How to Troubleshoot a Selection Screen in FMX for iPad

Updated 2 weeks ago · 5 min readBeginner

Selection Screens in FMX for iPad can branch to workflows, choose prompts and templates, collect payment, combine different actions with Mixed, or map several guest choices to one Photo Layout. When a screen does not behave as expected (taps not registering, selections appearing in the wrong place, Payment opening the wrong path, or Done staying inactive), review the configuration before concluding that something is wrong with the system.

This guide walks through the most important troubleshooting steps to help you quickly identify and fix the problem.

1. Verify the iOS Version

A typical cause of malfunction is running the app on an unsupported iOS version.

What to Check

FMX selection features for iPad require:

✅ iOS 18 or higher

If the device is running iOS 16 or 17, the interface may:

Fail to register touch input correctly
Render background media design incorrectly
Misalign selection zones
Crash or freeze during interaction

How to Confirm

On the iPad:

Open Settings
Tap General
Select About
Check the iOS Version

If it is below 18, update the device before continuing troubleshooting.

2. Confirm the Clickable Areas Are Positioned Correctly

If users can see the screen but cannot tap or select the correct areas, the problem is often related to how the clickable areas were placed during setup.

Possible Symptoms

Tapping a box selects the wrong option
Nothing happens when an area is pressed
Touch works only in unexpected parts of the screen
Selections appear offset from the visuals

What to Review

In FMX:

Re-open the Selection Screen Editor
Inspect each clickable area
Make sure every clickable area lines up visually with the buttons or images shown on the screen
Confirm the area was not accidentally resized or shifted

If the design was copied from another workflow, the coordinates may no longer match the iPad display.

3. Check the Aspect Ratio: iPad is 3:4, not 9:16

Another frequent cause of selection issues is an incorrect screen ratio.

Our Selection Screen Editor default is 9:16, which is typical for phones or vertical displays. However, iPads use a 3:4 aspect ratio. If the Selection Screen was created for 9:16 and then deployed to an iPad, the visual layout may scale, but the touch zones may not.

Why This Matters

When the ratio is wrong:

Background media stretch or shrink
Buttons move visually
Touch areas stay in their original positions
Selections no longer line up

This creates the illusion that the screen is broken, when in reality the coordinates are simply mismatched.

What to Do

Edit the Selection Screen in the Workflow you are using
Change the Expected Aspect Ratio to 3:4
Save and re-sync the workflow to the FMX iPad

Always design and test multi-selection screens specifically for the device type that will be used at the event.

4. Check the Area Action and Continuation

The required continuation depends on the area's action:

Step needs a valid Target Step.
Payment needs the correct Price and Continue to Step.
Prompt, Photo Layout, and Video Fusion apply their value and use the Selection Screen's normal outgoing connection.
Workflow needs a valid selected child workflow.
Mixed can contain all of those area types, so test each type separately.

If a Mixed Step area works but a Prompt or Layout area does nothing, the screen may be missing its normal continuation.

The eye icon is not a guest visibility setting. An area hidden in the builder remains rendered and tappable in FMX. Delete the area if it should not run.

5. Check Payment Settings

If the screen contains Payment areas:

Nothing selected waits for the guest's first tap; this is not a fault.
First area selected arms the first complete price on entry.
Confirm the Price and Continue to Step on every area.
The placed Payment QR appears only for Stripe or Shopify and only while a paid attempt is armed.
A $0.00 area completes without a provider and does not show a QR.
Mixed Payment areas always wait for a tap, even if Initial Selection was changed elsewhere.

Complete a test transaction with the exact provider account and network that will be used at the event.

6. Check Multi Area Selection

If guests can select items but Done does not activate:

Confirm Selection Type is Photo Layout and Multi Area Selection is enabled.
Select exactly the number shown under Areas to select.
Map every row in Combinations to a Photo Layout.
Keep all intended choices shown in the editor while building mappings. The eye icon does not disable them at runtime.
Remember that an additional area is ignored while the required selection is already full; deselect one choice first.
Add a visible Done graphic through Area Media or the screen background.

Changing Areas to select clears mappings that no longer match the new count. Reopen Combinations after changing it.

7. Best Practices to Avoid Issues at Events

To prevent failures during live events:

✅ Test the workflow
✅ Confirm the iOS version before deployment
✅ Avoid reusing phone-ratio layouts on tablets
✅ Double-check selection zones after any design change
✅ Perform a full sync after updating your workflow
✅ Run multiple tap tests in every corner of the screen
✅ Test every Mixed action type, every Payment price, and every multi-area combination used

Spending a few minutes validating these details ahead of time can save hours of troubleshooting on-site.

Final Checklist

Before an event, confirm:

✔ iPad is running iOS 18 or higher
✔ Multi-selection areas align with visuals
✔ Selection Screen Editor uses a 3:4 aspect ratio
✔ Layout was tested directly on the device
✔ Latest workflow version is synced on your FMX iPad
✔ Unwanted areas are deleted, not only hidden with the eye icon
✔ Every Payment area has the correct price and destination
✔ Every multi-area combination has a mapped Photo Layout

For complete setup instructions, see Selection Screen: Types, Mixed Menus, Payments, and Multi-Area Layouts.

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