Instant Web Publishing Guide

Chapter 4 | Designing a database for Instant Web Publishing 27
Layouts are rendered in web browsers using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Not all layout objects
can display with CSS. For example:
1 Avoid diagonal lines, pen patterns, fill patterns, and ovals. They do not display in web browsers.
1 Rounded objects created with FileMaker Pro tools cannot be rendered. For example:
1 Rounded rectangles are displayed as rectangles.
1 Buttons and tabs on tab panels are displayed as rectangles (without rounded corners).
1 Circles are not displayed.
However, Instant Web Publishing can display an image of a rounded object. You can use
FileMaker Pro layout tools to draw a rounded object, use the screen-capture feature of your
operating system to create an image of the object, then paste or insert the image onto your
FileMaker Pro layout. This alternative doesn’t work for rounded tabs, though.
1 Complex or layered pictures are not rendered properly. It’s best to create composite pictures in
a drawing program, then paste the image into the FileMaker
Pro layout.
1 If your images have transparent components, use the GIF file format.
1 For forms and reports, make fields large enough to display and print the data. In the web
browser, fields do not expand when they are active and the field contents do not wrap. You can
format fields to display a scroll bar so users can view the field contents.
1 A timestamp field should not be formatted to display a drop-down calendar. The calendar and
optional calendar icon are not displayed for timestamp fields in Browse and Find modes.
1 Arrange fields formatted as a checkbox set or radio button set with the value lists displayed
horizontally for best results.
1 Radio buttons and checkboxes display as standard HTML controls. If they are getting cropped,
enlarge the fields on the FileMaker
Pro layout.
1 Buttons can display multiple lines of text if you include Return characters between the lines.
Make sure the button is large enough to accommodate the text in supported web browsers.
1 Instant Web Publishing offers limited text styles. Paragraph text styles, tab stops, and vertical
alignment are not supported. Additionally, underline, word underline and double underline are
all rendered as regular underline. Evaluate your layouts in all supported web browsers before
sharing the database with others.
1 Web users can view text highlighting that is specified in the layout. However, web users cannot
add or make changes to text highlighting by using the buttons in the status area. To allow web
users to highlight text, you must include a button in the layout that executes a FileMaker
Pro
script. To highlight text, you can use the TextStyleAdd script step with the HighlightYellow style,
and the TextStyleRemove script step to remove the HighlightYellow style.
1 If layout text is wrapping to a new line, increase the size of the text boundaries in the
FileMaker
Pro layout. For example, if the text is aligned left, drag the lower right handle slightly
towards the right.
1 The FileMaker Pro Title Header, Title Footer, and Summary layout parts are not supported and
should be removed from layouts used with Instant Web Publishing.