FMLayoutMode.com

Now that our layout from my May 26, 2010 post is looking pretty much how we want it to, let’s look at one more thing we can do to make it easier for our users to enter data — and enter it consistently.

Here’s a screen shot of our latest iteration of the layout:

So, how can we make data entry easier and more consistent? Value lists!

How will a value list help? A value list gives the user a few options to pick from, so that they don’t have to type the data in every time. If you have multiple users entering data, think about how many ways someone can enter “Mr.” in the “Mr., Ms., Mrs.” field:

• Mr.
• Mr
• MR
• MR.
• mr.
• mr
• Mister
• mister
• MISTER

Okay, so that may not hurt things much, but it would really bug me! Think of how different the address labels will look for these records … and imagine you were doing a find in that field. Do you really want to look for all those variations on “Mr.”? Life is much easier if you know that it is always spelled correctly.

So let’s go up to FileMaker’s File menu and select Manage > Value Lists. Click the New button to create a new value list

You probably know how to do this. We’ll name the field “MrMrsEtc_c” and give it the following values: Mr., Ms., Mrs., Dr.

Click OK, and then click OK again.

Now, quickly! To Layout Mode, Robin!

Select the Mr., Ms., Mrs. field, and then go to the Data tab on the Inspector. In the Field area of the Data tab, go to Control Style, and select “Pop-up Menu”. Then select a “Values from” of the value list we just created. Also, tick the checkbox for “Allow editing of value list”.

Easy enough, eh? Now the user can only select one of the items in the list (that leaves only one way to spell “mister”, Mister!), and they can add more items, or edit the ones that are currently in the list.

Why did I select a pop-up menu instead of one of the other options for showing a value list? Here are the other options, and their strengths:

1. Drop-down calendar: Obviously, handy for selecting dates.
2. Radio button set: This is for selecting mutually exclusive items. The user will only be able to pick from one of the options (well, that’s not entirely true; I’ll explain later). Usually best if there are only two or three options to choose from.
3. Checkbox set: This allows the user to select and deselect multiple options.
4. Pop-up menu: Also for selecting mutually exclusive items. Like the radio buttons, except you can have a lot more options to select from.
5. Drop-down list: Similar to pop-up menus, except you can also type in other values that aren’t in the value list.

Let’s create a couple more value lists. The first one will be called “Status_c”, and will hold the following two values: Active, Inactive. The next one will be called “State_c” and will hold the postal abbreviations for all the states.

So, in Layout Mode, select the Status field. Since it just has two options, let’s do it as radio buttons, using the Status_c value list. Originally, this field had either “Current client” or “Past client” in it. Since there are only two options, do both options really need to contain the word “client”. I’ve changed the options to be “Active” or “Inactive” instead. It’s shorter and more meaningful.

Now we’ll do the State field. There is only one state for the address, so we don’t want checkboxes. There are a pile of options to choose from, so we don’t want radio buttons. However, there could possibly be some clients from another country. So we need users to be able to type in their own options, if needed. Drop-down list it is.

Since we’re using a drop-down list, I like to give users a visual cue that that’s what they’re getting. Click the “Include arrow to show and hide list”. I also like to click the “Auto-complete using value list”.

That’s about it. There are some things you might like to add to the field definitions as auto-enter options:

• Force upper case letters on the State and Zip code fields.
• Automatic formatting of the phone fields, so that users only have to enter the numbers, and everything else is taken care of for them.
• Have all new clients default to a status of “Active”.

So our wild layout has been tamed. How cool is that?

I’m certainly not saying it’s a work of art, but it is no longer an embarrassment, and should be easier for the users to work with. What do you think?

Notes

1. If you want to select multiple values in a radio button set, just hold down your shift key and click each value. However, this probably isn’t a good thing. If we really wanted users to select multiple options, we would have used a checkbox set, right? I’ll show you how to stop people from doing this some other time.
2. The “_c” at the end of my value list names signifies that they are Custom value lists. “_d” is for a field-based value list; “_r” is for a related value list; “_x” is for a value list from another file.
3. Now that we’re done with this layout. I’d just like to reiterate that I’m not a graphic designer. A lot of my clients are designers, and I have huge amounts of respect for the ability they have to colour and move things around to make them look perfect. What we’ve done is the dumbed-down version of just making things less offensive.
4. What we’ve done is created a layout that takes care of the practical considerations to make it workable. There are others who are dedicated to truly inspired interface design:
   1. SmallCo.net used to have a fantastic set of articles and podcasts on design. I can’t find them at the moment, so they may have taken them down. That’s a shame; those guys are brilliant!
   2. Don Levan of Vanguard Custom Software is another interface genius. If you ever get the chance to see him speak at a user group, FileMaker Developer Conference, or Pause on Error Unconference, do it!
   3. You can find more pieces of interface design brilliance at SeedCode’s blog. John Sindelar’s calendar is just lovely in its simplicity.
   4. … and I’ve probably missed mentioning others.

Paul Spafford
FMLayoutMode.com
Spafford Data Solutions