User manual

Table Of Contents
20 FileMaker Pro User’s Guide
Closing windows and files
You can close FileMaker Pro windows and files as you would in most Windows and Mac OS applications.
To close a window, do one of the following:
1 Windows: Double-click the document icon in the upper-left corner of the document window.
1 Windows: Click the close box in the upper-right corner of the document window.
1 Mac OS: Click the red close button in the upper-left corner of the document window.
1 Choose File menu > Close.
To close a file, use the procedures above to close all the open windows for a file.
Note Even if you close a file, it may remain open as a hidden file if the window of any other file is displaying data
from that file. (For example, another window may be displaying related data from the file you attempted to close.)
FileMaker
Pro will close the file when you close all the dependent windows.
Saving files
By default, FileMaker Pro automatically saves changes to your data as you work, so there is no Save
command. If you want more control over when record data is saved, you can clear the Save record changes
automatically option individually for each layout. For more information, see FileMaker
Pro Help.
You can save a copy of your file as a backup or save a clone of your file with no data. To save a copy of your
file in a non-FileMaker format, see
“Saving and sending data in other formats” on page 114.
Some minor changes to files are not always saved with the file. For details, see the next section, “When
FileMaker Pro saves a file.
Important Always save a copy of a file before you make extensive changes. You can’t restore data after you delete
a field from the Manage Database dialog box or remove records using the Delete Record or Delete All commands.
To save a copy of your file:
1. Make the file you want to save the active file, and choose File menu > Save a Copy As.
2. Navigate to where you want to save the copy on your hard disk.
3. For File name (Windows) or Save As (Mac OS), type a filename.
4. For Save as type, choose FileMaker Files (Windows only).
5. For Save a (Windows) or Type (Mac OS), choose one of the following options:
6. Click Save.
Choose To
Copy of current file Duplicate the entire file, including the tables, field definitions, layouts, scripts, page setup
options, and data. Duplicating a file is useful before you make extensive changes to the file.
Compacted copy (smaller) Compact the entire file into less disk space by reclaiming unused space in the file. Saving a
compacted copy is useful if you edit many records frequently.
Clone (no records) Save a file’s tables, field definitions, layouts, scripts, and page setup options, without the
data. Make a clone when you want a template of the file schemas.