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Setting color, pattern, line width, and object effects

Use the Line and Fill palettes in the formatting bar to change the appearance of objects — including fields and portals — on the layout.

 

Platform	Line and Fill palettes
Mac OS
Windows

To set color, pattern, line width, and other effects for objects:

1.	In Layout mode, select one or more objects.

For more information, see Selecting objects.

Or, to specify attributes for objects you add later, start with no objects selected.

2.	Choose from the palettes in the formatting bar.

 

To choose	Use this palette (Mac OS)	Use this palette (Windows)
The color or pattern of a line, or the color or pattern of a border around a shape, text object, field, or portal	Line Color or Line Pattern	Line Color or Line Pattern
The line width or the width of a border around a shape, text object, field, or portal	Line Width	Line Width
The color or pattern of an object, including the backgrounds of text objects, fields, and portals	Fill Color or Fill Pattern	Fill Color or Fill Pattern
The effect with which FileMaker Pro draws an object (except lines)	Object Effects	Object Effects

The sample boxes next to the palettes show a sample of each attribute that you choose.

If one or more objects are selected, they also change to reflect the attributes you choose.

To make an object transparent: Choose the transparent pattern from the pattern palettes. An object with a transparent pattern is “hollow,” and can only be selected by clicking its border. Any non-transparent objects behind it are visible and can be selected.

Notes

•	To quickly format an object, use the shortcut menu: right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac OS) on the object, and choose the appearance options you want from the shortcut menu that appears. (If the object is transparent, click the object’s border.)

•	You can also change the appearance of fields by adding field borders. For more information, see Adding borders, fill, and baselines to fields.

•	To apply a color or pattern to a layout part, click the part label, then, in the formatting bar, choose from the Fill Color palette, Fill Pattern palette, or both. (The color you specify for the body part also affects the background of the table in Table View.)

•	To set the default attributes from the attributes of an existing object, Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) the existing object while in Layout mode. This is a good way to “pick up” attributes applied by a layout theme applied in the New Layout/Report assistant.

•	You can change the color palette that FileMaker Pro displays. For more information, see Setting layout preferences.

•	To create a custom color, choose Other Color from a color palette, then click the color to use.

Tip  To determine the RGB value of a color:

•	Windows: In Layout mode, click the Fill Color palette and choose Other Color. Values are shown for each of the basic colors.

•	Mac OS: Start the DigitalColor Meter application in the Applications/Utilities folder. Choose RGB As Actual Value, 8-bit. Move the pointer over colors onscreen to see their values.

Related topics 

Drawing and inserting objects on a layout

Selecting and working with objects on a layout

Copying attributes between objects

Formatting tab controls

About object effects