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How do I get an object that will both extend vertically to fill a section AND have a background determined by a formula?

Goal

Create a table.

Problem

The first column of the table is text, and sometimes has to extend down to the next line. Meanwhile the other columns need to become gray based on some external conditions. These boxes will also have content, assuming a grey background is not applied.

The Reason I'm Asking

When I search for an solution to this problem, I am confronted with conflicting answers, telling me to use one or another of options, neither of which fill my requirements.

  1. Text fields only extend when their text requires them to, and will not fill a section.
  2. Text fields can have their background controlled by a formula.
  3. Boxes are able to extend automatically to fill a section.
  4. Boxes do not have any properties controllable by formulas.

Does anyone know how to deal with this problem at all? I have even seen suggestions to stack objects and suppress them, but this will not work for boxes, which cannot have a formula applied to their suppress.

EXAMPLE:

CheckTable

Solution

  • It turns out they eventually fixed this issue in a later version of Crystal Reports: enter image description here

    This is available in version 13, SP19.