Anchors

Using Report Anchors

Anchors allow you to create clickable navigation inside a Articles report. They work like links on a web page: clicking a control jumps to another location within the prepared report.

Typical uses include:

• Table of contents
• Jumping to sections in long reports
• “Back to top” links
• Navigation between summary and detail sections

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Creating an anchor

Every anchor must have a unique name. Anchors are created in the report script using the report engine.

Syntax:

Engine.AddAnchor('AnchorName');

You usually add anchors in a control event, such as OnBeforePrint.

Example:

procedure Memo4OnBeforePrint(Sender: TfrxComponent);
begin
  Engine.AddAnchor('InventorySection');
end;

When this memo prints, Articles records its position and assigns it the anchor name InventorySection.

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Creating a link to an anchor

To make a control clickable, use its Hyperlink property. In this example, we use a TfrxMemoView.

1. Select the memo (or any view object).
2. In the Object Inspector, expand Hyperlink.
3. Set:
   • Kind = hkAnchor
   • Value = InventorySection (or the anchor name you used in script)

When the report is previewed:

• The mouse cursor changes to a hand pointer over the memo.
• Clicking the memo jumps directly to the object where the anchor was created.

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Example workflow

1. Add an anchor at a section header (in script):

Engine.AddAnchor('TopOfReport');

2. Add a clickable link to that anchor (in the memo’s Hyperlink):

• Kind = hkAnchor
• Value = TopOfReport

Result:
Clicking the memo scrolls the preview to the anchor location.

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Notes and best practices

• Anchor names must be unique within the report.
• Anchor navigation works in:
  • Report preview
  • PDF export
  • HTML export
• Anchors do not affect layout, band size, or print order.
• Avoid spaces in anchor names; use simple identifiers like:
  • Section1
  • CustomerList
  • TopOfPage