12 FileMaker Keyboard Shortcuts

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Chapter 12. FileMaker Keyboard Shortcuts

Working Quickly, Saving Time

FileMaker is a rapid application development (RAD) tool. As with any tool, how “rapid” it really is depends to a great degree on a developer’s mastery of the tool. It’s one thing to know how to get something done—another to know how to get it done quickly. There are many aspects to knowing how to work quickly in FileMaker, from using the new Copy Table/Field/Script step commands in FileMaker 8 Advanced, to using custom functions and script parameters to abstract and automate frequently used logic. But we have also observed over the years that the fastest users of the tool tend to be those who also make fairly heavy use of keyboard shortcuts.

Like any modern software application, FileMaker has many keyboard shortcuts hidden under the hood—probably about 400 by our count, though that number is not exact. Of those, we’d list a couple dozen or so as being critical to working quickly in FileMaker, and perhaps another dozen as very desirable to master.

This chapter is divided into two broad areas. In the first, we examine a number of important areas of FileMaker development and discuss the shortcuts we feel are most important in each area. The second section is a comprehensive listing of keyboard shortcuts for menu items.

Note

With the arrival of FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced and its Custom Menus feature, it’s possible to alter the landscape of FileMaker keyboard shortcuts almost beyond recognition. It’s for this reason that the About FileMaker dialog box now includes the words Custom Menus Active in the Info section if you’re working in a file that has a custom menu set active. (If you’re trying to provide phone help to someone, and their copy of FileMaker doesn’t respond to “normal” commands, you can have them check this dialog to see whether custom menus may be in effect.) So just be advised that all information in this chapter assumes the standard FileMaker menu set is in effect.

Essential Shortcuts by Group

In this section we’ll call out shortcuts we believe are essential in each of a number of areas. We’ll also delve into some more specialized or lesser-known shortcuts in each area as well.

Keyboard Essentials

Shortcuts in this section should be required knowledge for all FileMaker developers. If you haven’t mastered these, you need to spend more time with FileMaker!

Working with Modes

Working with Files

Working with Records

Developer Essentials

When using keyboard shortcuts, keep the following in mind:

It’s possible to hold down the Option key (Mac) or Shift key (Windows) to skip a confirmation dialog when deleting an item, be it a record, a field, a script step, or the like. The sole exception concerns deleting a layout: FileMaker will always prompt you before deleting a layout.
The only available shortcuts for Define Custom Functions and Define Value Lists are Windows Alt-key combinations. This is unfortunate because these tools form an integral part of at least our own development processes, so we’d love to see a single shortcut working on both Mac and PC for each of these items.

Navigation

The shortcuts in this section are not only concerned with moving around between records, but also between layouts and among found sets of records.

When using shortcuts for navigation, keep the following in mind:

The Ctrl+up/down arrow shortcut has a different meaning in each mode; in Browse mode it moves between records, in Layout mode between layouts, in Find mode between find requests, and in Preview mode between different pages of the output.
In order to omit all records from the current record to the end of the found set, perform the Omit Multiple Records command and choose a very large number of records to omit. FileMaker will respond that it can only omit a certain number of records, and fill in the correct number of remaining records. You can then go ahead and omit these without needing to calculate the exact number yourself.

Data Entry and Formatting

The shortcuts in this section have to do with the mechanics of putting data into fields, and with formatting data after it’s been entered into a field.

Be aware of the following when using keyboard shortcuts for data entry and formatting:

Using Ctrl+C or -C in Browse mode when you’re not in any field of the current record will copy the entire record as tab-delimited text. Using -Opt-C or Ctrl+Shift+C will copy all records in the found set, again as a tab-delimited text block.
Using Shift-->/< or Ctrl+Shift+>/< to increase or decrease font sizes will normally move the font size up or down through the list of “standard” font sizes. If you hold down Shift (Windows) or Option (Mac), the changes will occur in one-point increments instead.
The /Ctrl+; shortcut will insert the current time if the selected field is of type text, time, or number, but will insert the current timestamp if the current field is of type timestamp.

Defining Fields

The shortcuts in this section work only within the Fields tab of the Define Database dialog.

Working with the Relationships Graph

There are quite a large number of keyboard shortcuts and techniques that apply to the Relationships Graph. The following is a selection of the most useful: Consult the online help for a full listing.

Following are some additional shortcuts to be aware of:

The Up, Down, Left, and Right arrows can be used to cycle through the elements of the Graph (table occurrences, relationships, notes), selecting each one in turn. Once an item has been selected, other keyboard shortcuts can open the item for editing.
Typing on the keyboard will select objects containing text that matches what is being typed.
Using the Option/Shift key in conjunction with the arrow keys will move any selected table occurrences.
Using Ctrl+Shift in combination with the arrow keys will resize any selected table occurrences.

Working with Layouts

Layout mode is where FileMaker’s famously quick-to-develop GUIs (graphical user interfaces) get built. A thorough knowledge of important layout shortcuts is a must-have for a FileMaker developer.

When working with layouts, the following may also be of some value:

In Layout mode, -dragging or Ctrl+dragging will cause all objects touched by the selection rectangle to be selected. This can be easier than dragging a selection rectangle that fully encloses the desired objects.
Use Opt--A/Ctrl+Shift+A to select all objects of the same type as the currently selected objects. You can use this technique to select all text labels, for example.
As in many graphical layout applications, the arrow keys can be used to move selected layout objects a pixel at a time in any direction.
The Object Size window is extremely useful for exact positioning of objects. We usually set the measurement units to pixels. Unfortunately, the only shortcut to this feature at present is an Alt-key combination on Windows.
Shift-dragging restricts the movement of selected objects to a horizontal or vertical direction.
Ctrl+/-dragging will create a duplicate of the selected objects.
Shift-dragging, combined with the or Ctrl key, will drag a duplicate of selected objects along a horizontal or vertical axis.
Double-clicking a layout tool in the status area will “lock” the tool, causing it to remain selected through multiple uses. Pressing Esc or Enter will “unlock” and deselect the tool, selecting the Pointer tool instead (the default). Pressing Enter when the Pointer tool is selected will reselect the most recently used layout tool.
Any object formatting options chosen while no layout object is selected will become the defaults for any new objects. If you -click (Mac) or Ctrl+click (Windows) an existing object, its attributes will become the default.

Scripting

There are a number of useful shortcuts that pertain to ScriptMaker.

Note that functions marked with an (A) are only available in FileMaker Pro Advanced.

When editing a script step that has options accessible via a Specify button, pressing the spacebar on the Mac is generally equivalent to clicking the Specify button. On Windows, Alt+F accomplishes the same thing.

Navigating the FileMaker Interface

A number of shortcuts can help you navigate through the FileMaker interface itself. Using keyboard commands, you can trigger buttons, move between elements of a dialog box, and scroll quickly though pop-up lists and menus.

The Mac OS has weaker support for tabbing through and activating elements in a dialog box. For those dialogs where it’s possible to do this on the Mac OS, only a few of the elements are accessible via the keyboard. In Windows, by contrast, virtually every aspect of a dialog can be selected and triggered via the keyboard.

Menu Reference

The following table presents a list of all of the menu items in FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Pro Advanced. We list the Mac and Windows keyboard shortcuts, as well as the Windows Alt-key equivalents.

There are certain commands we consider essential knowledge for FileMaker developers. We’ve marked these with an asterisk (*).