Keeping Things Organised by Using Separators

There are four main areas of your database where you can use special separator lines to help keep information organised, these are:

1. Scripts
2. Layouts
3. Value Lists
4. Custom Menus

A separator line is exactly what it sounds like - a line that separates one thing from another.

Scripts

To insert a separator line between scripts, this is done by creating a blank script - the title of which is a single hyphen line "-". You can create these by using the drop-down arrow beside the "New" icon in the Manage Scripts dialog, and selecting "Separator". Alternatively you can create a blank script yourself and assign it the "-" title.

Separator lines can be seen when using the scripts menu. Any separator script that has been checked "include in menu" from the scripts menu, will appear as a single solid line.

Layouts

This separator line is a little less obvious because it is not documented whereas the other ones are. The implementation however is the same as for scripts. You start by creating a blank layout and giving it the layout name of a single hyphen "-". These special layouts can then be positioned in your layout list wherever a separator line is required. The line is then visible from the layout selector while in layout mode, and browse mode providing "include in layout menus" has been checked.

Value Lists

Any entry in a value list which is a single hyphen line will be treated as a separator. These can be added when using a value list that uses custom values. It should be noted however that these separators will not function correctly if the value list is being generated from a field, or list of records. This is because value lists are automatically sorted in these scenarios. If a hyphen has been used in a record, or field value for use in the value list, it will sort incorrectly, and the separator will appear at the top of the value list.

Custom Menus

When creating a custom menu, separators can be from the Custom Menus -> Edit Custom Menu Dialog, by using the "Add Separator" button provided. These separators will appear the same as those for layouts and scripts - a single solid line.

Other Separators
There are other separators that you can create. While they aren't "true" separators, they nonetheless can assist in keeping your database organised:

• A blank custom function can help keep your custom functions organised
• Grouping on the relationship graph can be achieved using comment boxes strategically placed.
• Fields can be grouped by using special separator fields which can have hyphen or blank space names.

Note that for custom function and field separators, you will need to sort them in a custom order respectively.