ISO FileMaker Magazine

We’ve all been inspired by the creativity and wide array of UI widgets which have come from the mobile side of computing. In fact, what you present and when/how you present it always offers the opportunity to find new ways if doing so. The whole swipe down to “rubber band” a refresh was a breath of fresh UI air.

When presenting users with options, one of the more common methods for presenting these is using a Pop-up menu. After making a selection in an initial menu a second menu presents options specific to the selection made in the first and so on down the tree. It’s a very common UI pattern.

Sometimes, however, this doesn’t quite work from a UI standpoint. It’s at this point in time when another option may be desired. If you’re comfortable with learning and using ExecuteSQL and how Virtual List works, then you’ll find that presenting a hierarchical tree of options can easily be managed within a single portal. Drilling down through the options and having a way to traverse back up the tree is everything you’ll find in this video. The sample file will have all the parts you need in order to copy into your own FileMaker solutions!

Having access to one of the more recent and most prevalent UI patterns within FileMaker is extremely empowering. Using Popovers and portals, it's now possible to create solution wide menu systems which can be used for navigation, actions or whatever you see fit.

When you combine global variables, with the Virtual List technique and popovers, you can significantly decrease the amount of time it would normally take to maintain even a moderately complex menu system within a FileMaker solution.

It only takes a bit of creativity and foresight to implement solution wide popover menus which can be easily changed. These menus can all leverage the same elements and dynamically change based on any number of variables.

In this video, I walk you through the components which make up this powerful technique and reveal a number of powerful core methods for making it happen. Whatever level you're at, there's something to be gained by watching this video tutorial about popover menus.

The wonderful thing about FileMaker is this. If you don't know of a native way to make it happen, you just force the native tools to bend to your wishes to accomplish your goals.

Such is the case with using portals. While using a portal for something related to the UI, navigation for example, is nothing new, the notion of storing that navigation in something other than a table may be a bit foreign to some.

The crux of this technique is to use global variables in such a creative way as to avoid some of the short comings with using a dedicated table for facilitating solution wide navigation. If you've not used the Virtual list technique to render the contents of a global variable within a portal, then this technique provides the perfect excuse to learn. Pretty much every FileMaker solution needs to facilitate navigation.

Need icons in your sidebar? No problem.
Need toggle arrows? No problem.
Need integrated search features? Totally possible.

Watch this video for a good understanding of how to bend FileMaker portals to your every wish.