Images in portals - graphics glitch

[Lorick]

I have a portal in which I display an image. I've protected the image to keep the user out of the field, but when the user clicks on the field, the colors in the image invert. This has startled more than one user, but I'm at a loss as to how to prevent it. This only happens when the graphic is in a portal. In layouts where the image doesn't need to be in a portal, the behavior is as expected. This, to me, is a FileMaker shortcoming.

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to get around this?

Thanks,

Rick

[Vaughan]

When the portal row is selected it appears highlighted. This is expected interface behaviour. Part of the highlighting process is to "invert" the colours.

I don't know whether this is a "FileMaker shortcoming" since lots of programs invert colours when something is selected.

[Lorick]

I see what you're saying. Thanks for your explanation, which makes sense.

But my users still view it as a problem, not being interested in "portals" and such. All they see is that when the click on the image on one screen (where I don't use a portal), nothing changes. But on the layout in question, when they click on the same image, something alarming happens. I'll have to explain this in the documentation.

I believe I should be able to instruct FileMaker to prevent a portal from being entered - just like I can instruct it to prevent a field from being entered. Specifically, for a field, I can set the "Field Behavior" to not allow the user to enter in Browse mode. I think it's reasonable to have the same ability for the portal.

Rick

[-Queue-]

You could put a button over the entire portal row that is attached to a Commit Records/Requests step.

[Vaughan]

"I believe I should be able to instruct FileMaker to prevent a portal from being entered..."

Well you can, sort of.

Put a transparent button over the whole portal row that runs the "Exit Record/Request" script step. When the portal row is clicked the user gets bumped out. Or give the button some other sensible action like going to the related record or something.

[Vaughan]

Beat me by 3 seconds. Grrrr.

[-Queue-]

That's okay. You're still beating me by 180 posts.

[Oldsneekers]

I guess another way to have someone click into a portal without the color changing phenomenon is to make a calc field for every field in the portal row, then format the calc field to allow entry. Thus the user can enter the fields in the portal row, (which in my experience does not "highlite" or change the color of the row) but the user cannot alter the field contents as they are calc fields.

Good luck.

(It's never so bad that it couldn't get worse."

[Lorick]

I applied the idea about the transparent button, but I used "Exit Script" as the button action. The result is that the graphic flashes but quickly returns to normal. That's acceptable for the time being. Is there a reason why one of those other actions would be preferable?

Re- Oldsneekers' method, it sounds intriguing, but I don't know how to apply it. The portal in my case is functional, containing a container field for the graphic in question. I can't change it to a calc field.

Thanks to everyone!

Rick

[Vaughan]

Exit Script and Exit Record/Request (called Commit Record in FMP 7) do NOT do the same thing. One ends the script; the other explicitly tells FMP to deselect all fields including portal rows and commit the record.

The script may be exiting the record when it exits, but since you are not explicitly telling it to do so it may be unreliable.

[Lorick]

Right, Vaughan. That action is OK in my case. I appreciate the clarification.

Rick