Instant Web Publishing Guide
Table Of Contents
- Chapter 1 About publishing FileMaker Pro databases on the web
- Chapter 2 Publishing your database on the web
- Chapter 3 Working with FileMaker databases on the web
- Chapter 4 Designing a database for Instant Web Publishing
- Tips for designing layouts for Instant Web Publishing
- Tips for working with data in a web browser
- General database design considerations
- Working with graphics, sounds, and movies on the web
- Setting the initial layout and view
- Hiding the status area to customize the interface
- Specifying the sort order for web users
- Scripts and Instant Web Publishing
- Hosting databases with FileMaker Server Advanced: an overview
- Documenting your solution
- Chapter 5 Testing, monitoring, and securing your site
- Index
Chapter 4
Designing a database for Instant Web Publishing
With FileMaker Pro, data displayed on a web form with Instant Web Publishing looks and behaves
similarly to a FileMaker layout. When you design solutions that are accessed on the web, there are
some limitations of the technologies that you should be aware of. For example, FileMaker
Pro
layouts are rendered on the web using Cascading Style Sheets, which doesn’t offer as robust
graphics support as the FileMaker
Pro application.
Tips for designing layouts for Instant Web Publishing
FileMaker Pro layouts determine which fields web users see, and how the data is formatted. You
are no longer limited to picking a couple of layouts to display in web views.
1 Like FileMaker Pro, default web layouts can be specified with startup scripts.
1 User accounts and privileges determine which layouts web users can view.
1 Web users can only search on fields that are present on the current layout.
1 If you’re designing layouts specifically for searching, note that web users can’t enter search
criteria for summary, global, or container fields.
Tips for rendering layouts in Instant Web Publishing
Layouts are rendered in web browsers using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Not all layout objects
can display with CSS. For example:
1 Rounded rectangles are displayed as rectangles.
1 Avoid diagonal lines, pen patterns, fill patterns, and ovals. They do not display in web browsers.
1 Buttons are displayed as rectangles (without rounded corners).
1 Complex or layered pictures are not rendered properly. It's best to create composite pictures in a
drawing program, then paste the image into the FileMaker Pro layout.
1 If your images have transparent components, use the GIF file format.
1 For forms and reports, make fields large enough to display and print the data. In the web browser,
fields do not expand when they are active. You can format fields to display a scroll bar so users
can view the field contents.
1 Radio buttons and checkboxes display as standard HTML controls. If they are getting cropped,
enlarge the fields on the FileMaker Pro layout.
1 Instant Web Publishing offers limited text styles. Paragraph text styles, tab stops, and vertical
alignment are not supported. Additionally, underline, word underline and double underline are all
rendered as regular underline. Evaluate your layouts in all supported web browsers before sharing
the database with others.
1 If layout text is wrapping to a new line, increase the size of the text boundaries in the
FileMaker Pro layout. For example, if the text is aligned left, drag the lower right handle slightly
towards the right.
1 Buttons can only display one line of text. Make sure the button is large enough to accommodate
the text in supported web browsers.