Mac OS X Classic FileMaker Layout Drag

[Steve T.]

Hi, folks! Under Mac OS X, FileMaker Pro 4.0 (and I imagine other "classic" versions) have layout problems. I read in the posts a couple different kinds, one of which is the dragging of fields/objects and their resulting duplication instead of relocation. It's as though you are OPTION-dragging them but you are not.

To get around this, I have been moving objects in layouts with my cursor arrows, and although this works, it is an exercise in patience to say the least. If you have found a better solution/workaround, please tell me. I have a nifty 17" G4 PowerBook but cannot boot in Classic. I am working on a couple low-budget web projects and going to use FMP4 for web publishing instead of FMP Unlimited, but the databases will be directly accessed by users, too, so some layout work is necessary.

Thanxalot! I hope I am not rewarded with the Sounds of Silence on this one...

--ST

[Fenton]

Yeah, it's a drag :-| What OS X are you running? I just tried this with Panther, 10.3.2 and FileMaker 4 and it worked fine, at least in the few minutes I tested it. I had problems with this in 10.2.x. Maybe 10.2.8 would also work, but Panther is really better, unless you have some other incompatibility with it.

[Steve T.]

Hi, Fenton! I'm on 10.2.8 and if what you're saying is true, the Panther update I was not going to do may have just become worth it. I provide computer support at work and upgrading to Panther for 50+ computers adds up $, but I suppose I can upgrade just my own personal non-university system, eh? My brother has Panther on his laptop and I'll see if FM4 works OK for him. If it does, I guess I'm going black!

Thanx A LOT !!

--ST

[Fenton]

There was a noticeable increase in speed, especially with window drawing,* which are the slowest part of OS X. Panther has a lot of features, and it feels really solid. I think it's worth the money. The sidebar is new, looks like Windows XP (but cuter). I've started using it a lot, with custom folder icons, just like a newbie :-/

Make sure all your apps, especially utilities and haxies are upgraded if needed to be compatible. Check any external Firewire drives for firmware upgrades; best to unplug, and upgrade Panther immediately to 10.3.2. There were serious problems at first with some, especially 800 drives. You know the drill, run Disk Utility to fix permissions before. Archive and install is how I did it. No problems.

Only people needing to do as you were doing, developing FileMaker 4 in Classic, really need to upgrade, not everyone (as yet). Really, it's FileMaker 4 that is obsolete, more than OS 10.2.8, which works fine with FileMaker 5.5 and 6.

*On a side note, for you OS X people on slower machines (like my eMac 700), I recently discovered a checkbox in TinkerTool to turn off the "scaling" effect on windows. Immediately made them almost instantaneous, instead of the rather slow drawing that's been irritating me whenever I use X (I actually still do my serious developing in 9, for the scroll wheel if nothing else). I just don't really see the thrill in watching windows expand and contract. Now Expos

[Steve T.]

Yes, I think I'll have to update at least a couple at the office to 10.3, too. We have a server for club and organzation e-mail and websites and it's running 10.3 and the administration tools will only run from 10.3 systems. Right now I have to plop down at the server itself to make accounts, send notices, check usage, etc.. I had been skeptical about Panther being all that much better than Jaguar but you're right, I only hear good things and more and more, OS X is becoming refined. The only 2 things that did kinda bother me about Panther, though, were (1) the color label restoration for files and folders being on the text instead of the icon (at first I thought I was seeing restricted folders when they were just labeled red) and (2) Panther's tendencies to auto-connect to everything and remember everything (I had wanted to give somone access to my computer so I logged on from their machine with one of mine but they were able to reconnect at will without knowing the login/password I had used.... I guess I should have just made a new login/password on my system and then changed/deleted it when the session was over. I know better now. At first I thought I'd hate the XP-like side bar but I liked it more and more, especially when going back to 10.2 and seeing all the junk at the top of my windows. I can't wait ! --ST

[Fenton]

Yeah, I agree about the label thing. It's just overwhelming. If you open an older folder where someone has use priority red, it's kind of disconcerting to see a big slash of red across the window. I find myself removing the darn colors whenever I see them. Overall I'm not too keen on coloring the whole row everytime I click on anything either (like I have no idea what I clicked on, so need strong visual feedback, to the point where I can barely read the file name anymore). But that's partly 'cause my machine's a little slow (eMac 700).

The sidebar is addictive. If you drag the bar you can make it only wide enough to show icons. Then make custom icons for your main folders (I used Folder Icon X).

[HowardCrut]

I still use FM 5.5 booting in Classic. Now that I have upgraded to Panther, I no longer have the same problem. But before I upgraded I did move fields/objects a different way to get around the duplication bug - I cut and pasted instead of trying to drag the cells, then once I pasted it (pastes the center of the objects right at the curser point) I would use the keyboard arrows to nudge it up/down or left/right. Still a little tedious, but much quicker than the other options I came across.

Obviously upgrading to Panther is best option, but hope this helps...

FileMaker Version: 5

Platform: Mac OS X Jaguar