Creating and editing custom menu items (FileMaker Pro Advanced)
After you create a menu, you can create menu items. You can also create or edit menu items that are copies of the Standard FileMaker menus. Menu items can be commands, submenus or separators. You can create a menu item that is based on a standard FileMaker command or you can create a menu item that initially does not have an assigned command.
When you base a menu item on a FileMaker command, that menu item inherits all the properties of that command. You can override properties (title, shortcut, or action) to customize the menu item.
When you create a menu item that does not have an assigned command, an <unknown> menu item appears in the Menu Items list in the Edit Custom Menu dialog box. You can then customize the menu item properties.
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Click Create to add a new (<unknown>) menu item to the list. For Menu Item Type, choose Command, then select Based on existing command. In the Specify FileMaker Command dialog box, choose a command, then click Select or OK.
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Click Create to add an <unknown> menu item to the list. For Menu Item Type, choose Submenu, then click Specify. In the Select Menu dialog box, choose a menu, then click Select.
Note You can add up to 100 menus to the menu bar. If you add a menu that includes itself as a submenu, you may quickly reach the limit.
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Select a menu item from the list, then click Duplicate.
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up or down to change the order of the menu items in the list.|
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Select each menu item from the Menu Items list and specify its properties, then click OK to close the Edit Custom Menu dialog box.
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Change a command for a menu item
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Change a menu item from one type to another
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For Menu Item Type, choose a different type. (For example, you can change a separator to a command.)
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Change the name of a menu item
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Select Item Name and enter a new name.
Windows: To specify an access key, type an ampersand (&) before the character you want to use as the access key. For example, type &Open to display the Open menu item with the letter “O” as the access key.
To base the menu title on the result of a calculation, click Specify, then build a formula in the Specify Calculation dialog box.
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Define a keyboard shortcut for a menu item
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Select Keyboard Shortcut. In the Specify Shortcut dialog box, type a key combination, then click OK. Keyboard shortcuts appear next to menu items in the Menu Items list.
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Change a keyboard shortcut for a menu item
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Perform a script or script step when a user selects a menu item
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Select Action. In the Specify Script Step dialog box, select a step and specify options as necessary, then click OK. For more information about scripts and script steps, see Creating scripts to automate tasks.
Tip To affect the behavior of a currently running script (for example, to halt, exit, resume, or pause the script) use the Perform Script script step.
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Install menu items based on conditions you specify
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For Install when, specify a calculation that results in a Boolean value.
For example, for the menu item to appear when the file is opened in Windows, enter:
If( Abs(Get( SystemPlatform )) = 2; 1; 0 ) For example, for the menu item to appear when the file is opened in Mac OS, enter:
If( Abs(Get( SystemPlatform )) = 1; 1; 0 ) To ensure a menu item is always installed, for Install when, enter 1. For example, for the menu item to appear when the file is opened in Windows or Mac OS, enter 1.
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To override a command’s behavior (item name, keyboard shortcut, or action), you must select the Based on existing command checkbox and choose a different command. If the checkbox is not selected, the original command behavior is retained.
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Buttons on toolbars are linked to menu items. If you customize a menu item that has a toolbar button, you also customize the button, its behavior, and its tooltip. For example, the New Record button is linked to the New Record menu item. If you customize the New Record menu item by renaming it to New Contact and specifying a script be performed, the toolbar button will perform the custom New Contact script and the tooltip for the button will display New Contact.
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Shortcut menus display when a user right-clicks (Windows) or Control-clicks (Mac OS) an object or an area. If you customize a menu item that has a shortcut menu item, you also customize the behavior performed by the shortcut menu item.
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FileMaker Pro Advanced updates menus and menu items when a menu set change is requested either through switching modes, windows, or layouts, or by performing a script that accomplishes a similar result. Menu and menu item titles based on field contents or functions only update when menu sets change.
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If you enter the same shortcut or access keys for two menu items, FileMaker will recognize the first occurrence in the menu bar (from right to left, top to bottom).
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If you want an ampersand (&) to appear as part of a menu or menu item name, you must type the ampersand twice. For example, if you want a menu name to appear as Records & Reports, enter the title as Records && Reports.
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You can modify privilege sets in the Edit Privilege Set dialog box to control which menu items are enabled. See Creating and managing privilege sets.
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If you set Available menu commands to Editing only or Minimum, menu items based on FileMaker commands are enabled or disabled according to the setting. All other menu items, including items with customized actions, are disabled. For example, if you choose Editing only, all basic FileMaker editing commands are enabled but all other items (including items with customized actions) are disabled.
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FileMaker uses keyboard shortcuts that don’t appear in the menu bar. For example, Command-Option-Z zooms a Mac OS window. In addition, the operating system defines shortcuts. Both types of shortcuts override the ones you define in the Specify Shortcuts dialog box.
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Windows and Mac OS keyboard shortcuts are different. For example, if you use FileMaker Pro Advanced for Windows to define the Ctrl+H shortcut, then open the file in Mac OS, the shortcut maps to Command-H. This conflicts with the Mac OS shortcut to hide an open application. The shortcut works as expected on Windows, but on Mac OS, the operating system shortcut overrides the custom-defined shortcut.
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Be sure to test custom keyboard shortcuts on both platforms. For information about shortcuts, see the documentation provided with your operating system.
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Mac OS: Users can assign keyboard shortcuts for installed applications using the Keyboard system preference. These shortcuts override any standard FileMaker Pro menu shortcuts or custom menu shortcuts when users open a solution file on that computer. System preference shortcuts also become the default shortcut for any custom menus or custom menu items created while the solution is running on that computer. Do not use Mac OS-specific keyboard equivalents when defining shortcuts for use in FileMaker Pro as results might be unpredictable.
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