Inserting the current date or other variables into a field
You can insert the current date, time or user name into a field.
After you insert one of these values into a field, that value doesn't change unless you change it. To display a value that updates, place a date, time, or user name symbol on the layout. For more information, see Inserting the date, page number, or other variable onto a layout.
To insert the current date, time, or user name into a field:
1.
In Browse mode, click the field.
2.
From the Insert menu, choose one of the following menu items:
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Current Date to insert the current date in a date, number, text, or timestamp field.
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Current Time to insert the current time in a time, number, or text field. (You can also choose Current Time to insert the current date and time in a timestamp field.)
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Current User Name to insert the current user name as specified in preferences. (To change the user name value, see Setting general preferences.)
Notes
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If a field formatted to display a drop-down calendar is empty or contains an invalid date, the calendar will default to the current date when opened. Press Enter (Windows), Return (Mac OS), or click to insert the current date. If the field already contains a valid date, find and click the current date in the drop-down calendar to replace the existing data with the current date.
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FileMaker Pro determines the current date and time to insert from your operating system settings.
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FileMaker can automatically enter values such as dates and times into fields when a record is created or updated. For more information, see Defining automatic data entry. If you need to track who creates or updates records in a file protected with accounts, a more secure and accurate method is to automatically enter the account name, because any user can easily change the user name in preferences.
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To create custom formats for date fields, see Specifying formats for date fields.
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