Text field with auto numbered lines

[mgm75]

I'm taking on a client the has been using MS Word.Obviously with word you can auto number lines. In their reports that go to another agency they are required to have a text narrative where each line in numbered. i.e.

1. something here is writen

2. by the user and it could go

3. on for several pages.         

 

how can this be accomplished ?  

 

[comment]

In what format is this report? And by "line" do you also mean lines created by automatic wrapping of the text?

Edited November 23, 2016 by comment

[mgm75]

Yes, this includes wrapping text lines. IT really needs to print this way. it a police report that has to go to court. 

[comment]

I would prefer not to do this within Filemaker and look for a way to export the text to another application (e.g. Word) that can do it more elegantly.

The real problem here is not line numbering, but line breaking. Filemaker has no idea where the automatic line breaks are - so if you want to number the lines yourself, you also need to break them yourself. And your tool set for this task is severely limited, because the most you can do is count the characters. That's woefully inadequate when dealing with a proportional font.

If you do decide to go this way, I would suggest you do the line breaking and numbering only at the end, and in a separate field. Otherwise you will run into problems if the user wants to edit the original text.

If you have the Advanced version, you can utilize two existing custom functions: Abscind() by Ray Cologon and LineNumbering() by Daniele Raybaudi for this. I am attaching a simple demo showing how (with a slight modification to the latter). Otherwise you will have to rewrite them as looping scripts (or get someone to install the custom functions for you).

 

NumberedLines.fp7

Edited November 24, 2016 by comment