Buttons in Find Mode

One of the biggest issues with users is training them to pay attention to the current mode. For instance, if the mode is browse, the New Record/Request script command creates a new reecord. But, if the mode is find, the same script step creates a new request. What often happens is that users don't realize they are in find mode and starts creating what they think are records, but are in fact, new requests. When they return to the solution the next day, all the information they have entered is gone. FileMaker, Inc. added a feature to FileMaker Pro 3.0 to attempt to deal wit this issue. If you create ten new requests in find mode, the eleventh will display a warning message warning the user.

Unfortunately, this doesn't really help the inexperienced user. They may ignore the message entirely and just click through it, or they may not understand it and come asking for help. If they don't find help, they may click throught it and continue enter new requests instead of new records. A better approach is to build in your own safeguards. This slide presents two methods for handling the situation. Choose the one that makes the most sense to you.

The first method uses an If statement to trap the current mode and act accordingly.

The script checks to see what the current mode is. A zero (0) means that the user is in browse mode. A one (1) designates find mode and a two (2) specifies preview mode. Layout mode does not have a value since you can't run scripts in layout mode.

The script shown above only traps for find mode, since that is the only mode you are concerned with. If the mode is find, a message will appear asking if the user wants to create a new record. If they do, the user will be placed in browse mode and a new record will be created. If the mode is browse when the user clicks the button, a new record will be created without any message.

The second script takes a simpler approach and simply places the user in browse mode before the new record is created.

The biggest disadvantage of the second method is that the user gets no feedback or choice as to what is happening. However, this technique is a lot easier to implement. If you have a lot of scripts, this may be the best approach.

There are quite a few script steps, like New Record/Request, that perform differently depending on the mode. Here is a list:

Go to Record/Request/Page Duplicate Record/Request Delete Record/Request Revert Record/Request Exit Record/Request

Download an example FileMaker file     .