Creating and editing custom menu sets (FileMaker Pro Advanced)

Creating and editing custom menu sets (FileMaker Pro Advanced)

You can create custom menu sets to include the menus you require. You can then specify a menu set for the file and for individual layouts.

You can create a new menu set or edit or duplicate an existing one. You can also delete menu sets that your users will not need.

Important  Duplicating a custom menu set creates a copy of the menu set and references the same custom menus as the original menu set. It does not duplicate the custom menus. If you change a menu item, you change the menu for all menu sets in which the menu is included.

To create, edit, duplicate, or delete menu sets:

1.

Choose File menu > Manage > Custom Menus > Custom Menu Sets tab.

2.

Do one of the following in the Manage Custom Menus dialog box, then click OK:

To

Do this

Create a menu set

Click Create.

Edit an existing menu set

Select the menu set from the list, then click Edit.

Duplicate a menu set

Select the menu set from the list, then click Duplicate.

Delete a menu set

Select the menu set from the list, then click Delete.

Sort the menu set list

For View by, choose menu set name, custom order (which you create by dragging items in the list), or creation order.

Tip  You can also click the Menu Set Name column heading to sort the list alphabetically by name.

List the menus in each menu set or display comments describing the menu sets

Click the Menus/Comments column heading.

If you selected Create or Edit, you see the Edit Menu Set dialog box.

To

Do this

Specify or change the menu set name

For Menu Set Name, enter a descriptive name for the menu set (up to 100 characters).

Include or change a comment

For Comment, enter a comment about the menu set (up to 30,000 characters). The comment appears in the Custom Menu Sets tab in the Manage Custom Menus dialog box.

3.

Specify which menus you want to include in the menu set.

To

Do this

Add a menu to the menu set

Click Add, do one of the following in the Select Menu dialog box, then click Select:

•

Choose a menu from the list.

•

Click + to create a new menu. For more information, see Defining custom menus (FileMaker Pro Advanced).

•

Click – to remove a custom menu in the Select Menu dialog box. Default FileMaker Pro menus shown in brackets [ ] in the Select Menu dialog box cannot be removed from the list.

Note  You can Shift-click, or Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (OS X) additional menus to add multiple menus to the menu set.

Remove a menu from the menu set

Select the menu you want to remove from the menu set, then click Remove.

Edit a menu

Select the menu, then click Edit. See Creating and editing custom menu items (FileMaker Pro Advanced).

Tip  You can double-click a menu to display the Edit Custom Menu dialog box, then edit the menu.

Note  Standard FileMaker Menus (shown in brackets [ ]) cannot be edited.

Drag an arrow up or down to change the order of the menus in the list.

Each time you switch layouts, FileMaker Pro installs the menu set specified in the Menu Set option in the Layout Setup dialog box.

If you want to start with a full set of standard FileMaker Pro menus and edit only certain menu items, you need to create a copy of each standard FileMaker Pro menu and add them to a custom menu set.

To duplicate and edit the standard FileMaker Pro menu set:

1.

Choose File menu > Manage > Custom Menus > Custom Menus tab.

2.

Click Create.

3.

In the Create Custom Menu dialog box, click Start with a standard FileMaker menu, select a menu from the list, then click OK.

4.

In the Edit Custom Menu dialog box, change Custom Menu Name and modify other settings as desired, then click OK.

See Defining custom menus (FileMaker Pro Advanced).

5.

Repeat steps 2 through 4 for each standard FileMaker Pro menu.

6.

In the Manage Custom Menus dialog box, click the Custom Menu Sets tab, then click Create.

7.

In the Edit Custom Menu Set dialog box, for Menu Set Name, enter a descriptive name (for example, Standard FileMaker Menus Copy), then click Add.

8.

In the Select Menu dialog box, select the menus you want to add to this menu set, then click Select.

To select multiple menus, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (OS X) each menu.

9.

In the Edit Custom Menu Set dialog box, drag an arrow up or down to change the order of the menus in the list, then click OK.

10.

In the Manage Custom Menus dialog box, click OK.

In FileMaker Pro Advanced, you can temporarily switch menu sets or restore standard FileMaker menus using the Tools menu, which is always added to the menu bar. This is helpful for testing menu sets.

To temporarily switch menu sets:

1.

In FileMaker Pro Advanced, choose Tools menu > Custom Menus.

2.

Select the menu set you want.

Notes

•

OS X:

•

If you do not include a Help menu in your menu set, the operating system will install an empty Help menu. You cannot remove this menu, change its position on the menu bar, or change its title.

•

The FileMaker Pro menu is added after the Apple menu. You cannot customize the Quit or Preferences menu items. You can only customize the About FileMaker Pro menu item.

•

Windows: The Exit menu item is added at the end of the first unlocked (modifiable) menu. You cannot customize the Exit menu item.

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After you create menu sets, you must specify options for installing them. You can:

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specify a default menu set for a file

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specify menu sets for individual layouts (see Specifying a menu set for a layout)

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create scripts that change menu sets (see Install Menu Set script step)

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specify menus within the menu set to display according to mode (see Defining custom menus (FileMaker Pro Advanced))

•

Before distributing a database with custom menus:

•

Test all menus and menu items on both platforms for each user account. Be sure that all necessary menus and menu items are available so that users can perform their tasks.

•

Either be sure users can always access the View menu, or provide a method (like buttons) to switch between Browse, Find, and Preview modes.

•

You can also review the Database Design Report to check for any shortcut or access key conflicts.

•

You can create scripts that change menu sets based on conditions that you specify. For more information, see Creating scripts to automate tasks.

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You can use Get(CustomMenuSetName) to check for the name of the active custom menu set. You can also use the Get(LastError) function to check for missing menu sets. Check the status of the Get(LastError) function after performing the Install Menu Set script step. If a menu set is missing, the function will return error 115. For more information, see Get(CustomMenuSetName) and Get(LastError).

To	Do this
Create a menu set	Click Create.
Edit an existing menu set	Select the menu set from the list, then click Edit.
Duplicate a menu set	Select the menu set from the list, then click Duplicate.
Delete a menu set	Select the menu set from the list, then click Delete.
Sort the menu set list	For View by, choose menu set name, custom order (which you create by dragging items in the list), or creation order. Tip You can also click the Menu Set Name column heading to sort the list alphabetically by name.
List the menus in each menu set or display comments describing the menu sets	Click the Menus/Comments column heading.

To	Do this
Specify or change the menu set name	For Menu Set Name, enter a descriptive name for the menu set (up to 100 characters).
Include or change a comment	For Comment, enter a comment about the menu set (up to 30,000 characters). The comment appears in the Custom Menu Sets tab in the Manage Custom Menus dialog box.

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