Description Gerald Ploner 2011-10-14 02:33:47 EDT

Build Identifier:  M20110909-1335 (BIRT Version: 3.7.1)

After fixing https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=352067 the generated Word document is modified in comparison to version <=3.7.0. A lot of empty paragraphs are visible and cause in my report:

1) additional space between tables.

2) that the content of all table cells containing a nested grid got an additional empty line (with the exception of the first table row). As there are multiple tables with a lot of rows, the tables are bloated and need more place as necessary.

3) that the dynamical setting of the master page height for a large image, stored within a table containing image slices, doesn't work anymore. Therefore a large image will be wrapped and displayed at 2 pages which should be avoided in my use case (if possible).

I think that in the context of the fix of Bug 352067 the writing of hidden paragraphes was replaced by empty paragraphs...
If I replace in the generated Word document the empty paragraph "<w:p/>" by the hidden paragraph "<w:p><w:rPr><w:vanish w:val="on"/></w:rPr></w:p>" then I have the same, desired layout as if I use Birt 3.7.0.

How can I achieve the same appearance of my report with BIRT 3.7.1 using Word (without displaying paragraphes/formatting characters)?

Possible workarounds:
For 1): I could create a further component library for BIRT >= 3.7.1 and change the layout for all table components (decrease margins, padding...). This is time consuming and I would have to maintain additional rptdesigns in future(we already have to support report generation with BIRT 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.7... in html, pdf and word)

For 3): Calculation of master page height: I could programmatically add an additional height for empty paragraphs (if Birt >= 3.7.1 and format=Word)

For 2): ??? I don't see a workaround. I think it's a bug that the use of a grid within a table cell causes a new line in nearly all table rows and I can't get rid of the display of this empty paragraph (e.g. by toggling the visibility of formatting characters in Word).

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
- Use of multiple tables and a footer (with page number) in the rptdesign
- Use of a grid within a table cell