Setting up a field to display a pop-up menu, checkbox set, or other control
You can make data entry for a field easier and more consistent by displaying fields as drop-down lists, pop-up menus, checkbox sets, radio button sets, or other controls.
You can set these controls at the same time you place fields on a layout, or you can modify existing field controls. For more information on placing fields on a layout, see Placing and removing fields on a layout.
Note  Values displayed in these controls come from value lists. You can define a value list before or after you set up the field controls.
To set up a field to display a pop-up menu, checkbox set or other control:
1.
In Layout mode, select the field.
2.
Click Inspector Inspector button in the layout bar, then click Data.
3.
In the Field area, choose the Control Style you want.
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Edit box displays field data without a value list. See Adding scroll bars to fields and Setting up a field to auto-complete during data entry.
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Drop-down list displays value list items in a list. Users can use the arrow keys or “type ahead” to select a value. Select Include arrow to show and hide list if you want to format the field as a combo box.
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Pop-up menu displays value list items as a pop-up menu. Users must select an item with the mouse.
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Checkbox set displays value list items as checkboxes. Users can select multiple values for a field. Choose the symbol you want displayed in checkboxes (a check mark or x).
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Radio button set displays value list items as radio buttons.
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Drop-down calendar displays the current date. Users can choose another date from the drop-down calendar, or type one in. See Setting up a field to display a drop-down calendar.
4.
Choose the value list you want from the Values from list.
To create a value list, click Edit button next to the Values from list. See Defining value lists. (You can use value lists you define in the Inspector with other fields as well.)
5.
Choose options for the value list, if desired.
To allow a user to add values to the value list for the current record, select Allow entry of other values. An “Other” option appears in the value list. This option is not available if you selected Drop-down list.
To allow a user to add or change values in the value list across records, select Allow editing of value list. An “Edit” option appears in the value list. This option is not available if:
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you selected Checkbox set or Radio button set for the Control Style.
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the value list you selected in step 4 uses values from a field.
6.
To display data from a different field, click Edit button next to the Display data from list.
In the Specify Field dialog box, select the field to display data from. Fields can be from the same table, a related or unrelated table in the same file, or a related table in another FileMaker Pro file. To choose a field in another table, choose the table from the tables list above the field list, then select a field from the list of fields in the table.
Select Create label if you want to include the field name as text on the layout. Click OK.
7.
Save the layout.
To view drop-down lists or pop-up menus, select the field in Browse mode or Find mode.
Notes
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If you added a checkbox or radio button set but can’t see it, make sure the color and line width of the border for the field are not set to none. For information about setting color and line width, see Setting the fill, line style, and borders for objects, layout parts, and the layout background.
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During data entry, if the value list is blank, is missing values that should be present, or displays an error message, see Value lists troubleshooting.
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When you format a field to use a value list created from values in a field, FileMaker Pro displays the value list items in alphabetical order.
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Formatting a field with a checkbox allows users to enter more than one value for a field. If more than one value is entered for a field, on other layouts where the field is not formatted as a checkbox (such as a columnar report), FileMaker Pro displays only the first value. To see all values, make the field larger or click in the field.
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To allow users to begin typing a value and have the system suggest a completion for it, select Auto-complete using value list. See Setting up a field to auto-complete during data entry.
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To change the arrangement of value list items in checkboxes and radio buttons, resize the field. A field that is taller than it is wide displays items stacked vertically. A field that is wider than it is tall displays items side-by-side horizontally. See Resizing and reshaping objects.
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If the field you’re formatting to display a value list is in a portal and the value list is defined to include only related values, you may need to create a self-join relationship in order for the value list to display the related values properly. See Example of a value list that includes only related field values.
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To set a default value for a value list field, set up the value list and control style, then choose File menu > Manage Database, and click Fields. Select the value list field, click Options, click the Auto-Enter tab, and select Data. Type the default value, click OK, and close the Manage Database dialog box. When users add a new record to the database, this value will appear in the value list field. Users can choose a different value from the value list. See Defining automatic data entry.
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To format a field to no longer use a value list, select the field. Then, in the Field area of the Inspector, for Control Style, choose Edit box or Drop-down calendar.
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You cannot apply control styles to container fields. For more information on container fields, see Using data in container fields.
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You can set display state attributes for value lists. For example, you can change the way a checkbox appears when a user pauses the pointer over a checkbox (Hover) when the user selects a checkbox (Pressed). See Specifying the display state for an object.
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Pop-up menus activate the OnRecordLoad and OnObjectEnter script triggers differently from drop-down lists and calendars:
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For pop-up menus, clicking the field displays the pop-up menu first. These triggers are activated only after you select a value in the pop-up menu. However, if you press Tab or use a script to enter the field, these triggers are activated first; then you can click the field to select a value. If your script needs to access the value of the field before the user changes it, pass the value of the field into your script as a parameter. In your script, use the Get(ScriptParameter) function to get the field's value before the user clicked the field. See Setting script triggers for objects.
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For drop-down lists and calendars, entering the field by any method (clicking the field, pressing Tab, or running a script) activates these triggers first. After the script runs, you can enter or select a value.
Related topics 
Setting up a field to display a drop-down calendar
Setting up the display of repeating fields
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