User manual

Table Of Contents
Chapter 3 | Creating databases 89
Formatting field data on a layout
Use FileMaker Pro field formats to control how data appears on a layout. The formats you specify
don’t change the data as it’s stored in the database, and you can specify different formats each
time you place a field on a layout (whether it’s on the same layout or a different layout). For
example, if you enter
–5123 into a number field, you can format it in one place to display as
–$5,123.00 and in another place as <5123>.
Note If you don’t specify formats, FileMaker Pro displays numbers, dates, and times based on
the system formats set in the Regional and Language Options control panel (Windows) or the
International pane in the System Preferences (Mac
OS) when the file was created.
Specifying text formats for fields
In Layout mode, you can specify a set of text character attributes for each field. All the characters
in that instance of the field (including all repetitions of repeating fields) share the same font, size,
style, color, line spacing, tab, and paragraph settings.
Note You can also format characters in text fields in Browse mode (for example, italicize or
underline a word for emphasis). Unlike text formatting specified in Layout mode, this formatting is
stored with the data, and you see it in any layout that displays that field.
1. In Layout mode, select one or more fields.
2. Click Inspector in the layout bar, then click Appearance.