I'm using filemaker 8.5 pro, and I have started with one of the creative pro job tracking templates. After making lots of changes, I now realize that it is necessary to add another table, which means another tab, etc. This would mean changing the nav menu on every single layout, a painstaking task. Is there any way to automate this task by only changing one part, and having it update the others by automation?

Not unless it's built into the layouts to begin with.

It shouldn't be too hard to setup the buttons once and copy and paste the set of buttons into each layout (modifying the selected button tab as necessary).

Thanks for you help.

Actually, there are going to be alot of changes to nav in the future, and a logo needs to be put in, etc. Can I go through each one individually now and change it so that global changes can be made in the future?

Danny Mac posted a file on my web site that shows how to make a tab appear in a tabbed interface just by adding a layout with a special name. It was written for FileMaker 6 but can be converted to 7 or later.

http://www.filemakerpros.com/EASYTABS.zip

Unless something got messed up when it was coverted, that file isn't really dynamic. I changed the location on one, and it would not update to the other. Also, there was no real file listing all the nav items, it still had to be updated.

Is there even a way to do this without starting over?

The basic idea of dynamic button tabs is to use calculated container fields for the buttons, and scripts that dynamically go to the right layout (or subscript) based on the button that's pushed and the current assignment for that button. You can store hardcode those assignments in the calcs, but it's a little more dynamic to use a separate table for those assignments.

You can have fully or semi-automated tabs. They won't solve the need to move things if you need to update a layout, but otherwise may help: http://www.onegasoft.com/tools/smarttabs/index.shtml

I converted the solution, and created a layout with the same naming convention as the other tabbed layouts and it worked fine. Make sure you named them exactly according to the specifications stated in the notes field on the menu.