Default to check the checkbox?

[tottijohn]

Is it possible? I want a particular checkbox to be checked by default when there is a new record added?

This is to display to my staffs whether there is any new records for them to view. Or is there any other method to notify in a layout when there is new records entered from another table?

Thanks

Edited November 15, 2006 by Guest

[Søren Dyhr]

Yes you need to understand what a checkbox field is, it's a displayform for a pilcrow delimited text field (usually) ...this means that you in the fields def. can make an autoenter value enter the series of boxes you wish to have checked as plain text ¶ delimited, by default also if it just is one as you wish.

A bizare metaphor comes to mind if you on hand have a finger less than the required 5 for a glove, will only the 4 "tubes" recieve values!

--sd

[tottijohn]

Haha thanks, yep i know what a checkbox does. Right now i am seeing stars from long hrs of working with fm...... :

Anyway back to the topic, i created the checkbox so it will autoenter a 'New!' everytime a new record is created so as to sort of like make an announcement.

I was thinking of maybe fm is able to highlight a particular new record, and revert back to normal color after viewing. Is that possible?

[Søren Dyhr]

I was thinking of maybe fm is able to highlight a particular new record, and revert back to normal color after viewing. Is that possible?

Records show in a portal?? Or just listview...

--sd

[tottijohn]

Portal or listview will only show all the records, but will not differentiate between old and new ones.

[LaRetta]

How long do you want it to display? If you have a Creation TimeStamp, then you can approach it using a calculation (result is text) as:

If ( Get ( CurrentTimeStamp ) ≤ CreationTS + 30 ;TextColor ( "New" ; RGB ( 255 ; 0 ; 0 ) ) )

It must be Unstored (in Storage Options). This displays for 60 seconds - adjust as needed. You need an unstored calculation if you want the change to happen any time the screen is refreshed, layout switched, another record added etc. Checkbox won't work for two reasons: 1) checkbox is based upon value list which must be indexed (and thus won't update dynamically) and 2) checkboxes won't colorize while displayed as checkboxes. Neither will popups or dropdowns. And an auto-enter standard value of "New" won't remove the word (recalculate the value) unless that particular record is modified.

[comment]

I would make a number field called Unread, with auto-entered 1. When the user clicks in the portal, it goes to the related record and sets Unread to 0. Highlighting can be done by a calculation field =

Case ( Unread ; <> )

[tottijohn]

Thanks, but i do not want the timing to be a factor. It must last until the user did a amendment.

[tottijohn]

Thx, i think that works for me! ;)

[life036]

Speaking of this, why the hell doesn't FileMaker have a boolean field type... 1 or 0... Why wouldn't they build that in?

[comment]

A general number field is good enough for me.