Card Window Patterns

Beginner

Design reusable card windows for details, confirmations, record pickers, and entry forms -- covering card window creation, data passing, and result handling.

What you'll learn

When to use card windows vs. popovers vs. full windows
How to pass data into and receive results from card windows
How to design a reusable record picker card
How to close card windows and return results to the parent

Card windows are modal-style overlays that appear anchored to a parent window. They are ideal for: record detail panels, confirmation dialogs with custom content, record pickers, and multi-step entry forms. Unlike popovers, card windows have access to all layouts and can run any script. Unlike full windows, they feel lightweight and maintain visual context with the parent.

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Creating a card window

Use New Window with Style: Card. The card window appears centered or positioned relative to the current window. It requires a layout -- the card is a full FM window, just styled as a floating overlay.

FileMaker Script

// Script: Open Contact Picker Card
New Window [
  Style: Card ;
  Name: "Select Contact" ;
  Using layout: "ContactPicker"
  Width: 500 ; Height: 400
  // Position: auto-centered over parent window
]

The Virtual List Technique Printing and PDF Generation