Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Resizing and Moving a Portal
Just like any other layout object, a portal shows selection handles when you click to select it.
But the location of its bottom selection handles may surprise you. They're at the bottom of
the portal's first row, not at the bottom edge of the portal. If you drag the bottom middle se-
lection handle downward, you change the row height and
not
the number of rows the portal
will display. That's useful where you want to show lots of data from each related record and
a single row of fields won't get the job done. You can change the width of a portal by drag-
ging one of the middle handles on either side or by using the Width box on the Inspector's
Position tab.
To move a portal, click to select it and then drag it to the new location. When you do, all the
fields move along with it. So it's safest to click in the gray area below the fields, because if
you click a field and then drag, only the field you click will move. You may want to move
fields within their portal—say to rearrange their order or to scoot them around to make room
for new fields—but make sure they stay inside the border of the portal's top row. If they're
off by even a point, two problems can occur. First, only one row of data from the related
table will appear, no matter how many related records there are. Second, if you try to move
the portal, the fields that stick their necks up get left behind when you drag the portal.
Delete a portal by clicking it and then pressing the Delete key (or choosing Edit→Clear).
The portal and its fields are deleted together. You can copy a portal and its fields with the
Copy and Paste commands or keyboard shortcuts. But the Shift-drag (Option-drag) shortcut
is quickest. See the box on
Power to the Portal
to learn why you might want to copy a portal.
Adding Rows to a Portal
Making a portal taller doesn't give you more rows. If you want to add more rows, change its
options. Do that by double-clicking on the portal to make the Portal Setup dialog box appear.
That's the same one you saw when you created the portal. To add or remove rows, just type
the number you want in the “Number of rows” field. When you click OK, the portal will res-
ize to accommodate its new settings.
