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Saving and copying files

By default, FileMaker Pro automatically saves changes to your data as you work, so there is no Save command. You can, however:

•	save a copy of your file as a backup

•	save a clone of your file with no data

Some actions do not cause a file to be saved. For details, see “What FileMaker Pro doesn’t save,” below.

To make a copy or clone of your database file:

1.	Choose File menu > Save a Copy As.

2.	Navigate to where you want to save the copy on your 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:

 

Choose	To
copy of current file	Duplicate the current file
compacted copy (smaller)	Optimize the file (remove blank space)
clone (no records)	Save a file’s tables, layouts, scripts, page setup options, and field definitions without the data
self-contained copy (single file)	Create a copy of the current file with all container data that is stored externally (both open and secure storage) embedded in the file’s container fields

Note  To have a copy of a file that includes container data that's stored externally, choose self-contained copy. The copy of current file and compacted copy options do not copy externally stored data. If you want to use either of those options, you'll need to embed data in the container fields first. For more information, see Setting up container fields to store data externally.

6.	For After saving, choose one or both of the following options if you wish:

 

Choose	To
Automatically open file	Open the file after it is saved
Create email with file as attachment	Create an email with the saved file attached

7.	Click Save.

What FileMaker Pro doesn’t save

FileMaker Pro doesn't save changes to the state of a file, if they are the only changes you make while the file is open. For example, here are some changes that are not saved:

•	Displaying a different record or layout

•	Sorting records or modifying a sort order

•	Performing find operations such as Find, Show All Records, Omit Record, or modifying a find request

•	Changing the position and size of windows or opening a new window

•	Showing or hiding the status toolbar

•	Changing ruler display settings

•	Changing the unit of measure

For example, if you open a file, sort records, and then close the file, FileMaker Pro does not save the sort order. However, if you open a file, add a new record, sort the records, and then close the file, FileMaker Pro saves the sort order as well as the new record.

Notes

•	FileMaker Pro constantly saves changes to your computer’s RAM, or cache. You can set the interval at which FileMaker Pro saves your work to disk, which can help preserve battery power on portable computers. For more information, see Setting memory preferences.

•	You can also specify when FileMaker Pro saves changes by creating (and then executing) a script that contains the Flush Cache to Disk script step. This script command moves anything stored in RAM to the hard disk. For more information, see Flush Cache to Disk script step.

•

By default, FileMaker Pro does not save layout design changes automatically. Therefore you should save your work periodically while you are designing a layout in Layout mode. You can also set a preference so that layout changes are saved automatically. For more information, see Saving and reverting layout changes.

•	If you want more control over when record data is saved, you can clear the Save Record Changes Automatically option on a layout-by-layout basis. For more information, see Setting the automatic record-saving option for a layout.

•	You can save FileMaker Pro data to Excel and PDF file formats. For more information, see Saving, importing, and exporting data.

•	The Save a Copy As menu command is not supported in FileMaker Pro database files hosted by FileMaker Server.

•	FileMaker Go: before you transfer a file with container fields that store data externally, you must first embed the container field data. In FileMaker Pro, choose self-contained copy (single file). Container data will be embedded in the copy. Then transfer the copy to the device.

Related topics 

Opening files

Closing windows and files