7.6. Buttons

The Contact Management database template described in the box on Explore Starter Solutions has a pretty slick system for switching between list and detail layouts. Instead of fiddling with the tiny Layout pop-up menu, you can just click tab graphics right on the screen. Each click magically transports you to a different layout.

You can easily duplicate this magic in your own databases. Just use FileMaker's Button tool, shown in Figure 7-37. But don't let the tool's name and appearance mislead you. You're not limited to the rectangular beveled buttons this tool creates. In fact, you can turn nearly any object on a layout—an imported graphic or even a field—into a button. When folks click the mouse button while pointing to such an object, FileMaker highlights it so they know they're about to perform some kind of action. When they let go, something happens. You get to decide what that something is.