Use dynamic report elements

Dynamic elements in a report change based on the current properties of the report. When element properties update, the corresponding photo or report text updates.

Note:

Dynamic elements used in a report do not carry through to supplemental pages; however, you can designate a supplemental page to include page numbers defined in the report header or footer. Those elements that originate on a supplemental page reflect their origination properties, not the report properties.

Add a dynamic photo to a report to enhance its appearance by showing an image captured alongside the attribute data.

You can add dynamic text for things such as the file path of a project, the date a report was exported, or a summary statistic.

Dynamic text elements use tags, similar to HTML, so you can combine dynamic and static text in a single text element and apply the available formatting options to customize the resulting text display. When dynamic text is added to a report, only the label appears. The actual value is shown when the report is exported to a PDF. You can format text properties of dynamic text elements, such as font, size, color, and position, or you can edit the tags to modify the output value.

The following is an example of a dynamic text tag for page numbers as shown in the Text View Text View box in the Format Text pane:

Page <dyn type="report" property="current-page"/> of <dyn type="report" property="total-pages"/>

In Tag View Tag View, the tags are collapsed into buttons. Click these buttons to change the value being used. In the report view, you see the following result:

Page {Current Page} of {Total pages}

Add a dynamic picture element

Dynamic pictures allow you to reference pictures in the index layer included as attachments, raster fields, URLs, or file paths. If the value in the field is empty for a particular index feature, no picture is displayed.

To add a dynamic picture to a report, complete the following steps:

  1. Select the details section of the report.

    Dynamic pictures are available for the details section of a report only.

  2. On the Insert tab, in the Data group, click Dynamic Picture Dynamic Picture.
  3. In the Insert Dynamic Picture dialog box, choose the field containing the attachment or raster from the Field drop-down gallery.
  4. Alternatively, if the full picture name is not in the field, or if pictures are available in multiple fields, you can set an Arcade expression to specify the correct picture. Click the Expression button Set an expression to open the expression builder and write the Arcade expression.

    The following is an example Arcade expression that creates a picture URL by concatenating two fields and using static text to provide the correct URL format:

    Concatenate two fields and add static text to generate a URL.

    "https://" + $feature.DomainName + TextFormatting.BackwardSlash + $feature.URLFileName + ".jpg"

  5. In the report view, click to place the dynamic picture element in the details section of the report.

    Optionally, click and drag a box to place the dynamic picture element.

Add a dynamic text element

Complete the following steps to add a dynamic text element to a report:

  1. Select the section in the report to which you will add dynamic text.
  2. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Dynamic Text Add Dynamic Text.
  3. Choose a dynamic text element from the gallery.

    Using the gallery is the most common way to add a dynamic text element, but you can also type a dynamic text element directly in the Format Text pane.

  4. In the report view, click to place the dynamic text element in the selected section of the report.

    Optionally, click and drag a box to place the dynamic text element.

Modify a dynamic text element

Once you've added a dynamic text element to a report, you can change the way the text looks or edit the tag syntax to update the output value. There are three ways to modify a dynamic text element in a report:

  • Under the Text tab, on the Format tab, you can modify the text symbol, size, and position.
  • In the Contents pane, expand the report section and double-click the dynamic text element to open the Format Text pane to view and edit the dynamic text tag.
    Tip:

    It is recommended that the text symbol gallery be viewed by category, as this allows report elements to be grouped by styling category instead of as one long listing.

  • Double-click the dynamic text element in the report view and type new text or text tags for the element directly in the view. Click away from the selected element to commit the changes.

Dynamic text tags are displayed in the Element pane in either Tag View Tag View or Text View Text View. The Tag View button Tag View represents the dynamic text element. Click it to edit the tag in the input box. Click the Text View button Text View to show the plain text for the full dynamic text together with any static text.

Dynamic text element categories

The dynamic text tags are sorted into categories. Reports support the following categories of grouped tags:

  • Report—Returns property values of the current report
  • System—Returns the current date and time or user property values
  • Page Number—Returns the page number and count property values
  • Project—Returns property values of the project

Additional report-specific tags include the following:

  • Summary statistics—Returns the requested statistical value for the report
  • Field value—Returns the requested field value for that record
Note:

Field values are automatically added in the Details section and any Group Header sections. Summary statistics are included in all Group Footer and Report Footer sections. You can add additional statistics directly from the ribbon after report creation.

Report tags

You can use tags with type="layout" in both layouts and reports. The following table lists the available tags for report information:

Report

DescriptionExample syntax

Date Exported

<dyn type="layout" name="ReportName" property="dateExported" format= "short|short"/>

Metadata

When you select this option from the menu, a text element containing a set of metadata tags is inserted. See the Report metadata table below for details.

Name

<dyn type="layout" name="ReportName" property="name"/>

Report metadata

DescriptionExample syntax

Title

<dyn type="layout" property="metadata" attribute="title"/>

Tags

<dyn type="layout" property="metadata" attribute="tags"/>

Summary

<dyn type="layout" property="metadata" attribute="summary"/>

Description

<dyn type="layout" property="metadata" attribute="description"/>

Credits

<dyn type="layout" property="metadata" attribute="credits"/>

Use Limit

<dyn type="layout" property="metadata" attribute="uselimit"/>

System tags

The following table lists the available tags for system information:

System

DescriptionExample syntax

Current Time

<dyn type="time" format=""/>

User

<dyn type="user"/>

Note:

Select Current Time from the Dynamic Text gallery on the Insert tab to insert a piece of text with both the current date and current time tags. The result in the Format Text pane is Current Time: <dyn type="date" format=""/> <dyn type="time" format=""/>. You can format date and time dynamic text values in many ways.

Page number tags

The following tags are available for page number information:

Page number

DescriptionExample syntax

Page Number

<dyn type="report" property="current-page"/>

Page Count

<dyn type="report" property="total-pages"/>

Page Number of Count

<dyn type="report" property="current-page"/> of <dyn type="report" property="total-pages"/>

Project tags

The following tags are used to list information based off current project settings. Click the Project tab and click Options to review these settings:

Project

DescriptionExample syntax

Default Folder

<dyn type="project" property="defaultFolder"/>

Default Geodatabase

<dyn type="project" property="defaultGeodatabase"/>

Default Toolbox

<dyn type="project" property="defaultToolbox"/>

Folder

<dyn type="project" property="folder"/>

Name

<dyn type="project" property="name"/>

Path

<dyn type="project" property="path"/>

Date Saved

<dyn type="project" property="dateSaved" format="short|short"/>

Summary statistics tags

The following tags are available for tabular statistic information:

Summary Statistics

DescriptionExample syntax

Count

<dyn type="report" property="field-count" field="FieldName"/>

Mean

<dyn type="report" property="field-mean" field="FieldName"/>

Median

<dyn type="report" property="field-median" field="FieldName"/>

Maximum

<dyn type="report" property="field-max" field="FieldName"/>

Minimum

<dyn type="report" property="field-min" field="FieldName"/>

Standard Deviation

<dyn type="report" property="field-stddev" field="FieldName"/>

Sum

<dyn type="report" property="field-sum" field="FieldName"/>

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