User manual

Table Of Contents
Chapter 3 | Creating databases 81
Using the Inspector to position objects
Use the Inspector to precisely position or size objects on a layout. Or you can set objects to
automatically resize or move horizontally or vertically when the FileMaker
Pro window is resized.
Horizontal settings also apply to Preview mode and printing when the page size is wider than the
size of the layout being viewed or printed.
When layout objects are set to resize, they maintain a constant distance from the object to which
they are anchored. This allows objects to move, expand, or contract when the FileMaker
Pro
window is resized.
Anchor points are either the layout margin or the container margin in which an object resides. By
default, objects are anchored on both the top and left side of the layout or page.
Precisely positioning or sizing objects
1. In Layout mode, select one or more objects.
For more information, see “Selecting objects” on page 84.
2. Click Inspector in the layout bar, then click Position.
3. In the Position area, type a new value into one of the fields.
4. Type a new value in one of the following fields.
If you can't type a value, that field doesn't make sense for the selected object (for example, a
horizontal line doesn't have a height), or the selection is locked.
5. Press Enter or Tab, or click outside the Inspector to apply the changes.
Note To change the unit of measure, do one of the following:
1 Right-click a ruler and choose a unit of measure from the shortcut menu.
1 Click the upper-left corner of the document where the horizontal and vertical rulers meet.
1 In the Inspector, click the unit of measure, which appears next to many options.
Field Indicates
Name The name of the selected object (optional). You can assign names to objects and grouped
objects.
Some script steps and functions use these names to specify which object to act upon. For
more information, see Help.
Left The distance from the left edge of the selection to the left edge of the layout.
Top The distance from the top of the selection to the top of the layout.
Right The distance from the right edge of the selection to the left edge of the layout.
Bottom The distance from the bottom of the selection to the top of the layout.
Width The object's width.
Height The object's height.