Changing the Currency Formats

The Currency formats for any number fields that are set to display a currency are using the default settings for the region where the file was first created - in this case the Australian region formats which use the $ symbol and the comma separator. FileMaker Pro currently doesn't allow us to dynamically set the currency symbol or the decimal and thousands separator symbols so you will need to change these as required on your copy of the fmAccounting Link (Xero Edition) file. You can do this in a number of ways:

1. for each field that you wish to change switch to Layout mode, click on the field that you wish to change the formatting for and using the Data tab of the Inspector make the necessary changes:

2. you can use the Claris FileMaker Data Migration Tool to migrate your data to a clone and specify a new locale for a target file. See the Claris FileMaker Data Migration Tool Guide for further details. You can download a copy of the Claris FileMaker Data Migration Tool here.

3. you can manually make a clone of the fmAccounting Link (Xero Edition) file on your Mac or Windows computer. A clone of the file contains all the contents of the original file with the exception of the record data and the default locale information. Then open the clone on a system with the required regional formats you wish to use: when you first open a clone the operating system’s current locale information is added to the clone.

We recommend having the Script Debugger open before opening the clone as you will get the following error otherwise:

The OnFirstWindowOpen script that runs when the first is first opened is designed to check that the file can be edited and isn't 'read only' by editing a field in the Interface table:

To prevent this we recommend that you manually import the record from the Interface table from the original file, as well as the records in the Navigation table from the original file. You should then have a new copy of the file without any data but with the correct system formats for your region.

To learn more about the FileMaker System Formats and resetting the File Locale settings check out this article on the Databuzz website.