Setting the tab order for data entry

Contents > Editing objects on layouts > Controlling data input behavior of fields > Setting the tab order for data entry

Setting the tab order for data entry

When you press Tab in Browse mode or Find mode, the default FileMaker Pro behavior is to move left to right and top to bottom. You can change this default tab order, and even omit fields if you want.

Button objects, tab controls, and web viewers can be included in the tab order.

Summary fields can't be included in the tab order.

Calculation fields can be included in the tab order, but you can't tab into them in Browse mode (only in Find mode).

Fields that are formatted to prevent entry can't be tabbed into in Browse mode or Find mode.

To set the tab order for a layout:

1.	In Layout mode, choose Layouts menu > Set Tab Order.

FileMaker Pro displays numbered arrows pointing to each of the fields, tab controls, and buttons on your layout, along with the Set Tab Order dialog box. For fields and tab controls, the numbered arrows appear on the left side of the objects; for buttons, the numbered arrows appear on the right side of the objects. A field that is also a button has two arrows. The left arrow is for the field, the right arrow is for the button. A blank arrow indicates an object that is omitted from the tab order.

2.	In the Set Tab Order dialog box, specify the options you want to use:

To

Do this

Reorder the tab order for individual objects

Click the arrow beside the object. The number you replace is swapped with the number you type.

Place a new object in the tab order

Click the empty arrow beside the object. The next number in the tab order appears in the arrow. Leave this, or backspace to delete the number and type the number you want. The number you replace is swapped with the number you type.

Add the rest of the objects to the tab order

From the Add remaining drop-down list, select Objects and click Add.

Create a new tab order for all objects

Click Clear All, and from the Add remaining drop-down list, select Objects and click Add.

Or, click Clear All and click arrows in the order you want. FileMaker Pro inserts numbers in that order in the arrows.

Create a new tab order for fields only or for buttons only

Click Clear All, and from the Add remaining drop-down list, select Fields only or Buttons only and click Add.

Or, click Clear All and click arrows in the order you want. FileMaker Pro inserts numbers in that order in the arrows.

Remove objects from the tab order

Choose one of the following:

As you set a new tab order, don't click the objects you want to omit.

For objects that already display a number, select the number and press Backspace or Delete.

From the Remove drop-down list, select All fields or All buttons and click Remove.

3.

Click OK.

To set the tab order for repeating fields:

When you arrange multiple repeating fields next to each other to form a table-like grid on a layout, the default tab order (shown below) moves left-to-right across each row instead of down each column, regardless of whether each repeating field is displayed horizontally or vertically.

Tab order for three repeating fields. Shows how the default tab order moves across rows instead of down columns.

For multiple repeating fields arranged like this, you can quickly specify whether to tab through the first repetition of each different field first, or within the same field first.

1.	Start setting the tab order as described above, and click Create new tab order to define a new tab order for all fields.

2.	Set the tab order for any fields that appear before the grid of repeating fields.

3.	Do one of the following to set the tab order for the grid of repeating fields:

To set the repeating field tab order to

Do this

Tab through the first repetition of each different repeating field, followed by the second repetition of each different repeating field, and so on.

Click in the upper-left field, which causes the arrow to blink. Then, in order, click each additional field in the first repetition. When you've completed the pattern for the first repetition, click the upper-left blinking field again, and FileMaker Pro completes the tab order for the remaining repetitions of the repeating fields.

Tab through every repetition in the first field, followed by the second field, and so on.

Double-click the first occurrence of the repeating field. FileMaker Pro fills in the numbers for all the repetitions. Then, double-click the first occurrence of the next repeating field to get the next series of tab-order numbers, and so on.

4.	Set the tab order for any fields that appear after the grid of repeating fields.

5.	Click OK in the Set Tab Order dialog box.

Notes

Buttons are not included in the default tab order. To include buttons in the tab order, use the options in the Set Tab Order dialog box. Buttons on tab controls can be included in the tab order this way as well.

If you choose Do Nothing in the Button Setup dialog box, the button cannot be added to the tab order.

If you have added a tab control to the layout, fields in all tab panels are included in the default tab order. For more information, see Selecting and working with objects in tab panels.

If a web viewer is included in the tab order, then you can tab into it and continue tabbing through links and fields within the web viewer, the same way as in a web browser. You cannot control the tab order within a web viewer, but after you tab from the last link or field in a web viewer, the tab order continues as defined in the FileMaker Pro layout. If Allow interaction with web viewer content is cleared in the Web Viewer Set Up dialog box, then you cannot tab into the web viewer.

Contents > Editing objects on layouts > Controlling data input behavior of fields > Setting the tab order for data entry