Newbie tip: Overlapping layout objects/send to background

[mikedr]

I've gotten a lot out of this forum, so I try to pay it forward when I can, even though it'll likely only benefit newbies.

I have an "image" button that is tied to a popover. So you click the button, and you get the popover. Easy enough. Usual UI interaction is that if you click the button, the popover appears, and if you click it again, the popover disappears. Again, all typical FM stuff.

FM does not allow conditional formatting of image buttons to change the color. I wanted to emphasize to the user that for the layout field in question (in the popover), data has been entered. So I created another layout object -- an oval/circle surrounding the image button -- that is displayed only if one or more of the fields of the popover tied to the image button has been populated. Again, typical FM stuff.

What was flummoxing me, though, was that the image button wasn't "working" as expected. If you clicked on the button, the popover appear. But if you clicked on it again, the popover would "re-appear," instead of disappearing.

The problem it turns out was that my oval/circle surrounding object was "over" the image button and in the foreground. So FM didn't see a user was still hovering over the image button, but rather was hovering over the oval/circle object when it was shown. Thefore, if you clicked on the image button again, FM thought (correctly) that the image button was not previously being hovered over, and dutifully showed the popover again.

Very, very easy fix -- in the layout edit mode, I simply moved the oval/circle object to be behind the image button. Everything now works as expected.

I hope this tip helps someone! It took my around 90 minutes to figure out what was going on . . . . . .

[LaRetta]

Usual UI interaction is that if you click the button, the popover appears, and if you click it again, the popover disappears. Again, all typical FM stuff.

 

... the image button wasn't "working" as expected. If you clicked on the button, the popover appear. But if you clicked on it again, the popover would "re-appear," instead of disappearing.

 

Your interpretation is a bit off, Mike.  Clicking a popover again doesn't toggle it open/closed.  ANY click outside of the portal will close the popover so clicking the popover button again is closing it IF you have NOT committed or otherwise clicked outside the popover.  And if you click the popover button and HAVE committed or otherwise clicked in meantime, it pops it again.

 

Now understanding this slight (but important) shift in principle, see if your UI functionality is a bit easier to predict with popovers.  :-)

Also keep in mind that script triggers, such as OnObjectExit attached to a popover, can affect the behaviors accordingly.

[mikedr]

Very good, thank you! I was kinda reporting what I was seeing. I've become a big popover fan, and couldn't figure out why two of my popovers didn't seem to "work" well in this respect.

Very much hoping that FMP14 permits conditional formatting with respect to change in images, though. I'd much rather have the image in question be of a different color rather than my "hack" of an additional layout object of a circle/oval around the button image in question . . . . .

[LaRetta]

The problem it turns out was that my oval/circle surrounding object was "over" the image button and in the foreground. So FM didn't see a user was still hovering over the image button, but rather was hovering over the oval/circle object when it was shown. Thefore, if you clicked on the image button again, FM thought (correctly) that the image button was not previously being hovered over, and dutifully showed the popover again.

Very, very easy fix -- in the layout edit mode, I simply moved the oval/circle object to be behind the image button. Everything now works as expected.

 

Stacking order comes in handy for sure.  Also, conditional formatting CAN be tied to a popover button.  And you can place a graphic and HIDE it when you don't need it (as in fourth example).  Notice on the attached that the circle (second example) has a transparent fill so when clicking it, the popover button is activated.

 

Personally, I normally use buttons instead of popover buttons (see last example).  I like the better because they eliminate the pulse-effect that one gets from a popover button. It also allows the 'button' to be placed a bit differently than where we want the popover to appear which has come in handy for me many times.  And ability to fire a script upon fake popover button selection works better in some situations.

 

The criteria I used for display is whether there is any value in either of the fields on the popover.  I always have a single script with:

 

Go To Object [ Get ( ScriptParameter ) ]

 

... which I can then use as trigger in many situations.  If you wish to provide a sample file of exactly what you want, we can probably give you other ideas as well.  Besides the ability of changing a button's fill image based upon calculation, you can Hide objects and also use text objects as buttons, stacking them and hiding as needed. ... many options here.  You could also use a slide panel.

 

There is no one-size-fits-all in FM.  We all need to understand many techniques so we can apply the best one to each situation.  I love that variety.   :-)

popover.fmp12.zip