Defining custom menus (FileMaker Pro Advanced)
With FileMaker Pro Advanced, you can create custom
menus for your database solutions. You can add, edit, duplicate, or delete menus and
menu items in many ways, such as:
•changing a menu or menu item name.
•specifying a platform for your menus and menu items.
•specifying a mode for your menus.
You can create a menu by starting with a blank menu or by editing a copy of a standard FileMaker menu. You can duplicate a menu so you can make changes without modifying the original, or you can delete menus that your users will not need.
To create, edit, duplicate, or delete a menu:
1. Choose File menu > Manage > Custom Menus > Custom Menus tab.
2. If FileMaker Pro Advanced includes menus that do not exist in this file, click Update to add missing menus to the file.
3. Do one of the following in the Manage Custom Menus dialog box, then click OK:
To | Do this |
Create a menu | Click Create. In the Create Custom Menu dialog box, do one of the following, then click OK: •Click Start with an empty menu. •Click Start with a standard FileMaker menu, then select a menu from the list. Tip You can press Shift and click Create to create an empty menu, then click Edit to modify it. |
Edit an existing menu | Select the menu from the list, then click Edit. Note Default FileMaker Pro menus cannot be edited, so they do not appear in the list. |
Duplicate a menu | Select the menu from the list, then click Duplicate. |
Delete a menu | Select the menu from the list, then click Delete. Important When you delete a menu, you also delete its menu items. |
Sort the menu list | For View by, choose menu name, display title, custom order (which you create by dragging items in the list), or creation order. Tip You can also click the Menu Name or Display Title column headings to sort the list. |
Display the menu set in which the menu is used or display comments describing the menu | Click the Used in Menu Sets/Comments column heading. |
4. If you selected Create or Edit, you see the Edit Custom Menu dialog box. Specify options for the custom menu.
Note The options you specify apply to the entire menu.
To | Do this |
Specify the menu name | For Custom Menu Name, enter a descriptive name for the menu (up to 100 characters). |
Include a comment describing the menu | Enter a comment about the menu (up to 30,000 characters). The comment appears in the Manage Custom Menus dialog box, not in your solution file. |
Specify the title that you want to display in the menu bar of your solution file | For Menu Title, select Override Title, then enter the name (up to 30,000 characters). Windows: To specify an access key, type an ampersand (&) before the character you want to use as the access key. For example, type &File to display the File menu with the letter “F” 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. Note You cannot change the title of the Help or FileMaker Pro menus. |
Install menus based on conditions you specify | For Install when, specify a calculation that results in a Boolean value. •If the calculation evaluates true or non-zero, the menu is installed. For example, for the menu to appear when the file is opened in Windows, enter:
If( Abs(Get( SystemPlatform )) = 2; 1; 0 ) •If the calculation evaluates false or zero, the menu is not installed. For example, for the menu to appear when the file is opened in OS X, enter:
If( Abs(Get( SystemPlatform )) = 1; 1; 0 ) To ensure a menu is always installed, for Install when, enter 1. |
Specify in which modes to display the menu | For Include in mode, select in which modes you want the menu to appear (Browse, Find, Preview). When users switch modes, the menu set changes to display only the menus specified for that mode. |
6. Click OK to close the Edit Custom Menu dialog box.
7. In the Manage Custom menus dialog box, for Default menu set for this file, choose a menu set. If you do not choose a default menu set, the standard FileMaker menus are used.
8. Click OK to close the Manage Custom Menus dialog box.
Notes
•FileMaker features only work if they are included in a menu. For example, if you remove the View menu from the menu set and do not have any scripted buttons on the layout to switch views, the mode buttons in the status toolbar are disabled, making it impossible for your users to switch modes.
•To add custom menu items for new features to menu sets created in previous versions of FileMaker, create a new custom menu and add the new menu item from the list of standard FileMaker menus in the Create Custom Menu dialog box.
•If the Edit menu is not part of an installed menu set, the Cut, Copy, and Paste shortcuts do not work.
•Shortcut menus display when a user right-clicks (Windows) or Control-clicks (OS X) 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.
•Standard FileMaker menu items are dimmed if users don’t have privileges to perform the menu command. Menus are not dimmed if you attach a script to the menu item and disable Based on existing command.
•Custom shortcuts can only use characters found on English/U.S. keyboards. You can also use the yen character on Japanese keyboards. If you use the yen character as a shortcut, the character appears as a backslash (\) in the Specify Shortcut and Edit Custom Menus dialog boxes in OS X. When you install the menu on a Japanese system, the character appears properly as the yen character.
•In Find mode, titles of custom menus and menu items that are based on field values that are not global will be blank.
•If you customize an action for any of the following commands, the corresponding icon performs the customized action. If you remove any of these commands from the menu bar, the corresponding icon performs the default action:
•Zoom In and Zoom Out commands are executed via the zoom controls.
•Status toolbar command is executed via the status toolbar control.
•Perform Find command is executed via the Perform Find button (or by pressing the Enter key in Find mode).
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