Essential Shortcuts by Group

In this section well call out shortcuts we believe are essential in each of a number of areas. Well 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 mastered these, you need to spend more time with FileMaker!

Working with Modes

Function	Mac Key	Windows Key
Browse Mode	-B	Ctrl+B
Layout Mode	-L	Ctrl+L
Find Mode	-F	Ctrl+F
Preview Mode	-U	Ctrl+U

Working with Files

Function	Mac Key	Windows Key
Open (File)	-O	Ctrl+O
Open Remote (File)	Shift--O	Ctrl+Shift+O
Force a password dialog to display when opening a file.	Hold down the Option key while opening the file.	Hold down the Shift key while opening the file.

Working with Records

Function	Mac Key	Windows Key
New Record/Request/Layout	-N	Ctrl+N
Delete Record/Request/Layout	+E	Ctrl+E
Duplicate Record/Request	-D	Ctrl+D
Omit Record	-T	Ctrl+T
Show All Records	-J	Ctrl+J
Sort Records	-S	Ctrl-S

Developer Essentials

Function	Mac Key	Windows Key
Define Fields	Shift--D	Shift+Ctrl+D
Define Custom Functions		Alt+F+D+C
Define Value Lists		Alt+F+D+V
ScriptMaker	Shift--S	Shift+Ctrl+S

When using keyboard shortcuts, keep the following in mind:

• Its 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 wed 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.

Function	Mac Key	Windows Key
Next/Previous Record	Ctrl-up/down arrow	Ctrl+up/down arrow
Next/Previous Layout
Next/Previous Request
Next/Previous Page
Hide/Unhide Status Area	-Option-S	Ctrl+Shift+S
Zoom/Unzoom Window	-Option-Z	Ctrl+Shift+Z
Omit Multiple Records	-Shift-M	Ctrl+Shift+M

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 its been entered into a field.

Function	Mac Key	Windows Key
Select All	-A	Ctrl+A
Cut, Copy, Paste	-X, C, V	Ctrl+X, C, V
Copy Current Record (When Not In A Field)	-C	Ctrl+C
Copy All Records	-Opt-C	Ctrl+Shift+C
Paste Without Text Styles	-Opt-V	Ctrl+Alt+V
Plain Text	Shift--P	Ctrl+Shift+P
Bold Text	Shift--B	Ctrl+Shift+B
Italic Text	Shift--I	Ctrl+Shift+I
Underline Text	Shift--U	Ctrl+Shift+U
Left-Justify Selected Text	-[	Ctrl+[
Center Selected Text	-	Ctrl+
Right-Justify Selected Text	-]	Ctrl+]
Increase/Decrease Font Size	Shift-->/<	Ctrl+Shift+>/<
Insert Current Date	-	Ctrl+
Insert Current Time/Timestamp	-;	Ctrl+;
Insert Non-breaking Space Into Text	Opt-space	Ctrl+space
Insert Tab Character Into Text	Opt-tab	Ctrl+tab

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

• Using Ctrl+C or -C in Browse mode when youre 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.
• ->/< 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.
• images/U2318.jpg border=0>/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.

Function	Mac Key	Windows Key
Define Database	Shift--D	Ctrl+Shift+D
Text Data Type	-T	Ctrl+T
Number Data Type	-N	Ctrl+N
Date Data Type	-D	Ctrl+D
Time Data Type	-I	Ctrl+I
Timestamp Data Type	-M	Ctrl+M
Container Data Type	-R	Ctrl+R
Calculation Data Type	-L	Ctrl+L
Summary Data Type	-S	Ctrl+S
Field Options	Shift--O	Alt+N
Reorder Tables or Fields in a List	-	Ctrl+

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.

Function	Mac Key	Windows Key
New Table Occurrence	Shift--T	Ctrl+Shift+T
New Relationship	Shift--R	Ctrl+Shift+R, Insert
New Text Note	Shift--N	Ctrl+Shift+N
Duplicate Selected Items	-D	Ctrl+D
Select All Table Occurences Directly Related to the Current Table Occurrence	-R	Ctrl+R
Select All Table Occurences with the Same Source Table As the Current Table Occurrence	-S	Ctrl+S
Toggle the Display Mode of Selected Table Occurrences (Toggles Among Fully Expanded, Fields, and Table Name Table and Related Name Alone)	-T	Ctrl+T

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 FileMakers 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.

Function	Mac Key	Windows Key
Group	-R	Ctrl+R
Ungroup	Shift--R	Ctrl+Shift+R
Lock	Opt--L	Ctrl+Alt+L
Unlock	Shift-Opt--L	Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L
Bring Forward	Shift--[	Ctrl+Shift+[
Bring to Front	Opt--[	Ctrl+Alt+[
Send Backward	Shift--]	Ctrl+Shift+]
Send to Back	Opt--]	Ctrl+Alt+]
Align Left, Right, Top, Bottom	Opt--	Ctrl+Alt+
Field Control Setup	Shift--F	Ctrl+Shift+F
Field Control Behavior	Shift--K	Ctrl+Shift+K
Field Control Borders	Shift--B	Ctrl+Shift+B
Insert Merge Field	Shift--M	Ctrl=Shift+M
View Object Sizes		Alt+V+Z
Select Similar Objects	Opt--A	Ctrl+Shift+A

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.
• -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.
• 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.
• or Ctrl key, will drag a duplicate of selected objects along a horizontal or vertical axis.
• Any object formatting options chosen while no layout object is selected will become the defaults for any new objects. If you images/U2318.jpg border=0>-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.

Function	Mac Key	Windows Key
Open ScriptMaker	-Shift-S	Ctrl+Shift+S
Scroll Through Script List	Up/Down arrows	Up/Down arrows
Move Selected Script Up or Down in the List	Ctrl-Up/Down arrows	Ctrl+Up/Down arrows
Toggle Checkbox to Include Selected Script in Scripts Menu	Space	Space
Select a Script by Name (When Scripts List Is Active)	Begin typing script name	Begin typing script name
Select All Scripts	-A	Ctrl+A
Copy Selected Scripts (A)	-C	Ctrl+C
Paste Copied Script(s) (A)	-V	Ctrl+V
Navigate Up or Down Through Available Script Steps	Up/Down arrows	Up/Down arrows
Select a Script Step by Name (When Script Steps List Is Active)	Begin typing script name	Begin typing script name
Insert Selected Script Step into Script	Return/Enter or Space	Enter
Select All Script Steps	-A	Ctrl+A
Copy Selected Script Steps (A)	-C	Ctrl+C
Paste Copied Script Steps (A)	-V	Ctrl+V
Move Selected Script Steps Up or Down in the List	Ctrl-Up/Down arrows	Ctrl+Up/Down arrows
Delete Selected Script Steps	Delete	Backspace/Delete

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.

Function	Mac Key	Windows Key
Move Between Tabs in a Dialog Box		Ctrl+Tab
Move Backward and Forward Between Items Within a Dialoh	Shift-Tab/Tab	Shift+Tab/Tab
Move Up and Down Within a Pop-up List or Menu	Up/Down arrow	Up/Down arrow
Move to Beginning or End of a Pop-up List or Menu	Home/End	Home/End
Cancel a Dialog	Esc	Esc
Submit a Dialog (Choose the Default Button)	Enter	Enter

The Mac OS has weaker support for tabbing through and activating elements in a dialog box. For those dialogs where its 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.