I have filemakerpro 16. A couple of years ago, I made a dbase based on the “Research” template. A central feature of the template is a 3-tab system that occupies the same space. Somehow, while making some modifications to the layout, I messed up the formatting royally. Don’t know what I did, or how to fix it.

My question is, if I copy that entire section from the template using “edit layout”, can I paste it into my existing database, and have it retain all the formatting, without it altering the data already input?

Would appreciate some advice.

Stokesy

3 hours ago, Ell said:

if I copy that entire section from the template using “edit layout”, can I paste it into my existing database, and have it retain all the formatting, without it altering the data already input?

Yes. Layout modifications do not affect the data.

That said, I would recommend that you make a backup before doing any modifications to your file - just in case something goes wrong.

 

Edited May 14, 2025May 14 by comment

Thanks! And good advice. I should have made a back up, but the modifications I was making were so minor, I never thought to do it. Lesson learned.

Speaking of Backups, do you know which is the best option on the "Save a copy as" drop down menu to use? Copy of current file, Compacted copy, Clone or Self Contained copy?

Edited May 14, 2025May 14 by Ell

• Copy of current file is 1:1 of your file
• Compacted is a thinned down variant on occasion useful to reclaim space if you add and delete lots of records
• Clone will only be schema NO DATA 
• Self Contained will move any external storage in to local storage. 

Thank you for the explanation! Sounds like Copy of current file would be best for routine backups.

Ell

If the file is closed you can duplicate the file using the operating system - just make sure the file is closed. 

 

OK. Thanks again. 👍

36 minutes ago, Ocean West said:

If the file is closed you can duplicate the file using the operating system

Or just compress it.