Help

Adding and viewing data
F
ILEMAKER PRO HELP 72
• If you use the drop-down calendar to enter a date into an empty timestamp field,
FileMaker
Pro enters the date you select and inserts midnight as the time portion. If you use
the drop-down calendar to change an existing timestamp, FileMaker
Pro changes the date
portion only, preserving the existing time portion.
• When working with files created on a computer using different system formats, you can
choose whether to view data in its original system formats or in your own system formats. To
use your own formats, verify that Use System Formats is checked on the Format menu.
See
Opening files with different system formats.
• A field can be defined to make sure data is entered in a specific format, or within a certain
range. For example, you may be required to enter a four-digit year in a date. See
Defining
field validation.
• You may not be able to enter or change data in some fields (for example, calculation or
summary fields, or fields that are formatted to prevent entry). You can copy the contents of
calculation and summary fields to other fields.
• If you mix numbers and text in a number field that's used in a calculation or summary field,
FileMaker
Pro ignores the text when performing the calculation or summary.
• Numbers can be entered using scientific notation, for example: 1.23e+15 or 1.23e-15.
• You can view and print only the data that fits within the field boundaries. You can change the
boundaries by resizing the field in Layout mode. See Resizing and reshaping objects.
• There are other ways to enter data, like importing or copying it from another source, pasting
a value from the field index, using a related table, and setting options to automatically enter
the data when you create a record.
• You cannot type text directly into a container field. To enter text in a container field, copy the
text, then paste it into the field.
• As you type text into a field, you can undo and redo your entries by choosing Edit menu >
Undo
Typing or Edit menu > Redo Typing.
• For information on entering special characters such as accent marks, see the Help for your
operating system.
Related topics
Copying and moving data in records
Entering preset data from a value list
Restoring data in records
Using a field index
Inserting the current date or other variables into a field
Using data in container fields
Moving text and data with drag and drop
You can use drag and drop to transfer information within a FileMaker Pro database, between
databases, or between FileMaker
Pro and other applications that support drag and drop.
For example, you can drag a number or text from one field and drop it into another field in the same
database. Or, you can drag text from a Microsoft Word document into a FileMaker Pro text field. You
can also drag and drop data between layouts, between
container fields, and between layouts and
container fields, either in the same database or between different databases.
In FileMaker Pro, you can use drag and drop in Browse mode, Find mode, or Layout mode.
Note Drag and drop must be enabled in Preferences. See Setting general preferences.