I sometimes use a trick in Conditional Formatting to give fast hints in form views..

i'll place a merge field (name of field, or helpful hint) BEHIND the actual form, then will format the field to have a clear/no backcground, using a calculation of "IsEmpty(Table::FieldName) - to trigger it..

So if the field is empty, the hint is visible, but if there is any value in it, the hint disappears.  See screenshot below..
 

 

The problem is that this falls apart in List View.. active fields work.. inactive don't.. what ca I do?

I really can't tell from your screen shot, but It should work for each line.  Are you sure the field does not extend into the other row?  You could also use tool tips.

If you were in a higher version than 12, you could use 'Hide Object when' or a clear button with the label/calculation as the button label.

When I used to do something similar to  this, I would use conditional formatting to set the font to 500pts to hide it when you wanted it hidden.

Hi wedgeman,

Why not post a copy of your file, or a mockup of it showing what it is that  you are trying to accomplish.

Please take the time to read this article by Ocean West. Anatomy of a Good Topic, it covers how to prepare a file so as to protect your confidential information.

Please feel free to contact me via Private Message if you have any questions.

Lee

Sorry -- thought this would be pretty self-evident..

 

In the image below, the only list row which is showing PROPERLY is the one that's selected (ie., the backgrounded text is completely dissappeared, as the conditional formatting is working on that record and they're actually filling in...

i'll try to pull a record togetehr to show this..

 

 

 

Well... in trying to show this properly, i found a work around..

using an "IsEmpty" seems to NOT work on a list view for items which aren't the current record.

 

but....

 

"not IsEmpty" **DOES** work....  so i have to just flip the command (leave field blank, but if it contains something, then make it fill)...

here's a shot now with it configured the other way (text fields in front are 'No Fill' , and mergefield text is formatted normally but if field is "not isempty(table::field)", then the text is clear and the fill is clear..

 

Edited July 9, 20178 yr by wedgeman

attached..

column 1 and 4 have no format.

column 2 has format as shown in my work around (which works), but column 3 formtting does NOT work..

it appears that "isempty(x::xx) does NOT work in lines, but "not isempty(x::xx)" DOES work...

Am I missing something?

 

conditionalformat.fmp12

Edited July 10, 20178 yr by wedgeman

I'm not sure I"m understanding your problem. I modified your example as a starting point. You had labels in the list behind the fields, and you were missing one of the fields.

I forgot how hard it was to customize things in Version 12. Beside that you are using the most recent version 12.v5

 

conditionalformat_MOD.fmp12

You're correct.  It seems we're having a communication issue. 

1. Ignore the missing field.

2.I INTENDED to put labels behind the fields, in order to show the problem.

The problem is that conditional formatting doesn't all work properly on fields shown in list view. It appears that it (conditional formatting) only works properly on the ACTIVE RECORD in a list view, under certain circumstances.

 

See the attachment.

Column A, and Column Three are unformatted.

Column 2 ("field one") formatting works ONLY WHEN the current record is highlighted.. it doesn't format properly on other records (in list view). This is formatted using "IsEmpty" calculation.

Column 3 ("Field two") is formatting properly..  it is formatted in reverse, using "not IsEmpty" calculations.

3. I'm a bit unsure as to why the version matters, other than a potentially known bug (is this a bug?)

conditionalformat_MOD.fmp12

Edited July 11, 20178 yr by wedgeman

Although version 12 introduced a lot of new features, its releases were buggy. The 12.5 version stabilized somethings, thank god the next few versions improved these things. 

It looks like you are doing a workaround for the field labels. 

see if this is helpful

conditionalformat_MOD_2.fmp12

Well....duh...  in my 10+yrs of doing FMP (albeit primarily for my businesses and not for pay) i'd never seen that option in conditional formatting....  derp!

 

thanks.. 

This type of workaround is a Hack. 14 and 15 have some Hide features that are a lot better. The is also a new feature called Placeholder Text, that does this without effort.

I'm not happy with this file, there are some tweaks I would make if I were going to use this approach. I would probably put the field names in the header for the List View, and only use the isEmpty calculation as a flag in color.

Lee

27 minutes ago, Lee Smith said:

This type of workaround is a Hack. 14 and 15 have some Hide features that are a lot better. The is also a new feature called Placeholder Text, that does this without effort.

I'm not happy with this file, there are some tweaks I would make if I were going to use this approach. I would probably put the field names in the header for the List View, and only use the isEmpty calculation as a flag in color.

Lee

thx for the thoughts.

This is not something for show.. You asked me to make a file to explain the problem.  I did it. 

Filemaker has a bug, and I made a simple (and ugly) demonstration. I'm sorry it wasn't up to your expectations.

Hi wedgeman,

2 hours ago, wedgeman said:

Filemaker has a bug, and I made a simple (and ugly) demonstration. I'm sorry it wasn't up to your expectations.

It's not a bug, it the technology available in FileMaker 12.  

Your file was fine. We don't judge files by their eye appeal, we are looking at the mechanics of what you are trying to accomplish. Once I understood your file, I was able to give you an example of how it could be done.

There is nothing wrong with FileMaker 12.. I only mentioned the new tools incase you were looking for a reason to upgrade.

Lee

ok... seems to me that if some calculations work perfectly in one view but a almost identical calculation does NOT work in that view, that's a bug.   I'd be hard pressed to term it a 'feature', especially if it was fixed in a later version.