How do I enter a "soft return" ("line break" or "newline character") in a text object?

[steveald]

I have several layouts that contain large amounts of boilerplate text entered as text objects. I need to be able to enter a "soft return" (aka "line break" or "newline character") to force text to a new line without invoking the Line Spacing settings that control paragraphs   separated by "hard returns" - like you get when you hit the Return key. But I can't find anything on the subject.
 
This is not about importing or exporting anything. This is just about static text in a text object on a database layout.
 
Is there a special character or command that can be used to force a soft return? No combination of shift - control - option & Return that I have tried achieves anything other than a hard return. I could just add several spaces, but that seems sloppy and it causes issues with text justification.
 
Mac OS X 10.11, FileMaker Pro Advanced 14.
 
XPOST

[jbante]

"Line break" and "newline" aren't actually specific characters. A line break is a layout design device (one that FileMaker doesn't have), and "newline" is a catchall term for any of several characters that start a new line of text, including the carriage return Char ( 13 ), which is what I presume you mean by "hard return". The other newline characters are:

• Line feed, Char ( 10 )
• Vertical tab, Char ( 11 )
• Form feed, Char ( 12 )

I think you're looking for a line feed. You could get this into your text by building a calculation in the data viewer, and copying the result:

Let ( [
    _lineFeed = Char ( 10 )
] ;
    "Line 1" & _lineFeed & "Line 2" & _lineFeed & "Line 3"
)

Edited April 6, 2016 by jbante

[steveald]

Thanks, jbante. I just learned elsewhere that the Char() function may be the key to what I want.

Yes, I am looking for a line feed - I need to push the text to a new line without FileMaker seeing it as a new paragraph.

Could you elaborate on "building a calculation in the data viewer"? That is apparently outside of my wheelhouse. I found the Data Viewer, but I'm not sure how to incorporate your suggested calculation for my use or how to invoke the line feed where I need it in the text.

If it helps, here is one example of many instances where I need a line feed - in this case, after the 1st, 6th & 7th lines, but a carriage return after the 8th line where Paragraph / Line Spacing kicks in.

Edited April 7, 2016 by steveald

[jbante]

To use the data viewer for this, you would make a calculation putting carriage returns and line feeds where you want them, click "Evaluate", copy the text in the result box, and paste that into your layout.

[steveald]

I just realized something then. If I have a page full of dozens of places that I need to insert a line feed instead of hard return, I would have to repeat the process you just described for each line feed?

I guess I assumed there would be a special character placed wherever it was needed in the text object to invoke the Data Viewer calculation.

Any thoughts on that?

[Lee Smith]

5 hours ago, steveald said:

Could you elaborate on "building a calculation in the data viewer"?

Why did you post an image of the text, rather than just pasting the text?

I was going to try some things to see if I could help, but the actual text would be more accurate then me recreating the text.

Lee

[steveald]

Lee, simply to show how the line spacing needed to be. Here's the text:

Actively At Work
At work with the Employer on a day that is one of the Employer's scheduled workdays. On that day, You must be performing for wage or profit all of the regular duties of Your Occupation:
1) in the usual way; and
2) for Your usual number of hours.
We will consider You Actively at Work on a day that is not a scheduled work day only if You were Actively at Work on the preceding scheduled work day.

 

 

 

[Lee Smith]

Does this look right?

 

Actively At Work

At work with the Employer on a day that is one of the Employer's scheduled workdays. On that day, You must be performing for wage or profit all of the regular duties of Your Occupation:

1) in the usual way; and

2) for Your usual number of hours.

We will consider You Actively at Work on a day that is not a scheduled work day only if You were Actively at Work on the preceding scheduled work day.

 

[steveald]

No, sorry. That's why I posted the image. FileMaker invokes Line Spacing settings wherever a hard return creates a new paragraph. I need to enter a line feed after the 1st, 2nd & 3rd lines in your example so the Line Spacing only occurs after lists of numbers and before headings (Actively At Work in this case). And I need to be able to do this for dozens of blocks of text like the one I gave on one page in a layout.

 

After much discussion here and elsewhere, it occurs to me that I may be making this harder than it needs to be. Perhaps I should just set the entire Text Object to single height Line Spacing with nothing Above or Below each line. Then just add extra lines where needed and resize them to create the effect I need.

Thanks for all the suggestions.