Home > Using FileMaker Pro > FileMaker Pro basics > Converting files from FileMaker Pro 11 and earlier > Layout mode changes and improvements

Layout mode changes and improvements

The following changes introduced in FileMaker Pro 12 help you make the most of your layouts.

Behavior changes

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The formats for objects and text you add to a layout are based on the current theme’s default formats. You can customize formats after adding objects to a layout, if you want. You can no longer set custom default formats (such as text and border style) in Layout mode. You must select a layout object before you can set options in the Inspector.

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Objects placed in tab controls (or portals) stay with the tab control when the tab control is copied, moved, or deleted even when the objects on the tab control are locked. In addition, objects must be explicitly added to or removed from tab controls. Sending an object on a tab control to the back places it in back of all objects on the tab control, not behind the tab control.

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FileMaker Pro now manages layouts using points instead of pixels. On most computer screens, 1 point equals 1 pixel. On some high-resolution displays (such as the Retina display on iPhone), FileMaker Pro manages the display conversion to ensure proper screen rendering. By default, layout objects can be moved in 1 point increments. You can use the Inspector to place objects at intermediate values for precise sizing and placement of printed output.

•	You can specify the width of a layout.

•	When working in Layout mode, you can click an object’s border or anywhere inside the object to select it.

•	Objects may be positioned anywhere on a layout, even outside the layout’s visible boundary when viewed in Browse mode. See Changing the width of a layout.

•	You can set attributes based on the current state of the object (Normal, In Focus, Hover, or Pressed).

•	If you change the width of an existing text object, the object will retain that width until you change the width again.

•	If you change the alignment of text within a text object, the object no longer resizes to fit the text.

•	New text objects now shrink dynamically as you delete text, rather than after you exit the object.

•	Borders around drop-down and calendar controls that users open in Browse mode display the border color setting for the current state of the object.

•	Activating a field in a portal will not bring it to the top of any objects that are on top of the portal.

•	To copy objects by dragging them between FileMaker Pro windows or other applications and FileMaker Pro, you must press Ctrl (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) while you drag.

Feature enhancements

•	You can change the theme of an existing layout. All attributes of the layout change to the theme defaults, and new objects added to the layout match the new theme.

•	You can fill fields, layout parts, objects, tab controls, and portals with color, color gradients, or images.

•	You can set individual borders on fields, layout parts, text objects, rectangles, rounded rectangles, buttons, portals, charts, and web viewers.

•	You can set a different radius for each corner of a field.

•	You can set different line attributes for the border around each tab panel in a tab control.

•	New rulers, guides, and grids help you create, position, resize, and align objects.

Feature changes

•	The default theme for new layouts is Millennium Cool Gray.

•	The following controls have been removed from FileMaker Pro, renamed, or relocated within the Inspector:

 

Previous versions	FileMaker Pro 12
Fill pattern	Removed You can now set line styles or create patterns by tiling images for fill. See Setting the fill, line style, and borders on objects.
Field border effects	Removed In files created in earlier versions of FileMaker Pro, field border effects will appear in converted files. Obsolete effect styles display in the Line drop-down menu, but you can’t apply them to new fields. However, you can copy and paste fields with effects to display effects on new fields.
Pen color	Renamed Line color
Pen pattern	Renamed Line style (Solid, Dashed, or Dotted)
Pen width	Renamed Line width
Tooltip	Moved to Position tab and area

•	Buttons are now inserted as single objects, not groups of objects. (You can still group objects and create a single button area.)

•	When you choose View menu > Show > Buttons in Layout mode, badges appear on each button instead of a gray outline.

•	Options for changing a color palette have been removed from in the Layout preferences.

•	Mac OS: The keyboard shortcut for Paste Text Only has been changed to Command-Option-Shift-V.

•	In the Inspector, values in the Position and Size controls are right-aligned. If more than one object is selected, FileMaker Pro displays a hyphen (-).