Apex Blue has replaced default theme for new layouts in existing files

[Peter Wagemans]

Can anyone acknowledge/confirm? I notice some strange behaviour with FileMaker 19.1.2 and also in 19.2…

I have these files that are already hosted for years on FileMaker Server, gradually evolving from 7 to 19. Over the years those respective files got their own theme, and until now the behaviour was something like: "use the last used theme" or something. So for new layouts, I get Minimalist or the custom theme of the file. Now all of a sudden, I get this butt ugly (sorry) Apex Blue theme on new layouts, and it is very annoying.

I probably have to take the files locally and force some new defaults in them, but anyone having experience with this?

[Ocean West]

 

Matt Made the Apex theme for Clairs. No themes can be edited while hosted. 

 

 

[Peter Wagemans]

Thanks. I quickly scanned through this 45 minute video, to see if there was anything I could use. Very nice colour palette tool, I hope Matt will publish it soon. I would even buy it, as time is money.

If I am not mistaking, it doesn't answer the question on the default theme. Stephen, you probably mean that the default theme cannot be set while the file is hosted, right?

I did some more research and found out you can have FIleMaker use your custom theme as the default theme when creating a new layout. Not really sure what exactly the mechanism is, but it works well. Unfortunately this is no professional way of developing databases, and I always put the file on a server ASAP.

BTW, even when hosted locally, creating a table results in a layout… in Apex Blue, even when you have a custom theme.

All this is no big deal, it just one of those daily nuisances.

[Ocean West]

In my experience if your are on a layout using your custom theme any newly created layouts will use that theme.

I don't know of any restrictions with themes like other aspects of FM that defaults are set prior to hosting. 

[Peter Wagemans]

Wow. Simple. Tried it, even on a hosted file. Works.

So:

1. When creating a new table, in FileMaker Pro 19, you always create a layout that uses the Apex Blue theme.
2. When creating a new layout, you always create a layout that uses the same theme as the layout of the currently active window.

This is not influenced by being the host or the network client of the file.

Quote

 

No themes can be edited while hosted. 

 

What do you mean by that?

[Ocean West]

No - you don't need to un-host file for editing theme. Themes can be edited while hosted.