Conditional flicker

[Hoib]

Digging into conditional formatting.  

 

Can buttons/fields be "flickered" the same way they can be assigned an alternative color, if certain conditions are or are not met?

 

I don't think FM Pro Adv 12 has this built in.  I'm thinking this may be some sort of loop, customized to "pulse" or "flicker" (animate?) the background color (lighter-darker-lighter...) until it's pressed.

 

Am I off base with "loop"?  Do we have another method to "flicker" a screen element?

 

Thanks.

[comment]

Ahmm... what would be the purpose of that? Other than to induce epilepsy seizure in your users, that is.

[Rick Whitelaw]

Flicker as in those early annoying Flash ads? It can likely be done, but I would simply have the field's color change only once to draw the user's attention. As far as I know conditional formatting cannot of itself operate in a timed situation.

[Hoib]

OK, very well, I'll forget that idea.  I'd tried to post a longer question but my browser suddenly quit on me and upon return I really didn't want to walk all the way through.  To answer Comment's reply:  The flicker suggestion came from...  a user!  Users are missing this field constantly even though I've cond formatted it to an alternative color drawing attention to it.  They're probably tired of me yelling about it :-)

 

Again, that's why we have this forum - to gather informed advice.

 

Thanks.  I'll move on.

[LaRetta]

Wait please, Hoib, there are always several ways of resolving EVERY issue in FileMaker.  I would suggest that you consider script trigger (possibly OnLayoutExit), field-level validation  on another field or simply re-placement of that field to draw attention.  We would be happy to help you consider options.  And you CAN have it flash.  If the User tries to leave and the condition isn't met, trigger which refreshes conditional formatting toggling on/off (1/0) with a 3-loop or timed sequence and a Freeze Window, can handle it.

 

But if you are serious about ensuring non-empty contents of a field during data-entry, you might also consider modal dialog window and hold them captive until they do what they should. 

 

It is good to listen to your Users.  If they are missing something important then you will want to assist them with it.   If you wish to discuss it further, provide screen shots of the offending layout, or even present the zipped file itself, we are all here to help in this regard.

[LaRetta]

I wasn't clear however - flashing layouts is NOT recommended and most Users hate them.  I will immediately disconnect from a website if there is too much going on.

 

But a custom dialog telling a User they can't leave, and when exiting the custom dialog, a single field flashes a few times times, is fine and possible if you must and all other techniques fail first.

[comment]

The flicker suggestion came from...  a user! 

 

That doesn't make it a good idea. Users are often good at spotting a problem, rarely at finding the right solution for it. You should give your users what they need, not necessarily what they want.

It's also best to follow the established (read: tried and true) methods of user interface. That would include (1) placing a red asterisk next to required fields, (2) providing a beep and a message if this is ignored and (3) holding the user to the input screen until they comply. It is also customary to highlight the offending fields at this point.

In addition, you should validate the fields as not empty at the data level, so that there is no way to bypass the layout-level methods. IOW, let Filemaker do the yelling for you.

 

Finally, a layout is not a map, and it should not require flashing pins to draw attention to a location. If your users have trouble finding the required fields, you may well have a layout with too many fields on it. Consider walking your user through several input screens, using separate layouts or tab panes.