I'm pretty sure what I want here is not possible in FMP, but thought I'd double check.

I've got a checkbox field that is conditional. Depending on other fields, it'll sometimes show some options, sometimes others. In addition, I want it to sometimes offer no options - in other words, it should sometimes be blank.

I can get my value list to be empty when it should be, but then the checkbox field, instead of being blank, shows a single checkbox labeled "no values defined".

I take it there's no way to avoid that in this case, without using a layout trick like selectively hiding the field using a portal?

(I was hoping to avoid that because the field in question is already IN a portal, and I'd rather not switch this layout to a list-view unless absolutely necessary.)

Thanks!

M.

without using a layout trick like selectively hiding the field using a portal?

But it have some reluctance to react to changes in conditions, you often times find yourself clicking outside a field to freshen. I would approach it differently...

--sd

disguise.zip

Thanks for your reply, that's a clever trick, but this isn't at all what I need in this case.

I'm really thinking that the answer to my question is no, but if anyone knows otherwise, please let me know.

I think a checkbox field is ALWAYS going to show at least one checkbox. About the only thing you could do here is present a dummy value instead of "no values defined" (and then filter it out in case user decides to select it).

But I don't understand why hiding the field would necessitate moving to a list view. You could have two portals, one with the checkbox field, the other one without - each in its own tab panel. The actions that cause the value list to be empty could also cause the tab control to switch to the other portal.

Thanks, comment.

The reason is that the checkboxes need to be visible or not on a child record-by-child record basis (hope that makes sense), rather than being applied uniformly to every record displayed.

In other words: I need to be able to display a list of records, whether in a portal or in a list view. And then each record needs to offer the checkboxes or not, based on other data in the record.

I think I'm going to go with the list view. There will be other drawbacks to that move that I haven't gone into here, but I'm pretty sure it's the lesser of two evils.

Thanks, everyone.

Meanwhile did I come up with a weird idea, including both repeaters as well as a CF ...but the technique as such is still in its teething, the incarnations of the checkbox values moves slightly even though I tried to tie them. Further more have I absolutely no idea if it will work on windows at all - Feel free to ask for further explanations, but perhaps should I provide a link to the thread where the CF originates from:

http://www.clevelandconsulting.com/support/viewtopic.php?t=510

When you try the funktionaly are there several limitations to remember, there is a max lenght of the value at 40 pix, and I gave up figuring out to make an autoenter produce a series of empty boxes, hence the boxify script.

But as such do you enter 0 ... 5 values in a list and press the button to produce boxes, which then are ready to change/toggle.

--sd

Boxify.zip

Interesting idea. Could be implemented less expensively, I think (see attached).

But I must say, the "variable portal" looks rather confusing to me, as a user. Perhaps a different UI model altogether might be appropriate for this (whatever 'this' might be).

CustomCheckbox.fp7.zip

Perhaps a different UI model altogether might be appropriate for this (whatever 'this' might be)

Indeed my initial thoughts as well, I hessitated to ask too cheeky where such metaphors were pick'ed up!

--sd

LOL, then ask politely.