Instant Web Publishing Guide

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.
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 Arrange fields formatted as a checkbox set or radio button set with the value lists displayed horizontally
for best results.
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.