I've been working with, and teaching people to use, FileMaker Pro since 1990, back when it was known as FileMaker II. Through the years, I've formed a lot of opinions about each new release of the program. One opinion hasn't changed: FileMaker's layouts are by far the most powerful and least understood of all its features.

In this article, I show off some of the power and flexibility of FileMaker Pro layouts. I also clear up the mystery surrounding the creation of entry forms, reports, labels, envelopes, and form letters so you can take advantage of these great features.

Getting started

John is a real estate agent working in a big town in Arizona. His company's Web site includes a FileMaker Pro-powered database that gathers contact information from people who are interested in purchasing homes or property in his town. John wants to use the data he's collected to contact these people when properties that may interest them become available.

When John first created the database and specified fields, FileMaker Pro created a default layout called Layout #1. Figure 1 shows what it looks like for John's database.


Figure 1: Default layout -- Layout #1, displays all fields with field labels beside them.

Layout #1 is an example of a standard layout. In a standard layout, every field in the database is displayed in the layout, in the order in which the fields appear in the Define Fields dialog. The layout includes three parts:

Header -- The header appears at the top of each page when the layout is printed. By default, the header for a standard layout is empty.

Body -- The body is repeated for each record in the found set (or database, if all records are displayed). In a standard layout, this is where you'll find field labels and fields.

Footer -- The footer appears at the bottom of each page when the layout is printed. By default, the footer for a standard layout is empty.

A single page form layout is similar to a standard layout in that it includes all fields with labels in the body of the layout. But a single page form doesn't include a header or footer.

Creating an entry form

John decides to modify Layout #1 to create a more polished-looking entry form. He switches to Layout mode (Mode > Layout) and starts moving, modifying, and deleting fields and field labels:

• To move a field or label, drag it with your mouse pointer. As you drag a label, a dotted baseline appears so you can line up the label with the baseline within a field box. You can also click on a field or label to select it, then use the arrow keys to nudge it in any direction, one pixel at a time.
• To move multiple layout objects at the same time, select them all first and then move any one of them.
• To resize a field, select it and then drag any of its selection handles.
• To change the text of a field label, triple click on it so an edit box appears around it. Then make your changes and click elsewhere on the layout to accept them.
• To change the appearance of a label or a field's contents, select it and use options under the Format menu to change its font, color, size, style, and so on.
• To delete a field label or field, select it and press Delete (Mac OS) or Backspace (Windows).

• To make a part (such as the header) bigger, drag the part tag down. When you release the mouse button, it resizes and everything below it shifts down.
• To add text, click on the Text tool on the left side of the window. Click in the layout where you want text to appear, type the text, and click anywhere else in the layout to accept the entry. You can edit and format this text like any label.
• To add a line or shape, click on one of the line or shape tools on the left side of the window, then position the mouse pointer where you want the shape to appear and drag to draw it. When you release the mouse button, the shape appears. You can use the line and fill tools on the left side of the window to modify the appearance of the line or shape to change its color and pattern.
• You can add pictures two ways: by copying and pasting or by importing. To copy and paste a picture, open the picture file with any image editing/viewing program, select it, and use the Copy command (Edit > Copy) to copy it. Then switch to your FileMaker Pro layout and use the Paste command (Edit > Paste) to paste it in. To import a picture, choose FileMaker Pro's Import Picture command (File > Import/Export > Import Picture), and then use the dialog that appears to locate, select, and open the picture. Either way, you'll probably have to drag the picture file into position in the layout.