Database Reference
In-Depth Information
UP TO SPEED: TAB ORDER AND REPEATING FIELDS
FileMaker treats each repetition of a repeating field as a separate item in the tab order. It's perfectly
legal to have the
last
repetition come right after the
first
—if you're into aggravating the people us-
ing your database. But it can be a real drag to have to click each and every one of those repetitions
when you set the tab order. FileMaker has a nice feature to save you the trouble.
While setting tab orders, first make sure your repeating field is not in the tab order yet (its arrow is
blank). Now click on the field's first repetition: FileMaker gives it a number and the arrow begins to
flash. If you click this flashing arrow
again
, then FileMaker numbers that field's additional repeti-
tions for you, in the logical order.
But the magic doesn't stop there: Suppose you have a series of repeating fields. The standard tab or-
der would go
down
each column before moving to the next one, but you'd prefer to tab
across
the
rows first. For example, if you're sitting in the first Quantity field, you want to tab into the Product
field, then the Price field. Then once you've completed a row, you want the next tab to take you to
the next one.
FileMaker can automatically do this kind of numbering for you, too. When setting the tab order,
click the first Quantity field. It gets a number and begins to flash. Now click the first Product field
and then the first Price field. The arrow by the Quantity field continues to flash. Once you've done
these three clicks, click the flashing arrow again. FileMaker now numbers all your repetitions prop-
erly.
In general, you click the repeating fields in the order you want them tabbed to. When you're done,
click the
first
one again to let FileMaker know to proceed auto-numbering them. FileMaker fills out
each row of repetitions matching this order. To learn all about tab order techniques, see
Tab Order
.
The same basic trick applies if you need to
insert
a field into the tab order, too. For instance,
if you add a new field that should go between 2 and 3 in the tab order, just give it the number
3 spot. When you do, FileMaker automatically bumps number 3 up to 4 (and so on) for you.
UP TO SPEED: BUTTONS AND TAB ORDER
Since buttons (which you'll learn how to create in the next chapter) are an important part of how
people interact with your database, FileMaker makes the buttons as convenient as possible. It even
lets folks operate them from the keyboard. When you set the tab order for your layout (Layout-
s→Set Tab Order), you can put buttons in the mix. If a button is in the tab order, you can tab to it in
Browse mode (it gets a thick black outline) and then press the space bar to “click” the button.
While you're at it, you can put Tab Controls in the tab order, too. Once again, the space bar switches
tabs.
If you include important buttons and tabs in the tab order, then people can breeze through complex
data entry tasks without separating hand and keys. They'll thank you.