Developer’s Guide

Preparing and managing runtime solutions 3-11
Graphics
If you’re storing and displaying graphics across platforms, be sure to
select the Document Preference for Store compatible graphics before
importing the graphic. Then two copies of the graphic image will be
stored: the original version (for example, bitmap, metafile, or GIF) as
well as a PICT file format.
Graphics containing gradients
Graphics with gradients that are imported and stored as bitmaps will
redraw faster onscreen than graphics imported and stored as PICT
images. Additionally, PICT images containing gradients may have some
quality degradation when displayed on Windows.
Note Pasting a graphic into a FileMaker Pro container field will store the
graphic as a PICT image. To store a graphic as a different file format,
use the Import Picture command in the File menu.
If your graphic image has an undesirable white border surrounding an
irregularly shaped graphic, you should create a mask for the bitmap
image. Refer to the documentation that came with your graphics
program for more information.
Layout tips
Keep these design tips in mind when designing a layout that will display
in both Windows and the Mac OS.
Leave plenty of room
Even when FileMaker Pro is able to match fonts, there can be subtle
differences in character width and line spacing when fonts are
substituted on another platform. FileMaker Pro supports fixed text
object sizes, so that you can resize a text object to be longer than the text
within it. This allows you to anticipate changes in font size. Resize your
text objects so they are a little wider than the default to prevent text from
wrapping to a second line when you take a file cross-platform.
Note Editing a text object will cause the text handles to snap to the size
of the text.