A major interface change for FileMaker Pro 17 is in Layout mode. You now have docked Inspector, Field Picker and Objects panels.

v16 HUDs

In previous versions of FileMaker Pro, these were HUDs (heads-up displays) that floated over the top of your layouts. They could be moved around to suit your development process.

v1Docked Panels

In FileMaker Pro 17, these are now docked panels. The Fields and Objects are on the left; the Inspector is on the right.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The keyboard shortcuts to view/activate and hide the docked panels are as follows:

• Inspector – Cmd/Ctrl I
• Fields – Cmd/Ctrl K
• Objects – Cmd-Option T or Ctrl-Alt-T

In addition, there are shortcuts for selecting the tabs of the Inspector:

• Position – Cmd/Ctrl-1
• Styles – Cmd/Ctrl-2
• Appearance – Cmd/Ctrl-3
• Data – Cmd/Ctrl-4

An Inspector option

If you still want the floating Inspector, it is available. You can close the docked Inspector panel (or leave it open as a second option). And then get a new Inspector from View > Inspectors > New Inspector.

Addition to the Field Panel

The new Field panel has an addition – the ability to set the Control Style for a dragged field. This is found at the bottom in the Drag Preferences.

So you can specify say a Checkbox Set, and drag a field onto the layout. Then you would need to select the value list to be used from the Data tab of the Inspector.