VISUAL QUICKPRO GUIDE FileMaker Pro 7 Advanced FOR WINDOWS AND MACINTOSH [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Using Graphics as Layout Elements

One method for displaying nonstandard fonts in a layout is to create the text in a paint program. The text can be pasted into your layout as a graphic and will be displayed identically on any computer. This isn't a very efficient way to work if you have lots of text, but it's just fine for logo type or other graphics.

There are three ways to bring over graphic typeone for type that can be copied and pasted from a separate application, another for inserting a graphic saved in another graphic application, and a third for when you don't want the graphic shape to be editable in the layout. This last option, which relies on a container field, is particularly useful if you're dealing with a logo that must look exactly as it was designed. Copied or inserted graphics are all too easy to stretch and compress without your realizing it. Graphics placed in a container field stay put.

Another big plus in putting your logo into a container field is that it then becomes available for reuse in other layouts in the database.

To copy a graphic from a paint program into a layout

1 .Open your graphics program and create your type or open the document that already contains it.

2 .Select the graphic, then copy it to the Clipboard (Control+C/Command+C).

3. Return to FileMaker and switch to Layout mode (Control+L/Command+L). Paste the graphic onto the layout (Control+V/Command+V).

To import graphics from a file

1. Switch to Layout mode (Control+L/Command+L).

2. Choose Insert > Picture.

3 .Navigate to the graphics file you want to insert. Once you find it, click Open.

Your graphic will appear as a free-floating box. You can move or scale it like any other layout object.

Tips

If you'll need to print the logo or graphic text, create the original art at a print resolution of at least 300 dpi. Otherwise the outlines of your text or logo will look jagged and rough on paper.

If you plan on hosting your database with Instant Web Publishing, you'll be happy to know that FileMaker supports PNG files (GIF files done right). Unlike many other placed art formats, when you designate a color as transparent in Photoshop, the color stays that way when the PNG graphic is imported into FileMaker layouts, instead of defaulting to an ugly rectangular box.

To import graphics and make them noneditable

1 .Be sure your graphic is in a format FileMaker can import, then go to the layout where you plan to add the graphic. Choose File > Define > Database (Control+Shift+D/ Command+Shift+D).

2. When the Define Database dialog box appears, click the Fields tab. Type the name of your new field into the Field Name text box.

3. From the Type drop-down list, select Container (Control+R/Command+R), then click Create (Figure 3.9). The new field is added to the field list. Click OK.

4. Switch to Layout mode (Control+L/Command+L). From the layout tools on the left, choose Field and drag the field to its new position.

5. From the Specify Field dialog box that appears (Figure 3.10), choose the name of the container field you just created, uncheck the "Create field label" check box, and click OK.

6. Resize the field box to fit the graphic you'll be placing there.

7. Switch to Browse mode (Control+B/ Command+B). When the Save changes dialog box appears, click Save. Select the container field in your layout.

8. Choose Insert > Picture (Figure 3.11) and navigate to the graphics file you want to insert. Once you find it, click Open. The graphic will be scaled to fit in your container field (Figure 3.12).

The text will now be a graphic in your layout. Keep in mind that the letters aren't really text. You can't edit or change them, except by returning to the graphics program.

To use one graphic on many layouts

1 .Follow steps 1 and 2 in the preceding section "To import graphics and make them noneditable."

2. From the Type drop-down list, select Container (Control+R/Command+R). Click Create, then click Options.

3. When the Options dialog box appears, click the Storage tab. In the Global Storage section, check the "Use global storage (one value for all records)" (Figure 3.13) check box. Click OK, then OK again.

You now can use this container field on any layout, at any size you'd like, without changing the original artwork or having to reimport it.

Tip

If you aren't sure whether you'll need a graphic element on another layout in the future, it's a good idea to use the Global Storage option when you create the field. You can't select the Global Storage option later without erasing the artwork you've already placed in the container field.