Creating and editing custom menu sets (FileMaker Pro Advanced)

Contents > Customizing files with FileMaker Pro Advanced > Defining custom menus (FileMaker Pro Advanced) > Creating and editing custom menu sets (FileMaker Pro Advanced)

Creating and editing custom menu sets (FileMaker Pro Advanced)

You can create custom menu sets to include the menus you require. You can then specify a menu set for the file and for individual layouts.

You can create a new menu set or edit or duplicate an existing one. You can also delete menu sets that your users will not need.

Important Duplicating a custom menu set creates a copy of the menu set and references the same custom menus as the original menu set. It does not duplicate the custom menus. If you change a menu item, you change the menu for all menu sets in which the menu is included.

To create, edit, duplicate, or delete menu sets:

1.	Choose File menu > Manage > Custom Menus > Menu Sets tab.

2.	Do one of the following in the Manage Custom Menus dialog box, then click OK:

Do this

Create a menu set

Click Create.

Edit an existing menu set

Select the menu set from the list, then click Edit.

Duplicate a menu set

Select the menu set from the list, then click Duplicate.

Delete a menu set

Select the menu set from the list, then click Delete.

3.	If you selected Create or Edit, you see the Edit Menu Set dialog box. Select a menu set and do the following:

Do this

Specify the menu set name

For Menu Set Name, enter a descriptive name for the menu set (up to 100 characters). This name appears in the list on the Menu Sets tab in the Manage Custom Menus dialog box.

Include a comment

For Comment, enter a comment about the menu set (up to 30,000 characters).

Note The comment will appear in the Menu Sets tab of the Manage Custom Menus dialog box.

You can click Clear All to remove all menu items from the menu set. Drag an arrow Open/Close Data Viewer button

up or down to change the order of the menu items in the list.

4.	Specify which menus you want to include in the menu set, and click OK.

Do this

Add a menu to the menu set

Select the menu from the list of Available Custom Menus, then click Move.

Double-click the menu in the list of Available Custom Menus.

Remove a menu from the menu set

Select the menu you want to remove from the menu set, then click Clear.

Create a menu

Click Create. See Defining custom menus (FileMaker Pro Advanced)

Note You can shift-click Create to create an empty menu.

Duplicate a menu

Select the menu from the list, then click Duplicate.

Edit a menu

Select the menu, then click Edit. See Creating and editing custom menu items (FileMaker Pro Advanced)

Each time you switch layouts, FileMaker Pro installs the menu set specified in the Layout Setup dialog box Menu Set option.

In FileMaker Pro Advanced, you can temporarily switch menu sets or restore standard FileMaker menus using the Tools menu, which is always added to the menu bar. This is helpful for testing menu sets.

To temporarily switch menu sets:

1.	Choose Tools menu > Custom Menus.

2.	Select the menu set you want.

Notes

Mac OS:

If you do not include a Help menu in your menu set, the operating system will install an empty Help menu. You cannot remove this menu, change its position on the menu bar, or change its title.

The FileMaker Pro menu is added after the Apple menu. You cannot customize the Quit or Preferences menu items. You can only customize the About FileMaker Pro menu item.

Windows: The Exit menu item is added at the end of the first unlocked (modifiable) menu. You cannot customize the Exit menu item.

Once you create menu sets, you must specify options for installing them. You can:

Specify a default menu set for a file.

Specify menu sets for individual layouts. See Specifying a menu set for a layout.

Create scripts that change menu sets.

Specify menus within the menu set to display according to mode.

Before distributing a database with custom menus:

Test all menus and menu items on both platforms for each user account. Be sure that all the necessary menus and menu items are available so that users can perform their tasks.

Be sure users can always access the View menu, or provide a method (like buttons) to switch between Browse, Find, and Preview modes.

You can also review the Database Design Report to check for any shortcut or access key conflicts.

You can create scripts that change menu sets based on conditions that you specify.

For more information, see Creating scripts to automate tasks.

You can use Get(CustomMenuSetName) to check for the name of the active custom menu set. You can also use the Get(LastError) function to check for missing menu sets. Check the status of the Get(LastError) function after performing the Install Menu Set script step. If a menu set is missing, the function will return error 115. For more information, see Get(CustomMenuSetName) and Get(LastError).

FileMaker Pro Advanced may not be available in all of the shipping languages of FileMaker Pro.

Contents > Customizing files with FileMaker Pro Advanced > Defining custom menus (FileMaker Pro Advanced) > Creating and editing custom menu sets (FileMaker Pro Advanced)