Report items are used in the report depending on the data that will be displayed, for example, a [TextBox]({%slug telerikreporting/designing-reports/report-structure/textbox%}) item for static or data-bound text, a [PictureBox]({%slug telerikreporting/designing-reports/report-structure/picturebox%}) for displaying images, a [Barcode]({%slug telerikreporting/designing-reports/report-structure/barcode/overview%}) for showing barcode in a label report, and so on.
Every report item is an instance of the [`ReportItemBase`](/api/Telerik.Reporting.ReportItemBase) class. Report items can reside inside report sections or containers such as [Panel]({%slug telerikreporting/designing-reports/report-structure/panel%}) or [Table, Crosstab, or List]({%slug telerikreporting/designing-reports/report-structure/table-crosstab-list/overview%}) items.
Alternatively, select the section of the report where you want the report item to appear by clicking the section header. Then, double-click the report item in the **Toolbox**. You can also select the report item in the **Toolbox** and draw a bounding rectangle to indicate the area the report item will occupy.
There are several approaches for selecting a report item or section depending on its position with respect to the other parts of the report definition.
* The report item/section is on the surface, i.e. doesn't serve as a parent or container for other items:
* Hover over the item/section in the __Report Sections__ area of the designer and when the cross hair cursor appears, click on it.
* Find the report section or item in the report definition tree in the [Report Explorer]({%slug telerikreporting/designing-reports/report-designer-tools/desktop-designers/tools/report-explorer%}) of the designer and click on it to select it also in the __Report Sections__ area.
* The report item/section contains and is covered by other report items:
* From the __Report Sections__ area of the designer:
1. Select any of the report items within the desired one.
1. Press `Esc` button to move the focus one level up to the parent element. You may need to repeat this step until you reach the needed report item or section.
* From the [Report Explorer]({%slug telerikreporting/designing-reports/report-designer-tools/desktop-designers/tools/report-explorer%}) of the designer:
Find the report section or item in the report definition tree and click on it. It will be automatically selected also in the __Report Sections__ area of the designer. You may need to expand the parent section or items if the desired report item is child of any. To expand the container, click on the _plus_ sign beside it in the _Report Explorer_.
To remove blank vertical space in a container, such as a report section or panel item, whenever you control the visibility of report items in runtime, set its respective height to a very small value, for exampe, `1mm`.
A Section or a Panel item can expand to accommodate their children but cannot shrink or take space that is no longer occupied. To make a section or a panel to shrink only at runtime, set its `Height` property in the report constructor and place the `Height` property assignment code right after the `IntializeComponent()` method call.
