Padding A Checkbox Field

[David Mars]

I am trying to apply padding to a checkbox field so the slightly rounded border isn't touching the checkbox elements.

 

I used FMP 12 Format/Layout/Line Spacing and put in 10 points on the left, to see if I could notice some padding effect. No luck. Am I missing something obvious?

 

I have a screenshot of my checkbox with the 10 points left setting and showing the settings as well.

 

Thanks, David

[David Jondreau]

No, you're not missing something. Checkboxes are one of those features that is underdeveloped. There's nothing you can do to make that control look better. You could brew something else up using a portal or a repeating field, but it'll be a bit of work.

[bcooney]

Gotta say, anytime I see a checkbox array like this, I wonder if the data model is correct. Is this false data just to show us the formatting problem? Otherwise, I suggest a child table.

[dwdata]

Here is a method that might work for you. Download the file and tear it apart. It is a bit of a brute force attack but the end result is pretty clean.

 

Hope this helps!

chkboxes.zip

[Raybaudi]

I am trying to apply padding to a checkbox field so the slightly rounded border isn't touching the checkbox elements.

You could set the field line to none and ( eventually ) place a rounded object above the field.

[David Mars]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to study Don's chkboxes.zip file which looks much nicer than my plain checkbox approach, and review child records.

 

The data is actual data, I need to study and get a better understanding of how a child table would work/help.

 

David

[Vaughan]

Gotta say, anytime I see a checkbox array like this, I wonder if the data model is correct. Is this false data just to show us the formatting problem? Otherwise, I suggest a child table.

 

Yep, +1 from me. Use related records in a portal.

 

The shortcomings of checkboxes with multiple entries only become apparent when you get around to generating reports. Up until that point they are great!

 

The problem is that the field contains multiple values, so they will not work for summary reports. Getting meaningful data out of the checkbox is not a trivial task either. People usually resort to creating separate summary fields for each value, which means the values are hard-coded into the database structure, and adding new values means adding new fields and modifying the reports.

 

You do NOT want to go there.

[isamudysan]

sorry to bring this thread back to life. i definitely appreciate all the posts on here, and props to dwdata for posting his sample file.  my question:  how would modify this for, say, 11 columns?

 

thank you.

[Lee Smith]

Hi @isamudysan and welcome to the FM Forums,

What's the purpose of needing 11 columns i.e. portals?

Often there are many ways to accomplish the same thing in FileMaker.

Most of the time, you will be better off starting your own thread rather than trying to adapt an existing thread to explain what you have now and what you are trying to accomplish. Even if it sounds like it is exactly what you need, it is better to explain your situation in detail. It is also helpful to you and us to know what your field names, layouts, tables, etc. are.

In addition, if you haven’t already read this topic Anatomy of a Good Topic, it explains some things you should know when posting in the FM Forums.

Lee

[comment]

2 hours ago, isamudysan said:

how would modify this for, say, 11 columns?

Just put 11 portals side-by-side, and make each start at a different row. You only need a single relationship, showing all records (i.e. using the x relational operator). I see no point in having empty portal rows.

[isamudysan]

3 hours ago, Lee Smith said:

Hi @isamudysan and welcome to the FM Forums,

What's the purpose of needing 11 columns i.e. portals?

Often there are many ways to accomplish the same thing in FileMaker.

Most of the time, you will be better off starting your own thread rather than trying to adapt an existing thread to explain what you have now and what you are trying to accomplish. Even if it sounds like it is exactly what you need, it is better to explain your situation in detail. It is also helpful to you and us to know what your field names, layouts, tables, etc. are.

In addition, if you haven’t already read this topic Anatomy of a Good Topic, it explains some things you should know when posting in the FM Forums.

Lee

thanks, lee.  i was hoping that it would fall within what the OP was inquiring, because i, too, was looking to see if there was a possibility of padding the check boxes and google sent me here. i read the whole thread, and came across don's sample file which i adapted quickly to one of the solutions was working on -- turned out great.  then this other FM solution had like 99 fail codes, and i had them in all checkboxes.  yeah, does not look too good on the layout at all.  that was the reason for my question.  if needed, then i will create a new thread.  thanks again.

2 hours ago, comment said:

Just put 11 portals side-by-side, and make each start at a different row. You only need a single relationship, showing all records (i.e. using the x relational operator). I see no point in having empty portal rows.

thank you. i'll give this is a shot. haven't tried anything like this before, so this will be fun.  thanks.

[comment]

13 hours ago, isamudysan said:

haven't tried anything like this before,

I think you'll find it can be much simpler than shown above:

 

Portal2Checkbox.fp7