User manual

Customizing layouts 7-5
To change, duplicate, or delete a value list:
1. Choose File menu > Define Value Lists.
2. In the Define Value Lists dialog box:
3. In the Define Value Lists dialog box, click Done.
Keep these points in mind:
1 You can also use a value list to validate the values entered for any
field. This keeps data accurate by preventing users from entering
values that aren’t in the value list. (See “Defining field validation”
on page 5-9.) And, you can sort records in the order of a value list,
for example, sort by month or region. (See “Sorting records” on
page 3-8.)
1 FileMaker Pro sorts value list items created from values in a field
alphabetically, and duplicate values are not displayed.
1 Redefining a value list item after data has been entered might cause
unexpected results. For example, if you change a value list item from
Accessory to Accessories, the field will appear to be empty on
layouts where the field is formatted as a checkbox or radio button.
Also, you will not find the existing records if you search for
Accessories. For information on replacing values in fields, see
“Replacing data in fields” on page 2-10.
1 If you have chosen to generate a value list from values in a field
(Use values from field) and you’re also displaying associated values
from a second field, when a user chooses a value for this field in
Browse mode, the value from the second, associated field is not
stored in the field—only the first field is captured.
About displaying only a subset of field values in a value list
If you are generating the values in a value list from a field, you can
have FileMaker Pro dynamically change the value list’s values based
on the values in a second field. In other words, the value list will only
display values in the first field from related records where the
relationship definition is met by a value entered into the second field.
For example, imagine you have a database called Product that
tracked a large number of inventory items. You could define a value
list and assign it to the Product Name field to display only a subset
of those items based on values in a second field, Category. During
data entry, when you specify the value of the Category field (for
example, Accessory), only the Product Name values where the
Category equals Accessory show up in the value list. Similarly, if the
value of Category changes to Clothing, the values for Product Name
change to those records where Category matched Clothing.
To Do this
Change the values in a value list
or how the values in a dynamic
value list are generated
In the list of value list names, select the value
list, then click Edit. In the Edit Value List
dialog box, make changes.Then, click OK.
Duplicate a value list In the list of names, select the value list, then
click Duplicate.
Delete a value list In the list of names, select the value list, then
click Delete. In the confirmation dialog box,
click Delete again.
Value list based on key field value “Accessory”
Value list based on key field value “Clothing”