My Favorite Shortcuts
By John Mark Osborne (editor@filemakermagazine.com)
On the web: http://www.filemakerpros.com/
BONUS FILE: SHORTCUT.FP3
PLATFORM: Macintosh & Windows
When I sat down to think about articles for this issue, I thought of the FileMaker Pro training classes I started teaching a year ago. I'm constantly amazed with the class evaluations we receive. When asked, "What were the most important concepts you learned?", people hardly ever mention the really complex solutions we cover in intricate detail. Instead, they always say how much time a keyboard or other shortcut saved them. The shortcuts seem like nothing to me because they're so ingrained in my development process. So, I decided to write an article about nothing. Yes, I'm a Seinfeld fan! If this article is anything like Seinfeld, it will be the best article I've ever written.
The keyboard commands listed here are in no particular order. These keyboard commands and other shortcuts are also listed in the bonus file titled SHORTCUT.FP3. You may find you are already familiar with many of these keyboard commands. However, I recommend reading each paragraph since there may be an aspect or two you are not acquainted with.
Switch Record/Layout/Request/Page
MAC: Command-Tab or Command-Shift-Tab
WIN: Ctrl-Up Arrow or Ctrl-Down Arrow
WIN: Shift-Page Up or Shift-Page Down
I use these keyboard shortcuts all the time to switch from record to record or layout to layout. In fact, I would say these are my most commonly used keyboard shortcuts other than the mode shortcuts. They'll work in any mode, but I find them most useful in Browse and Layout.
NOTE TO MACINTOSH USERS: If you're running Mac OS 8.5 or above, this shortcut may not work because it conflicts with the application-switching feature in the OS. In order to make it work, you'll need to select Mac OS Help from the Help menu while in the Finder. When the Help window appears, type in "switch app command." This will produce a list of related help topics, of which the first item should be "switching between open programs." Click on this link and scroll down till you see the section titled "switching from one program to another." At the bottom of this section you will see a link named "help me modify the keyboard shortcuts." Click on this link and the rest should be obvious. I suggest changing the keyboard equivalent to Ctrl-Tab. The only other workaround is to use the Windows keyboard shortcut in FileMaker which happens to work on the Macintosh as well (Ctrl-Up Arrow and Ctrl-Down Arrow). Boy, I'm glad FileMaker, Inc. and Apple got together on this issue and resolved it before shipping System 8.5. (You'll have to get used to my sarcastic sense of humor and realize I think this is the most ridiculous interface I have ever seen.) It feels good to get that out!
Change Font Color (Layout Mode)
MAC: Option-Select Pen Color
WIN: Alt-Select Pen Color
Choosing a font color from the sub-menus of the Format menu has always irked me. I often find myself missing the sub-menu and selecting another one instead. So, once I found out about this keyboard shortcut, I haven't used the Text Color sub-menu since. Select a field or text block with the arrow tool and hold down Option (Mac) or Alt (Win) while selecting a Pen color (not the Fill color) from the popup menu in the status area. Your currently selected font color won't show on the popup palette, but your font color will change.
NOTE: This shortcut will only work when selecting an entire text block with the arrow tool. You cannot highlight a selection of text with the I-beam and use this trick.
Toggle Part Tabs
MAC: Command-Click Part Tab
WIN: Control-Click Part Tab
Why should you have to move all the way to an icon in the lower left corner of the FileMaker Pro window in order to change the orientation of your part tabs from vertical to horizontal or vice versa? I guess some programmer was thinking the same thing since this hidden feature allows you to Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Win) click a part and change the orientation.
Move Part Past Objects
MAC: Option-Drag
WIN: Alt-Drag
I used this keyboard shortcut when creating the bonus file database that accompanies this article. I started by creating the Detail layout. When I was done, I duplicated it and proceeded to modify it for List view. One of the problems I had was moving the parts around. I had all sorts of fields and graphics strewn around on the layout. All I wanted was to move the parts around, but that would require me to remove some of the objects from the layout. With this keyboard shortcut, I was able to move a part without worrying about what objects might be in the way.
Set Defaults
MAC: Command-Click
WIN: Ctrl-Click
Have you ever dragged a field onto a layout and wondered how FileMaker Pro determines what size, color and font to use? Until I knew about this shortcut, I would get stuck on a certain font characteristic and every new field I dragged out would be the wrong font, size, style and color. What a pain! If you want to set the default for a layout object (text, square, circle, oval or line), simply Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Win) click any object that has the characteristics you want. The next time you use the tool for that object, it will inherit the characteristics of the object you last clicked.
Another solution to this mess is to deselect all objects. You can do this by clicking on any area of the layout not covered by an object. Once nothing is selected, choose the font, size, style, color, pen, fill, etc. and all new objects will use these characteristics. In fact, this is exactly how you got yourself into the predicament in the first place. Defaults are set when no objects are selected. At some point, you must have set font or object characteristics while no objects were selected and unknowingly set the default.
Enter Part Definition Dialog
MAC: Double-Click Part
WIN: Double-Click Part
Double-clicking is most often the shortest route to a command. For instance, you could select Part Setup from the Mode menu while in layout mode, or use this tip and double-click on the part you want to edit.
Change Font Size
MAC: Command-Shift-> or Command-Shift-<
WIN: Ctrl-> or Ctrl-<
Why go to the Format menu multiple times to test out various font sizes when you can use this simple shortcut to increase or decrease the font size of the highlighted text, selected text block or selected field. Each time you do this the text changes to the next size listed on the font menu (e.g., from 12-point to 14 to 18). To change in 1-point increments, just add the Option key (Mac) or Shift (Win). This shortcut saves me so much time I can't imagine designing FileMaker Pro layouts without it.
Close Window
MAC: Command-W
WIN: Ctrl-W
I list this keyboard shortcut as one of my favorites because many FileMaker Pro users don't realize what it can do. This keyboard shortcut can solve a nagging problem with relationships. Let's say you have two files that relate to each other. File A has a relationship to File B and File B has a relationship to File A. If you close File A, File B may remain open and hidden under the Window menu. This can cause problems when copying files and is just plain messy. You could write a closing script to close all files in the solution whenever any one of the files is closed, but this causes problems if you don't want some of your files closed.
To make the problem even more annoying, imagine that File A and File B have portals on the current layout that display information from each other. If you select the hidden File B from the Window menu and close the file, you'll find that File A is now open and hidden under the Window menu. How do you get both files closed? You could quit FileMaker Pro, but that's the brute force method. A better solution is to continue to hold down Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Win) with the letter "W" to close all the files under the Window menu. Even though the files aren't visible, this keyboard shortcut will close them without displaying the file. I can't tell you how much frustration this simple little tip has saved me.
Context Sensitive Popup Menu
MAC: Ctrl-Click-Hold
WIN: Right Mouse Button
I find this tip most useful when changing a field that has been defined as a button. Normally, you can double-click a field to access the Specify Field dialog. If the field is defined as a button, double-clicking it will bring up the Specify Button dialog instead. However, there is no way, other than removing the button definition, to access the Specify Field dialog without this tip. All you have to do is hold down the Control key (Mac) while clicking on the field button and you'll find a menu with many choices, including the Specify Field dialog. Windows users are probably already used to context sensitive menus via the Right Mouse Button and have most likely already discovered this time saving feature.
Locking a Tool
MAC: Double-Click a Tool
WIN: Double-Click a Tool
When you are finished drawing an object, the tool selection moves back to the arrow tool. This can be annoying if you are drawing multiple objects. If you double-click the tool, you'll see it turn a darker shade. Now you can draw as many objects with the locked tool as you want. Only when you select another tool will FileMaker Pro revert back to single object drawing. An alternative approach is to use the Enter key on the keypad to toggle between the previously selected tool and the current.
Select All of the Same Object
MAC: Command-Option-A
WIN: Ctrl-Shift-A
Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Win) with the "A" key allows you to select all the objects on the layout or all the text in a field. Adding the Option (Mac) or Shift (Win) key while an object is selected will select all the objects of the same type. For instance, if you have a field selected and type this keyboard shortcut, all the fields on the layout will be selected. An alternative approach to this shortcut is to select a tool in the status area and type Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Win) with the "A" key and all the objects of that tool type will be selected. This variation of the shortcut can be handy if you can't easily select the object you want on a complex layout.
Delete without Warning
MAC: Option-Command-E
WIN: Ctrl-Shift-E
If you didn't know about this shortcut already, you'll save hours over your lifetime with FileMaker Pro. To avoid the warning dialog when deleting a record, script, field, relationship or password, simply hold down Option (Mac) or Shift (Win) while clicking the delete button or delete menu item.
WARNING: This shortcut will also work when deleting all records, so watch out!
Smart Duplicate
MAC: Command-D
WIN: Ctrl-D
When you duplicate an object with the Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Win) and "D" key, the object is offset 6 pixels to the right and 6 pixels down from the original. If you maneuver that object to the correct location and duplicate it, the next object will be offset exactly the same number of pixels from the original as the first duplicated object. This can be useful when creating objects that need to be equidistant from each other.
Hosts Dialog
MAC: Command-Option-O
WIN: Control-Shift-O
To enter the Hosts dialog, you need to show the Open dialog and then click the Hosts button. A shortcut is to hold down the Option (Mac) or Shift (Win) key while selecting the Open item from the File menu or using the keyboard shortcut.
View Index Dialog
MAC: Command-I
WIN: Ctrl-I
The View Index dialog shows you all the data FileMaker Pro has indexed for the currently selected field. This can be quite useful when developing a solution. For instance, you might need to determine whether a particular character is being indexed or not. You have access to this dialog via a ScriptMaker script step (where it's called "Paste from Index"), but how do you get to it without writing a script? All you have to do is hold down the Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Win) along with the letter "I."
ScriptMaker Keyboard Shortcuts
MAC: See the Description
WIN: See the Description
It is possible to avoid the mouse when creating scripts. Here are the most commonly used keyboard shortcuts:
Space Bar (Mac) or Insert Key (Win) = insert a script step.
Up and Down or Left and Right Arrow Keys = move up and down the available script steps or the script steps in your script.
Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Win) with arrow keys = move a script step up and down within a script.
Tab = move from one section to another. Under Windows, this includes the buttons.
Type Ahead = Typing the first few letters of a script step will highlight it in the available steps or in your existing script.
Delete = deletes the highlighted script step.
Print without Dialog
MAC: Command-Option-P
WIN: Ctrl-Shift-T
Immediately prints without displaying the Print dialog. This is good if you can remember what the settings were from your last print job (e.g. records being browsed or current record).
NOTE: The keyboard shortcut under Windows really does use a "T". Don't ask me why, but I'm sure some reader will let me know.
Duplicate Object
MAC: Option-Drag Object
WIN: Ctrl-Drag Object
This shortcut allows you to create an exact duplicate of an object. I find it useful when trying to make a field that has all the same attributes as one currently on the layout. Just Option (Mac) or Ctrl (Win) drag the field to where you want it. When you let go, the Specify Field dialog will appear asking you what field you'd like to place.
New Break
MAC: Option-Layout Setup Menu Item
WIN: Shift-Layout Setup Menu Item
Have you ever had your text break in half when crossing a page break? Well, if you haven't, consider yourself lucky. I used to take a call a week dealing with this issue when working at FileMaker, Inc. Fortunately, FileMaker, Inc. has added a hidden feature that can prevent this problem. It is hidden because it substitutes an alternative printing algorithm, which is not guaranteed to work. When you select Layout Setup from the Mode menu with the Option (Mac) or Shift (Win) key held down, you will see a checkbox appear called New Break. Checking this item will turn on the alternative printing algorithm for the current layout only.
Paste without Style
MAC: Command-Option-V
WIN: Ctrl-Shift-V
Adding the Option (Mac) or Shift (Win) key when pasting will paste the text in the clipboard without any font characteristics. I find this most useful when moving text around in layout mode. Often the text I copy from one layout to another needs to be in a different style. If I am pasting the text within a text block that has already been formatted, I prefer it take on the attributes of the text that is already there. I also use it when pasting from one application into FileMaker Pro. All I want is the text and not the formatting.
Switching Modes
MAC: Command-B, L, F and U
WIN: Ctrl-B, L, F and U
Switching between the four different modes in FileMaker (Browse, Layout, Find and Preview) is fastest when performed with a keyboard command. I highly recommend learning these keyboard equivalents immediately.
The abbreviations are all intuitive except for Preview. They couldn't use "P" because it's already used for Print, so apparently somebody said it out loud and thought, "Okay, we'll just call it Prev-U."
Define Fields
MAC: Command-Shift-D
WIN: Ctrl-Shift-D
Enters Define Fields without using the hierarchical Define sub-menu. I only wish there was a similar keyboard equivalent for ScriptMaker. I often create a script with the Open ScriptMaker script step as one of my first tasks for a new database. I make it available from the Script menu so I can type Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Win) with the "1" key to open ScriptMaker.
Changing Layers
MAC: Command-Shift-F or Command-Shift-J
WIN: Ctrl-Shift-F or Ctrl-Shift-J
If you need to send an object to the front or the back, all you need to do is select a single menu item. However, if you need to place an object in a layer between several objects, you often have to select the Send Backwards or Bring Forwards menu item several times. Because of this, I have become accustomed to using the keyboard equivalents for these commands in order to speed up my layout design. The F key is easy to remember for ""front", however, for the J key, I think of the phrase ""Jump to the back you silly layout object."
Undo
MAC: Command-Z
WIN: Ctrl-Z
If you haven't become comfortable typing the Undo keyboard command, you're wasting tons of time. I use this keyboard command so much that I have worn out the letter "Z" on my keyboard.
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