I have a database that is lean, efficient and beautiful. It does a
nice job of balancing data access with an interface that's uncluttered
and intuitive. The client loves it and I'm pretty happy too -- except
that now I have an extra item that just won't squeeze in.

The basic problem is that I need to add a button to a portal that's
already maxed out horizontally speaking. The button will only show up
on rare ocassions to signify a repeating transaction (as opposed to
one-time occurrences) for a given portal record and is as much a flag
saying 'here I am' as a button allowing the user to manage its
parameters.

Now, I design my files pixel-by-pixel, so take my word for it, there's
no way to fit more in this space -- everything's been shortened, shrunk
and weeded as much as can be tolerated. On the other hand, there is
room in one of the margins for a flag type of icon if I extend the
portal -- but it will only work with the rest of the visual design if I
maintain the illusion of the portal's current boundaries. To this end,
I extended the portal into the margin, then covered it with graphic
elements to make it basically invisible.

Perfect -- except that the portal doesn't register the button if an
object outside the portal's zone of recognition is between it and the
button. It'll show up if I create gaps -- exposing the portal for
everyone to see -- or if I lower the camouflage -- also exposing the
portal -- but not with camouflage fully engaged and button located
within the portal's comfort zone.

Bummer, no? Anyone have a workaround? Recommendation? I should note
that flagging the record via container-fill and/or multi-tasking
existing buttons is a last resort. Those are good ways to save screen
real estate, but they strain the intuitiveness of the interface.

This is FP Advanced v8.01 for Mac and PC deployment. Thanks if advance
for any help.

Best,
-Sug

I'm having trouble visualizing the situation... Maybe a screen shot would
help? You can't upload one to the newsgroup, but you can put one on a web
server and link to it.

Bill

"Sug" <adam.sugerman (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

Hi, Bill -

Thanks for your response. I've posted a diagram explaining the problem
at http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/1510/diagram5uk.jpg . Have a
look and let me know what you think.

Best,
-Sug

Sorry, Sug -- gives me a red X

Bill

"Sug" <adam.sugerman (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

Never mind -- I right-clicked and chose "Save Target As..." which appears to
work. Reviewing it now.

Bill

"Bill Marriott" <wjm (AT) wjm (DOT) org> wrote

Ok, first the "easy" way.

Do you think you could live with something like:

http://www.wjm.org/linked/diagram5uk-wjm.jpg

I like the look where things "stick out" of the side, and I enjoy clever
formatting -- but the problem I see with such techniques is they tend to be
"fragile" across the three platforms FileMaker supports (that's Mac, Win,
and Web). They also take a lot more time to implement and add unecessary
fields and relationships to handle UI.

Thus, my first suggestion is to use a small 10x10 icon to indicate recurring
payments, an icon that can live fully within the bounds of a normally
formatted portal. If you don't like how it pushes over the text in the first
column such that it no longer lines up with the other numbered items on the
screen, then perhaps the icon could be placed on the right side of the term
column, or either side of the Type column. Wherever you put it, it won't be
overlooked, yet it is small enough to coexist with the rest of your clean
presentation.

Now the "hard" way: If you really must have it the way you do in your
illustration then the approach would be:

1) Use a transparent portal and create the borders "manually"
2) Use a related "UI" table for row backgrounds and the calendar icon
3) Two instances of "UI" in the relationships graph:
- One to a "recurring" field which is 1 if yes, 0 if no
- One to a "rows" field, which is 0 for even 1 for odd
4) Use the graphics fields in the portal to show/hide the calendar and color
the rows appropriately.

An example of this technique can be found at

http://www.wjm.org/linked/FilmProduction.zip

Bill

"Sug" <adam.sugerman (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

Wow -- that's way beyond the call of comp.databases.filemaker
community-mindedness. Thanks for grappling with this problem so
thoroughly. It didn't occur to me to use an invisible portal and drop
the borders in manually, rather than vice versa (hiding part of the
portal manually) -- your technique file is an excellent representation
of it.

In the meantime, I actually implemented one of your other ideas, which
was to drop the icon into the right side of the Terms column via a
container calculation that's active when the term is recurring. It
doesn't make the presentation too crowded and only obscures text in one
out of a dozen terms in the value list. I can live with that in place
of an overly complicated design.

However, I'll bear your other solution in mind for future use. I
really appreciate your taking the time to suggest it, as well as
putting together the technique file and jpg to illustrate it.

Thanks again!

Best,
-Sug

My pleasure

Bill

"Sug" <adam.sugerman (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote