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Creating a layout

The New Layout/Report assistant helps you design several types of layouts and reports: Standard form, Table view, List view, Report, Blank layout, Labels, Vertical labels, and Envelope. For details on each layout type, see About layout types. You may also want to review one of the following Help topics before using the New Layout/Report assistant:

•	Considerations when you create List view or Report layouts

•	Considerations when you create a Labels layout

•	Considerations when you create an Envelope layout

Tip  You can also duplicate an existing layout and customize the new one to fit your needs. For more information, see Duplicating, deleting, or renaming layouts.

To create a layout:

1.	In Browse mode, choose File menu > Manage > Layouts, and click New. In Layout mode, click New Layout/Report in the status toolbar.

You see the New Layout/Report assistant, a series of panels that assist you with creating the type of layout you choose in the first panel.

2.	In each assistant panel, follow the instructions to create the type of layout you chose in the first panel.

 

To	Do this
Accept the settings in the panel and continue to the next panel	Click Next.
Accept the settings in the panel but go back to the previous panel	Click Back.
See an onscreen Help topic that explains the choices in the current panel	Windows: Click Help or press F1. Mac OS: Click Help or press Command-?.
Close the assistant without saving any of your choices	Click Cancel.

3.	When you have completed the series of panels, click Finish to create the layout.

You can use the new layout right away, or further customize it using the tools and commands in Layout mode.

4.	If you intend to print the new report in landscape orientation or on a special paper size, choose File menu > Print Setup (Windows) or File menu > Page Setup (Mac OS), confirm the orientation and paper settings, then click OK.

In Preview mode, you can also click Print Setup (Windows) or Page Setup (Mac OS) in the status toolbar.

Note  Modified Print Setup and Page Setup settings affect all other layouts in the current file, so you may need to change these settings later to print other layouts properly.

Notes

•	If your layout doesn't turn out the way you expect it to, you can go through the assistant again. Remember to delete the layout that you no longer need.

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FileMaker Pro layouts are divided into layout parts, which are areas on the layout that control how and where to display and print data, text, and graphics. FileMaker Pro includes the body, header, and footer parts as needed on a layout depending on the choices you make in the New Layout/Report assistant. Reports with grouped and totaled data also have subsummary parts, grand summary parts, or both. You have complete control over adding, removing, or modifying layout parts after you complete the assistant. For more information, see Working with layout parts.

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You can apply FileMaker Pro layout themes to enhance the appearance of a layout or report and to give all your layouts a consistent look. A theme affects characteristics of the layout, including the background color, field borders and fill, and text attributes in and outside of fields. A theme does not control the placement or behavior of fields or objects. You can apply a theme to a new layout in the New Layout/Report assistant. You can change the theme of an existing layout in Layout mode. See Changing the theme of a layout.

•	If you include a field on the layout from another table or database (a related field), you should understand relational database concepts. For more information, see Working with related tables and files.

•	You can display a specified layout every time you open a FileMaker Pro file. For more information, see Setting file options.

•	To add fields to an existing label or envelope layout, see Placing merge fields on a layout.

Related topics 

Working with layout parts

Adding fields to a layout

Troubleshooting layouts