Behavior differences

The following behavior differences exist between FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Go.

Modes

Layout and Preview modes aren’t supported in FileMaker Go. However, you can preview records by saving records as PDF and viewing the PDF within FileMaker Go.

Layout design

In FileMaker Go, you can't:

• remove views or layouts

• add or remove fields

• switch to layouts that aren’t displayed in the Layouts menu, unless you provide a navigation button

• define and assign value lists, unless they are used for drop-down lists and pop-up menus that allow editing of value lists

• display tooltips

• display leader characters such as “...” in tab control names

• display shadows on layout objects

Date and time selection

You can't select seconds or fractions of seconds in FileMaker Go. To enter seconds, tap on the editing toolbar until the keyboard appears, then enter the time.

Scripted or calculated times will display seconds on the device.

Custom menus

Note  Custom menus are available when the Use advanced tools general preference is selected in FileMaker Pro.

In FileMaker Go, you can't:

• remove the Close File menu item

• add custom menu items that do not map to existing FileMaker Go menu items

• override the Quick Find menu item with custom menus, though you can override the quick find behavior using the Edit Custom Menu dialog box in FileMaker Pro

Note  Removed menu items are displayed but unavailable.

The following keyboard shortcuts and the standard iOS and iPadOS keyboard shortcuts override those you define for custom menus. You can use keyboard shortcuts in FileMaker Go if you have an external keyboard connected to your iOS or iPadOS device or the Smart Keyboard connected to your iPad Pro.

Printing

• The print options that you set for a file in FileMaker Pro have no effect on the print options for the same file in FileMaker Go, and vice versa.

• If you’re printing a layout where exact spacing is important, such as labels or a preprinted form, specify page margins.

Fonts and text styles

• Fonts that aren't supported by iOS or iPadOS are converted to supported fonts.

• You can view the following text styles in FileMaker Go: bold, italic, underline, word underline, double underline, title case, uppercase, lowercase, and strikeout. FileMaker Go doesn’t support highlight, condense, extend, small caps, superscript, or subscript.

Data entry

• Only fields are supported in the tab order. You can set up Tab and Return, but not Enter, to go to the next field.

• The Auto-Correction setting will not work in text fields that have script triggers set up to capture keystrokes.

• Asian languages: Sideways text isn’t supported. Input method editors (IMEs) will not work in text fields that have script triggers set up to capture keystrokes.

• If a text field is configured to display as a drop-down calendar in FileMaker Pro, it is displayed as an edit box in FileMaker Go.

Exporting

• By default, all manual export operations except those from the XLSX format use UTF-8; XLSX uses UTF-16.

• You must use the Export Records script step to:

  • select fields that are not on the current layout

  • configure the output file character set

Container fields

• The Inspector Data Formatting options Images and Interactive content do not apply to container fields in FileMaker Go.

• FileMaker Go doesn’t support storing container field data externally for local files.

You can use the Insert From Device script step to enter content into a container field from a music library, photo library, camera, video camera, microphone, or signature; or to enter content into a container field or text field from a barcode source. See FileMaker Pro Help.

Video and audio playback in container fields

You can use the following script steps, functions, and script triggers to work with media in FileMaker Go:

• script steps: AVPlayer Play, AVPlayer Set Options, AVPlayer Set Playback State

• script triggers: OnObjectAVPlayerChange, OnFileAVPlayerChange, OnExternalCommandReceived

• functions: GetAVPlayerAttribute, Get(TriggerExternalEvent)

See FileMaker Pro Help.

Encrypted files

You can’t enable or disable file encryption in FileMaker Go. To enable or disable encryption, use FileMaker Pro. If you transfer an encrypted file to an iOS or iPadOS device, the file remains encrypted on the device.

Note  The encryption feature in FileMaker Pro is available when the Use advanced tools general preference is selected.

Zoom level

In FileMaker Go, you can enlarge the image on the screen up to 200%.

Keyboard shortcuts

You can use keyboard shortcuts in FileMaker Go if you have an external keyboard connected to your iOS device or the Smart Keyboard connected to your iPad Pro.

To see a list of shortcuts for common commands, press and hold the Command key ⌘ on the keyboard.

For a list of supported keyboard shortcuts in FileMaker Go, see Help.

Saved local files

By default, the files you save locally appear in the My Apps tab, under On My iPhone or On My iPad and are saved in the Documents folder. To save the files in a temporary folder, use the Set Variable script step to create a variable to specify the output file path and filename for the script step.

You can use the following example to create an email with the file as an attachment.

Set Variable [$Output; Value: Get( TemporaryPath ) & "Sample.pdf"] 
Save Records as PDF [With dialog: Off; "$Output"; Records being browsed]
Send Mail [Send via E-mail Client; With dialog: Off;
    To: "linda@glolda.com"; Subject: "Invoice";
    Message: "Test"; "$Output"]

External keyboards

Some keystrokes behave differently on external keyboards.

Scripts and functions behavior

• To stop a running script, tap anywhere on the screen, and confirm that you want to stop the script. If you do not make a choice, the script will continue running.

• When you switch to another app, FileMaker Go enters a suspended state unless there is an audio or video file playing. When you return to FileMaker Go, the app and scripts resume from where they left off. For hosted files, if the data or schema was modified while FileMaker Go was suspended, the script stops running; otherwise, the script continues.

• If you've switched away from FileMaker Go for an extended period and iOS or iPadOS forces the app to quit, FileMaker Go attempts to generate a hibernation file. When you restart FileMaker Go, it uses the hibernation file to reopen files. A hibernation file is not generated when a script with Allow User Abort set to Off was running when you switched away from FileMaker Go.

• By default, script steps that create output files will not overwrite an existing file. Instead, a number is added to the end of each filename. For example, the first time you run the Save Records as PDF script step for a file named Sample.fmp12, the output filename is Sample.pdf. The second time you run the script, the filename will be Sample 1.pdf.

  To replace the output file with the new one instead of keeping multiple copies, add the file path (fileName or filemac:fileName) to the script. For example, if you type file:Sample.pdf or filemac:Sample.pdf in the Specify Output File dialog box each time you run the script, the Sample.pdf file in the Documents folder will be replaced with the new one.