Re: Creating a database from scratch in FM7

RyeTronics <ryetronics@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> In FileMaker Pro 7, you have two options when creating a database...
>
> You can 1) Create a new file using a template, or 2) create a new empty
> file
>
> Now when using a template, the interface has a certain updated look.
> But when creating an empty file, once the fields are entered, it looks
> very basic, old looking.
>
> Is there a way to make an empty file database look as nice as one of
> the templates?

Yes. You design the objects using the tools in layout mode. You settle
on colors for background and headers, you pick lineweights and spacing
for portals, and shading/effects for buttons.

You pick the text fonts and colors and sizes to be appealing and appear
clear on all platforms, and decide which goes where (fields, labels,
buttons).

And then you use these designed objects on every layout. This is what
the designers of the templates do. It's also what professional
developers do when they design their own look & feel for a interface.

If you're not an interface design professional, it's unlikely your
layouts will be as attractive or logically laid out as a template.
(remember when everybody thought they could be a page layout designer
when desktop publishing was new? Most of them were dead wrong.) But
that doesn't mean you can't come up with something nice looking and
functional if you work at it. However, you can spend your life tweaking
"just one more thing". Please, I beg of you, do not use neon colors or
more than three of ANY color on a screen. :/

Or you can start with a template, strip out all the existing tables and
fields, leaving the layout objects in place. Then you define YOUR data
structure, and use the pre-designed objects.

If you already have your data structure, there's no reason you can't
copy and paste layout objects into your files from a template, and then
reassign scripts and field names as necessary.

Lynn Allen
--
Allen & Allen Semiotics www.semiotics.com
FSA Associate Filemaker Design & Consulting
.

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