objects print split across two pages

[paulmetzger]

This problem occurs both in the printout and in preview mode:

I'm having a problem with some objects (in this case, a text label) splitting across two pages. Here are some screen caps to demonstrate:

bottom of page one:

and at the top of the second page:

the footer prints fine, but the last stuff that was in the body gets split.

How to I make it stop that?

[jasonwood]

There might be a better way... but my first thought is to use fixed margins (so the breaking point doesn't change from printer to printer), then use preview mode as a guide to place your fields/labels so that doesn'thappen.

Fixed margins are in the layout setup (.5 margins is usually a good choice).

[BobWeaver]

This is a problem that goes way way back, and is something that Filemaker claimed to have fixed when they brought out version 5.0. But the problem still exists.

The only solution is to carefully design the layout so that an exact number labels will fit on a page. You may also want to go into the part options for the body part and use the jump to new page every n records option to keep things in sync. You may also want to have a look at this post:

http://www.fmforums.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB8&Number=1518&page=1&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=all&fpart=1

Although it's not aimed at your particular situation, it describes a systematic procedure for setting up a layout that won't slide around from page to page.

[paulmetzger]

...and I'm guessing that any use of sliding is going to mess up this careful layout?

So is this still a known bug that FM is working on, or are they just claiming it works fine and not bothering to fix any more? What blows my mind is that this happens in *preview mode*... it's not like it's the printer's fault.

[frankie tomato]

I've read the very useful suggestions of Bob (Single record Multi-page Printing), but... how to manage the case when all the fields of the layout are sliding and you have a Container field with an image in it?

Is it possible to insert a page break just in front of that single Container field? or to let FM understand that, when there is no space for the image in the current page, it should jump to the next page?

[BobWeaver]

Unfortunately, while Filemaker has some fairly good layout features (for a database that is), it is definitely not a page layout program. If you want to ensure that the container always prints on the second page, then you can set the container field to not shrink/slide, and place it far enough down the layout that it will have to go there.

There are some other rather complicated tricks that you can do which involve having a calculated container "spacer" field that adjusts in size to push whatever is below it onto the next page, but then you still have to have a way of figuring out how to automatically set that field. You can estimate it by adding up the length of all the text above and dividing by the average number of characters per line. There is also a method involving a script that goes into preview mode and counts pages to see if your item has gone over to the next page. But, that can get really ugly.

[frankie tomato]

Many thanks Bob, I'm a beginner with FM and this helps me to understand if there is a simple solution or if I have to think to something else (a different organization of layouts? a button available to the user to open the image on demand?).

[dmr]

Picking up Paul Metzger 's point, FM 6 still hasn't got this sorted out, right? I'm trying to get 30 sliding fields to break sensibly, but some users insist on inputting their own font styles so no matter how carefully I lay this out it just isn't going to work.

Is there a solution on the horizon?

[cjaeger]

make sure all your layout objects (and header/footer parts) are positioned precisely in multiples of your line spacing, so if you have a line spacing of 14 points, place the upper bound of your textbox at 140 pixels, for example ...

or just experiment moving the text object up or down in 1-pixel steps and changing the header size until the page prints right.

[cjaeger]

make sure all your layout objects (and header/footer parts) are positioned precisely in multiples of your line spacing, so if you have a line spacing of 14 points, place the upper bound of your textbox at 140 pixels, for example ...

or just experiment moving the text object up or down in 1-pixel steps until the page prints right.

[Vaughan]

Minimise the use of sliding objects. Instead use calculated fields and merge codes.