I really dislike FileMaker 7's predilection for pasting formatted text. I
fully comprehend the usefulness of this, and use I it at times, but there
should be an easy way to turn it off ... globally or on a field by field
basis.

If I could set a field property to "Paste plain text only" others who use
the database wouldn't be unable to deviate from the desired formatting.

Fortunately I can paste plain text with command-option-v. When I do so the
text assumes the format of the field to which it is pasted. But that doesn't
help other hapless users.

But there is a situation where command-option-v fails.

1) Paste formatted text into an empty field

2) Press undo

3) Press command-option-v

Result: Plain text is pasted ... according to the default format of the
field. Result is as expected. But not so with the following sequence of
steps:

1) Paste formatted text into an empty field

2) In another field, paste using command-option-v

So far so good. Result: the first field contains formatted text; the second
field contains the same text but formatted to the default of the field in
which it was pasted.

3) copy and paste the content of the second field to the first one.

Result: Whether you use command-v or command-option-V your get the format of
the last pasted text. The format of the next text won't paste over it.
Command-option-v doesn't invoke the default format ...

-------------

Also, I find following formatting scenario truly unbelievable:

1) All fields of a database are set to 12 point Times.

2) Formatted text (14 point Palatino) gets pasted into a field of one
record.

3) This field is part of another layout. In that layout the field is
formatted to 10 point Helvetica. As expected all records and all fields
appear formatted to 10 point Helvetica -- except for that one that's STILL
formatted to 14 point Palatino!

What's the wisdom in this? Don't most databases have the common goal of
consistently formatted information?

Is a layout powerless in filtering out extraneous formatting? In other
words, is a field incapable of imposing it's default formatting? Is there
now simple tool for this???

As a last resort, are there any good scripts or AppleScripts for setting a
field to the same formatting style, across all records?

---- I found a couple of typos in the previous message, so please refer to
this one ---

I really dislike FileMaker 7's predilection for pasting formatted text. I
fully comprehend the usefulness of this, and use I it at times, but there
should be an easy way to turn it off ... globally or on a field by field
basis.

If I could set a field property to "Paste plain text only" others who use
the database would be unable to deviate from the desired formatting.

Fortunately I can paste plain text with command-option-v. When I do so the
text assumes the format of the field to which it is pasted. Unfortunately
that doesn't help other hapless users.

And command-option-v fails in a certain situation.

1) Paste formatted text into an empty field

2) Press undo

3) Press command-option-v

Result: Plain text is pasted ... according to the default format of the
field. Result is as expected. Not so with the following sequence of steps:

1) Paste formatted text into an empty field

2) In another field, paste using command-option-v

So far so good. Result: the first field contains formatted text; the second
field contains the same text but formatted to the default of the field in
which it was pasted.

3) copy and paste the content of the second field to the first one.

Result: Whether you use command-v or command-option-V you get the format of
the last pasted text. The format of the text from the second field won't
paste over it. Command-option-v doesn't impose the default format ...

'sup with that?

-------------

Also, I find following formatting scenario truly unbelievable:

1) All fields of a database are set to 12 point Times.

2) Formatted text (14 point Palatino) gets pasted into a field of one
record.

3) This field is part of another layout. In that layout the field is
formatted to 10 point Helvetica. As expected all records and all fields
appear formatted to 10 point Helvetica -- except for that one that's STILL
formatted to 14 point Palatino!

What's the wisdom in this? Don't most databases have the common goal of
consistently formatted information?

Is a layout powerless in filtering out extraneous formatting? In other
words, is a field incapable of imposing it's default formatting? Is there
now simple tool for this???

As a last resort, are there any good scripts or AppleScripts for setting a
field to the same formatting style, across all records?

Hi John,

On 2004-10-21 13:49:54 -0400, "John B." <John (AT) SingingWood (DOT) com> said:

A database might have this goal, but applications front ending a dbms
typically offer the ability for users to format text - especially for
complex data types like correspondence or legal contracts that require
many formats among one field. Since FileMaker is both database and
application, it accomodates both unstored raw data and user formatted
data.

As solution developer, you can reasonably expect to exert some control
over the user experience, and fortunately, with FileMaker 7 you can do
so easily.

There are two formatting influences here: the field's layout formats,
and the user applied formats to the data.

Layout formatting is applied to any "raw" data that has NOT been
directly formatted by a user. However, if a user applies formatting to
the data, the formatting is stored, and will override the layout
settings for the field.

So if you want the layout formats to always apply, you need to remove
any user applied formats and get the data back to a raw state. This is
simple to do with the following calculation formula:

= TextStyleRemove( field ; AllStyles )

FWIW, AllStyles is a reserved word, and need not be in quotes. As a
reserved word, it represents the integer value 32767. So you could
also use the formula:

= TextStyleRemove( field ; 32767 )

If you apply this formula to any field as an auto-entry by calculation
option, with "Do not replace existing value of field (if any)" OFF,
then anytime a user enters formatted data, it will be changed to
unformatted data after he commits the update.

With the above auto-entry option, the un-formatting process will
continuously apply, and AppleScript would be unnecessary. If you
prefer to periodically unformat a column of data, you could apply the
same formula using Replace.

HTH

John B. <John (AT) SingingWood (DOT) com> wrote:

This is as it was in earlier versions, John. Under 3) you are pasting
unstyled text, which is displayed in the text format of the layout
field, but remains unstyled. Pasting with or without style is the same
for text that has no style of its own.
A complication may arise if you paste unstyled text into a layout field
that already contains styled text, if only a space. If you insert the
unstyled text immediately after the styled text, it will also become
styled with the format of the preceding text.

Surprise!! I still remember my disbelief when I first encountered this
behavior, but there is some logic behind it. When you apply a style to a
piece of text by selecting it and choosing a text format, the style
information is attached to the textual data en stays with those data
until you remove it, irrespective of the text format of the layout
fields in which this text is displayed.
The layout field format applies to unstyled text, which enables you to
use the same text field for different layout fields, like fields on a
screen layout and on a print layout, optimized for viewing resp.
printing.
The result of a text calculation used to be unstyled text, so you could
remove the style information from the text in a certain field in all
records of the found set with Replace(text field, text field). I'm not
sure if this is still the same in FM7.

--
Hans Rijnbout
Utrecht, Netherlands