# How to hide a field when not in focus **URL:** \ **Category:** Questions\ **Tags:** portal\ **Created:** [May 15, 2021, 12:11pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/how-to-hide-a-field-when-not-in-focus/2122 "2021-05-15T12:11:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JasonMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@JasonMark](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/JasonMark)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 12:11pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/how-to-hide-a-field-when-not-in-focus/2122/1 "2021-05-15T12:11:29Z")
Sorry in advance if this is a double-post. I've spent 30m googling this with no luck. I have a layout with limited space and users can select multiple options from a checkbox. I want to show a small summary and when users click on the summary they get the check boxes. I can think of two ways to do this: 1. Have another field that's a (global?) toggle called something like "IsCheckboxEditModeForFieldWhatever". I can hide the checkbox field when this is 0, and when users click on the summary I can set that to 1, and select the field. Then when the checkbox is saved I can set the toggle back to zero. 2. I could use a new window with a new layout and a card, but it seems like overkill Is there an easy way to just say "hide when the status of self = not in focus" or something? ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/fmsoup/original/2X/2/22e88722b0eeb174a01b187d65b733ced737f8dd.png) ---
**Author:** ![cheesus](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/the.fmsoup.org/cheesus/32/182_2.png) [@cheesus](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/cheesus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 1:24pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/how-to-hide-a-field-when-not-in-focus/2122/2 "2021-05-15T13:24:13Z")
You can use a Button Bar with a Popover. The Button bar Name can be calculated from the option field. When you click the Button the popover opens with the option field. ---
**Author:** ![bdbd](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/the.fmsoup.org/bdbd/32/620_2.png) [@bdbd](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/bdbd)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 2:10pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/how-to-hide-a-field-when-not-in-focus/2122/3 "2021-05-15T14:10:16Z")
My suggestion is close to your first way. I see two fields here. The first is a list field. The second is a calculation field that transforms the list into comma-delimited text. The list field has a hide condition based on a global variable. An on enter script trigger in the summary field fires a script that sets the global variable and navigates to the list field. An on exit script trigger in the list field fires a script that clears the global variable. Hope that helps. ---
**Author:** ![rivet](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/the.fmsoup.org/rivet/32/1727_2.png) [@rivet](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/rivet)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/how-to-hide-a-field-when-not-in-focus/2122/4 "2021-05-15T17:19:33Z")
I typically consider the portal a read-only summary. If the portal requires simple edits, then I reveal a form in a popover. This allows me to spread out the fields and options in a nice readable format. If the portal edit requires some processing, I would reveal the form in a card window. ![portal-edits](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/fmsoup/original/2X/1/1c2253b647f420663b04487e7be9bcfe7a9ee3c6.png) ---
**Author:** ![JasonMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@JasonMark](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/JasonMark)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 7:59pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/how-to-hide-a-field-when-not-in-focus/2122/5 "2021-05-15T19:59:11Z")
yeah that's what I was thinking I needed to fall back on. ---
**Author:** ![JasonMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@JasonMark](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/JasonMark)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 8:04pm UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/how-to-hide-a-field-when-not-in-focus/2122/6 "2021-05-15T20:04:47Z")
That's incredible. I don't think they had such popovers last time I used Filemaker (12). Perfect solution! ---
**Author:** ![Torsten](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/the.fmsoup.org/torsten/32/1574_2.png) [@Torsten](https://the.fmsoup.org/u/Torsten)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2021, 1:10am UTC](https://the.fmsoup.org/t/how-to-hide-a-field-when-not-in-focus/2122/7 "2021-05-16T01:10:27Z")
Popovers where added in v 13.