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Validating Formats with Value Lists
People often use the pop-up menu format when another choice would be much more appropriate. If you've ever filled out a form on a Web page, you've probably seen a pop-up list with the abbreviations for all 50 states. Unless you live in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, or California, you probably find this format less convenient than if you simply typed in your state's two-letter abbreviation. If you release the mouse on the wrong choice you have to repeat the process. A scrolling pop-up list might be a good solution, or you can use a value list to validate user entries. If you create a value list with all the state abbreviations, it will compare the list against the entry to minimize errors.
To use a value list for validation
1. Go to the layout you'd like to format. Choose File > Define > Value Lists (Figure 3.38).
Figure 3.38. To create a new value list, choose File > Define > Value Lists.
Figure 3.39. Click New to define a new value list.
Figure 3.40. When using custom values, every value must be typed on a separate line in a value list.
Figure 3.41. Choose "Use values from field" to select a field in the current database for your value list.
Figure 3.42. When the Define Database dialog box appears, choose the field you want to validate from the field list.
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Figure 3.43. When you choose a value list, the check box next to "Member of value list" is automatically checked for you.
Now when you input data in the chosen field, FileMaker will check the input against the value list. If the value doesn't match the list, you'll see a dialog box (Figure 3.44) that alerts you to the error.
Figure 3.44. This dialog box allows the user to deliberately accept an error. You can eliminate this option by choosing strict validation in the Options dialog box when you define the field.
