Auto-enter data not working?

[dmjwineworks]

I'm having trouble with something that is probably very basic (which is probably why I'm having so much trouble with it--there's an old Russian saying, "It's not the ocean that drowns you, it's the puddles.") Anyway, I'm trying to set up a field in such a way that whenever it appears, the word "Total" is already in place.

 

I've defined the field as a Text type, and in the Auto-Enter tab of the Options window I've checked the "Text" box and entered "Total" in the text field. When I call the field in a layout it appears but is blank, waiting for me to enter something into it.

 

This seems very straightforward, yet I've been sitting here for over an hour trying to get it to work. What is Mrs. Markham's idiot son Dewey missing here?

 

Thanks,

Dewey

[Maarten Witberg]

auto-enter will only work upon record creation.

 

kjoe

[Inky Phil]

Hello Dewey,

 

If the contents of the field is ALWAYS 'Total'then does it really need to be a field. Could it not just be a text box placed on a layout. This would achieve the same result on the layout and keep your overhead down within your file.

 

Don't know if that is a suitable puddle jumper for you

 

Phil

[dmjwineworks]

Thanks kjoe and Inky Phil for the responses and the clarification about how auto-enter works; I now see why I was getting nowhere--I thought that auto-enter would kick in upon a field's creation in a record (as when it is called out by a script), not upon the creation of the entire record itself.

 

What I'm trying to achieve is to have a table with labels, horizontal lines and fields for entry appear on a layout when triggered by clicking on a button. From the list of script steps, it doesn't appear that text and graphics can be called out, only fields. So by working with fields I've made horizontal lines (by creating container fields with only the bottom border showing) and hoped that an auto-entered field would allow me to bring up by text.

 

I'm sure that this is probably an incredibly tortured way of doing it, but I figured that the experience will result in a better understanding of FM, and with experience I'll eventually be able to go back and make this solultion more elegant. (However, not being a masochist, I'm entirely open to any suggestions on suitable scripting to get this table to appear. But that's something I should formally request in the Cafe's script forum....)

[Maarten Witberg]

Hi Dewey,

 

[ QUOTE ]

What I'm trying to achieve is to have a table with labels, horizontal lines and fields for entry appear on a layout when triggered by clicking on a button.

 

[/ QUOTE ]

 

I don't think I understand what you want to do. It sounds like either of these two:

1 - you want a certain layout with some fields to appear in a certain design, fully precooked, when clicking this button

2- you want to give the user freedom to define say a gridlike layout of fields

 

[ QUOTE ]

upon a field's creation in a record (as when it is called out by a script)

 

[/ QUOTE ]

what script step are you referring to?

 

kjoe

[dmjwineworks]

Update: I've figured out how to get the field to appear with the text I want:

 

Insert Text [select; "Field Name"; "Total"]

 

Now that I've got my horizontal lines and text to appear, all I've got to do is figure out how to coordinate a dozen fields so that everything is positioned where I want it when the table appears on the layout. La lucha continua....

[dmjwineworks]

Hi kjoe,

 

I just read your message, and I apologize for the ambiguity in my posts; I just wanted to stick with the forum subject and not get too involved in the overall idea of what I'm trying to do.

 

In a nutshell, I'm making an invoice layout. Occasionally, in addition to the basic fee charged for a job, there are expenses to be itemized for reimbursement. I plan on putting a button on the layout that, in the cases where necessary, will call out a dialog asking how many expense items there are, and a popup list from 1-6 for selecting the number. Then, based on the response, the script will continue by inserting one of a half-dozen tables with the appropriate number of fields for the entering of the expenses.

 

I know, it's crazy, but it just might work....

[FileMakin' Tom]

Hi Dewey . . .

 

Using a part with slide-up would allow you to have only those expenses entered to appear or, better yet, put the expenses in a portal from another file (expenses) and produce the report from that file. That would allow greater felxibility in design as well create a situation where you could report on each day's total expenses.

 

Be well . . .

 

Tom

[dmjwineworks]

I like the sliding part idea. Of course, I've conceived the table to fill in from the bottom towards the top (that is to say, the "Total" row is always positioned at the bottom of the area dedicated to this table, and the table will "grow" vertically depending on the number of expenses entered), so this may put the kibosh on the idea; a "slide-down" part would really work for me here. In any event, I'll try and wrap my mind around your suggestion and see if I can make it work for me somehow.

 

Much thanks.