You can define and generate an enhanced background for objects in a report that support a background, such as data containers (lists, crosstabs, and charts), headers, footers, page bodies, and so on. Effects that you can define for the generated background image property include border, fill, drop shadow, and images. You can also apply enhanced backgrounds as a class style.
If the generated image is complex and large, the size of the output may be affected proportionately.
The generated image is only rendered if the data container has a fixed size: if a percentage size is given, IBM Cognos 8 ignores the gradient properties.
Resizing or overflow behavior is ignored for generated images in HTML reports.
Click the element to which to apply the generated background.
Under Color & Background in the Properties pane, double-click the Generated Background Image property.
Select one or more of the following:
To apply a border, click Border and specify settings for border style, width, color, corner radius for rounded rectangles, and transparency.
If the element also includes a fill with a transparency setting, select the Allow transparent bleed check box to apply the same transparency to the border.
To apply a fill effect, click Fill and specify the settings. The fill effect can either be a solid color, a gradient, or a pattern. You can define a gradient fill effect as a linear, radial line, or radial rectangle gradient.
To apply a drop shadow effect, click Drop Shadow and specify the shadow color, transparency value, color, and offset settings. The default horizontal and vertical offset is 5 pixels.
To specify one or more images as a background, click Images. You can specify the transparency value and the position for each defined image. You can also specify a custom position for each image.
Tip: To remove the effect, clear its check box.
Click anywhere in the report page.
In the Properties pane title bar,
click the select ancestor button 
and click Page.
Under Color & Background, double-click the Gradient property.
Select the Gradient check box and then select the colors and direction for the gradient.
Background gradients and drop shadows do not appear in Excel output. They are also supported only for report outputs run in the Internet Explorer Web browser.
Tip: To remove the effect, clear the Gradient check box.
Click the crosstab, list, repeater table, or table in the report.
In the Properties pane title bar,
click the select ancestor button and click Crosstab, List, Repeater
Table, or Table.
Under Color & Background, double-click the Drop Shadow property.
Select the Drop shadow check box and then select the color, offset, and transparency values.
Background gradients and drop shadows do not appear in Excel output. They are also supported only for report outputs run in the Internet Explorer Web browsers.
If you add a drop shadow, ensure that you also specify a background color for the object. Otherwise, if you keep the default transparent background, data values also have a drop shadow and are difficult to read.
Tip: To remove the effect, clear the Drop shadow check box.
