PRB: Inconsistent Field Width on Report Writer .FRX Form

• Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, versions 2.5 and 2.5a

SYMPTOMS

On the .FRX form, the Report Writer displays different lengths for fields specified to contain the same number of characters. Specifically, a numeric field appears shorter than a character field of the same length. However, the report appears correct in Print Preview and printed output.

CAUSE

All numbers are the same width independent of the font chosen to display the numbers. However, characters in a font have varying widths. The length of a character field is calculated using the average width of the characters of the font and an additional factor to increase the width.

STATUS

This behavior is expected based on the design of the fonts in Microsoft Windows.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Problem

1. Create a database (for example, NUM_CHAR.DBF) with the following fields:

         Name      Type           Length
         -------------------------------
   
         CHAR1     Character      1
         NUM1      Numeric        1
         CHAR2     Character      2
         NUM2      Numeric        2
         CHAR3     Character      3
         NUM3      Numeric        3
         CHAR4     Character      4
         NUM4      Numeric        4
         CHAR5     Character      5
         NUM5      Numeric        5
   
   

2. Create a quick report for this database.