User manual

56 FileMaker Pro User’s Guide
Formatting field data on a layout
Use FileMaker Pro field formats to control how data appears on a
layout. The formats you specify don’t change the data as it’s stored
in the database, and you can specify different formats each time you
place a field on a layout (whether it’s on the same layout or a different
layout). For example, if you enter
–5123 into a number field, you
can format it in one place to display as
–$5,123.00 and in another place
as
<5123>.
FileMaker Pro applies field formatting in the following precedence:
1 If you don’t specify formats, FileMaker Pro displays numbers,
dates, and times based on the system formats set in
Regional Options
control panel (Windows) or the International pane in the System
Preferences application (Mac
OS) when the file was created.
1 In FileMaker Pro, you can specify display formats for text,
number, date, time, timestamp, or container fields with no objects
selected. FileMaker Pro applies these default formats to fields you
place on layouts later. For number, date, time, and timestamp fields,
these display formats override the system formats.
Specifying text formats for fields
In Layout mode, you can specify a set of text character attributes for
each field. All the characters in that instance of the field (including
all repetitions of repeating fields) share the same font, size, style,
color, line spacing, tab, and paragraph settings.
Note You can also format characters in text fields in Browse mode
(for example, italicize or underline a word for emphasis). Unlike text
formatting specified in Layout mode, this formatting is stored with
the data, and you see it in any layout that displays that field.
1. In Layout mode, select one or more fields, then choose Format
menu >
Text.
Or, to set text formats for fields you place later, start with no fields
selected.
2. In the Text Format dialog box, select the formats you want to use.
You see examples of the options you choose in the Sample area.
Specifying formats for fields containing numbers
You can control how FileMaker Pro displays the values in number
fields, calculation fields with numeric results, and summary fields.
1. In Layout mode, select one or more fields that display numeric
values.
2. Choose Format menu > Number.
3. In the Number Format dialog box, select the formats you want to
use.
You see examples of the options you choose in the Sample area.
4. Click OK.
Choose text
attributes
Select one or
more styles
Set options
for negative
values
Specify font, style,
size, line spacing,
alignment, and color
C
hoose options
for Boolean or
decimal
numbers and
currency
Set options for
displaying
different
Japanese
numeral types
Define the symbols for
thousands, decimal, and
Kanji separators