User-based Value Lists
FileMaker provides a wonderfully easy interface for adding values to a value list. You simply type in values to be presented within your Pop-up, Drop-down, Radio or Checkbox field. Set the field to use the value list and you're good to go.
The problem, however, is being stuck with those values and then scripting an entire solution around them. If you know for 100% sure - of course, who's ever 100% sure - they will never change, and you're only EVER going to work in that one database within that one single language, then you'll need little of what this video presents. Of course, you'll miss out on some great tips.
If, however, you relish in flexibility and control, this video will present some of the most useful information you may discover about value lists. The video will show you how to account for user specific values and how to centralize your control over these values and how they are presented.
You'll even learn how to precisely control the presentational order of the values within the user interface. We're talking about centralized, multi-lingual, permissions-based, full developer sorting controlled value lists.
Comments
Looks ugly in Windows XP
The BOM character is displayed as a box in front of the value text. It makes it easy to see how the technique works but I wouldn't use it for an application due to the displayed boxes.
It should depend on the font
Various fonts render certain characters differently. I'm wondering if you don't have some setting somewhere that is showing the boxes. In both my Mac and Windows versions of FileMaker 12.0v2 I don't see any boxes.
Since I don't have a WinXP box where I'm running 12 I would certainly adjust what characters are used to accomplish the sort.
-- Matt Petrowsky - ISO FileMaker Magazine Editor
Boxes on Windows XP
It must be a Windows XP issue. I tried all sorts of decimal values of various Unicode characters. In all cases, if the character is not a displayable character, it is rendered as a box. The space (32) character works best, but it gives an increasing indent to the value list items.
Boxes on Windows XP
Same Experience as Mark on my Windows XP box – No problem on Windows 7 box. Because my XP box is a recent clean config’ I would agree “…It must be a Windows XP issue” not perhaps “…some setting somewhere that is showing the boxes.”
As the majority of Filmmaker Inc. customers and likewise businesses’ remain using Windows, most still on XP systems in my experience. I’ve found an XP box is a great benchmark for what will work in Filmmaker. ...While both Mac and PC are now Intel based off the production line the hardware is the only box!
Sounds like we just need to find another char
There's likely some character that will work with WinXP.
I found this on the web. http://superuser.com/questions/221593/windows-7-utf-8-and-unicode and I'm sure there is other stuff when searching for "windows xp unicode bom". Basically we have to find something within UTF-16 (which is what FileMaker supports) that is both invisible and will control sorting.
-- Matt Petrowsky - ISO FileMaker Magazine Editor
Language settings
Thanks a lot for this technique, I have been looking for something like this for quite a while now.
But strangely it only seems to work if the the system language is set to English.
Is there any way to fix this?
(OS X 10.8.2, FMPA 12.0v2)
Langage settings
Your own experience on a Mac is different again and I'd be interested to learn what font format settings you have set for the USER MENU & UTILITY MENU dropdown/popups. And how exactly is it not working?
I have research several Unicode sites looking for answers to problems I've encountered on Windows XP and found that if I format the interface dropdown/popup to font Calibri the 'Squ Boxes' issue does not occur.
Language settings
Well, I haven't changed anything and started the solution out-of-the-box.
The font of the pop-ups is set to Lucida Grande 12 pt and everything looks nice as always.
But only if I switch to English as system language it works the way it should.
With the language set to Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and German (didn't try out any other) the functionality is gone, i.e. the user menu as well as the utility menu pop-up show the IDs instead of any values like this: http://bitly.com/W3d3ld
Any ideas?
Win XP Boxes
I've discovered a temp work-around for the boxes on XP by setting the field's font to Lucida Sans Unicode, but I'd still like to find a more concrete solution. Has anyone discovered something else that works?
- Joe -
Performance issue?
Is there any performance issues if I use the UUIDs as keys. I am thinking about tables with 5 million records. Can I change it to a simple number? (I know it is a bit less robust.) For example
Value list for the type filed:
1 - Bug
2 - Feature
instead of
LongUUID - Bug
LongUUID - Feature