User manual

Chapter 2
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Creating databases 63
Deciding where to place related fields
You can place related fields directly on layouts or in portals.
1 Directly on layouts: Place related fields directly on a layout to
display data from the first related record, even when there are more
than one related records that matches the criteria of the relationship.
(The first related record that’s displayed is determined by whether the
relationship specifies a sort order. For more information, see
“Creating relationships” on page 76.)
1 In portals: Place related fields within a portal on a layout to display
data from all related records that match the criteria of the relationship.
Note Before placing related fields on a layout, you should understand
the concepts presented in chapter 3, “Working with related tables and
files.”
About merge fields
Use merge fields to combine field data and text in documents like form
letters, labels, envelopes, or contracts. You create merge fields in text
blocks, which allows you to use static text and field data together.
Merge fields shrink or expand to fit the amount of text in the field for
each record. For example:
1 When the merge field <<First Name>> is between the text Dear
and a colon, (as in Dear <<First Name>>:), FileMaker Pro displays Dear
Charles:
in Browse mode or Preview mode if the First Name field
contains
Charles.
1 When a merge field is on a line by itself (such as an empty
Address Line 2 field in a mailing label), FileMaker Pro removes the
blank line from the text block.
FileMaker Pro uses merge fields to create Labels and Envelope layouts.
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.