic text element in a table or list that is already bound to a data set, the column binding has access to the data set. If the table or list is not bound with a data set, first bind the table or list with the data set.
How to use a dynamic text element
1 Make sure the table or list in which you want to insert a dynamic text element is bound to the data set that contains the CLOB data. To verify or create the data set binding, perform the following tasks:
1 Select the table or list.
2 In Property Editor, choose the Binding tab.
3 In the Binding page, in Data Set, select the data set. BIRT creates a column binding for each field in the data set.
2 Drag the dynamic text element from the palette, and drop it in the table or list.
3 In the expression builder, choose Available Column Bindings, choose the table under Sub-Category, then double-click the column binding that refers to the data set field that contains the CLOB data. Choose OK to save the expression.
4 In the layout editor, select the dynamic text element. In Property Editor, choose the Properties tab. Property Editor displays the properties of the dynamic text element.
5 Choose General properties, then choose one of the following values for Content type:
*Auto
Choose this value if you do not know the format of the field contents. If the content contains HTML tags, BIRT Report Designer interprets it as HTML and displays the content correctly. If the content is plain text, BIRT Report Designer also displays it correctly.
*HTML
Choose this value if you know that all the field contents are HTML.
*Plain
Choose this value to display the field contents exactly as they appear in the data source. If the content contains HTML tags, BIRT Report Designer displays the HTML tags.
6 Preview the report to verify that the report displays the text from the specified data set field.