Pause/Resume won't continue

[Gogargirl]

Hi friends -

 

Back here again after many years to ask some of your first-class advice please....

 

I have a very old solution which I recently converted from fp7 (can't even remember which version I originally created it on) to FM12 and am checking performance. Windows Vista on a trusty old Dell laptop.

 

There is a script triggered by a button, which pauses indefinitely for user input. Many moons ago, the script would resume when the user pressed Enter on the keyboard. Now, it will only resume if the user either

 

1) clicks on 'continue' in the status toolbar, or

2) presses Ctrl + Enter

3) clicks out of the field, then presses Enter

 

So if I have the button on a layout which does not show the status toolbar, the only option I can see to get the script to continue is to train the user in method (2) or (3), both of which are clunky and not really what you would expect to have to do. I can see users clicking anything and everything in frustration....

 

What happened to plain old 'Enter'? This is from the FM help file: 

 

"Select 'Indefinitely' to pause the script until the user clicks Continue (a button created by FileMaker Pro in the status toolbar) or presses Enter"

 

Hmm......sorry, but just 'Enter' doesn't work.

 

I'm guessing that this is because the data the user inputs needs to be committed before the script will continue. So the user has to click out of the field to commit the data and then Enter to continue the script.

 

Is there any way to neaten this up please?

 

 

[Vaughan]

Full sized keyboards have a "return" key and an "enter" key. The enter key is the one on the numeric keypad.

 

Is there a reason for the paused script? If not, split the script into two, right where the pause is now, and put a big "Continue" or "Done" button on the layout that runs the second half of the script.

[Gogargirl]

Thanks Vaughan -

 

The script prints a layout which is a map of a dining room with up to 100 tables. The pause allows the user to select which table to 'mark' in the print-out and also shows who is sitting at that table. A typical work environment for the user is a garret not far from the dining room. They need to e.g. print a new place card for a diner and a runner then takes the print-out and seamlessly puts the new place card in the right place on the right table. There is usually huge time pressure - literally it needs to be done in minutes - and usually they are using a laptop without a numeric keypad.

 

The big button will definitely work, but it's a shame the answer is another step removed from the old 'just press enter'. It always worked before with 'return' rather than numeric keypad enter.

 

Still, it just shows how amazingly varied the uses for FM are.

[Vaughan]

"...it's a shame the answer is another step removed from the old 'just press enter'"

 

Are you pressing enter or return?

[IdealData]

Some laptop I have seen feature the 'Return' key and a 'Control-Return' to produce the 'Enter' key effect.

 

Are you sure the problem is with FileMaker and not the type of laptop?

 

You might also be able to re-map the keyboard to set one of the other keys to give you the 'Enter' key.

 

Incidentally, your solution sounds like a great way to use iPads/FM Go.

[Gogargirl]

By 'just press enter' I mean return - and this always worked on earlier versions, though I'm not sure on FM11, as the solution was mothballed at that time.

 

IdeaData - you're right, it does work with Ctrl+return (or non numeric enter as above) - I just find that clunky....

 

Thanks for your help!

[IdealData]

When your script pauses are you also in a field?

 

If you're in a field then the 'Return' will yield a carriage return in the field, thereby avoiding the paused script. Of course this has to be able to happen otherwise you couldn't type a carriage return when the script is paused.

 

You could also try using a 'dummy' field for this purpose that also has a script trigger ON MODIFY to perform another script.