User manual

Table Of Contents
Chapter 3 | Designing and creating solutions 75
Deciding where to place related fields
You can place related fields directly on layouts or in portals.
1 Directly on layouts: Place related fields directly on a layout to display data from the first related
record, even when there are multiple related records that match the criteria of the relationship.
(The first related record that’s displayed is determined by whether the relationship specifies a
sort order. For more information, see
“Creating relationships” on page 94.)
1 In portals: Place related fields within a portal on a layout to display data from all related records
that match the criteria of the relationship.
Note Before placing related fields on a layout, you should understand the concepts presented in
chapter 4, “Working with related tables and files.”
About merge fields
Use merge fields to combine field data and text in documents like form letters, labels, envelopes,
or contracts. You create merge fields in text blocks, which allows you to use static text and field
data together.
Merge fields shrink or expand to fit the amount of text in the field for each record. For example:
1 When the merge field <<First Name>> is between the text Dear and a colon, (as in Dear
<<First Name>>:), FileMaker
Pro displays Dear Charles: in Browse mode or Preview mode if
the First Name field contains
Charles.
1 When a merge field is on a line by itself (such as an empty Address Line 2 field in a mailing
label), FileMaker
Pro removes the blank line from the text block.
FileMaker Pro uses merge fields to create Labels and Envelopes layouts. See “Creating Labels
and Envelopes layouts” on page 58.
Note You can also use a merge variable to display data.
Each form letter will include a different address and salutation