Defining conditional formatting for layout objects
You can format layout objects to change automatically when they meet specified conditions. For example, you can use conditional formatting to automatically display balances that are over 30 days past due in bold, red text. Conditional formatting settings affect only the way data is displayed or printed, not how data is stored in the database.
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In Layout mode, select one or more objects.
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In the Conditional Formatting dialog box, click Add to define a new condition.
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To specify a format based on common conditions, for Condition choose Value is. Then choose one of the following conditions and set the parameters.
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more than x days passed
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more than x days ahead
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less than x days passed
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Date data less than the specified number of days in the past, including the current day and any future days. See notes below.
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Date data less than the specified number of days in the future, including the current day and any past days. See notes below.
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To specify a format based on a calculation, for Condition choose Formula is. Then click Specify to define the calculation. For more information, see Specify Calculation dialog box.
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Tip Use the Self function to reference data for the selected object. For more information, see Self.
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6.
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Click OK.
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Note To see which fields have conditional formatting, choose View menu > Show > Conditional Formatting. You see 
in fields with conditional formatting.
in fields with conditional formatting.Moving, disabling, enabling, and deleting conditional format settings changes the order in which conditional settings are applied to an object.
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Select the condition, then click Delete.
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) to drag the condition to a new |
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You can set conditional formatting on the following layout objects: text, fields (including fields from external ODBC data sources), merge fields, layout symbols (date, time, page number, record number, and so on), text-based buttons, web viewers, and tab panels. Conditional formatting is not available for non-textual objects (such as a rectangular layout object).
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To see the effects of conditional format settings while you work in Layout mode, choose View menu > Show > Sample Data. Note that your file must contain record data that meets the formatting criteria you have specified for conditional formatting to appear.
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When you set multiple formatting conditions on an object, all conditions are evaluated starting from the top of the list. Each condition that evaluates “true” is appended to the objects previous format settings.
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When you use the Value is option with the predefined conditions less than x days passed or less than x days ahead, the current date is included in the number of days you specify.
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If the current day is 11/20/2014 when you specify less than 4 days passed:
If the current day is 11/20/2014 when you specify less than 4 days ahead:
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Number and date format settings (specified in the Data Formatting area of the Inspector) are applied after conditional formatting settings and are therefore preserved, even if data meets your conditional formatting criteria. However, sometimes number, date, and conditional format settings are combined. For example, if you set negative numbers to display in red and also set conditional formatting on the same field to display negative numbers in blue with the fill color yellow, the result will be a red number in a yellow field. System formats have no affect on conditional formatting settings.
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Conditional formatting settings are not transferred when records are copied within FileMaker Pro files or exported to other FileMaker Pro files.
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If you use Apple events to Get Text As Style, conditional formatting settings are not transferred (Mac OS).
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