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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 minor changes to FileMaker Pro files are not always saved with the file. For details, see When FileMaker Pro doesn’t save a file 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

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.

When FileMaker Pro doesn’t save a file

In FileMaker Pro 6 and earlier, opening and closing a file would cause the file to be saved, even if you did not make any change to the file. In this version, the following actions do not necessarily cause the file to be saved:

•	Displaying a different record or layout.

•	Sorting records or modifying a sort order.

•	Performing find operations such as Find, Show All Records, or 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 layout object default settings such as the default line/fill pattern or the default text and field formats.

•	Changing ruler display settings.

If you perform any of the above actions without also performing an action that does cause a save (such as modifying data), the file won’t be saved when you close it. FileMaker Pro considers the above actions to be minor changes, and they aren’t saved with the file unless the file is also modified in a more significant way.

For example, if you open a file, perform a find, and then close the file, FileMaker Pro does not save the found set with the file. However, if you open a file, add a new record, perform a find, and then close the file, FileMaker Pro will save the found set as well as the new record with the file.

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.

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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.

Related topics 

Opening files

Closing windows and files