You’ve come to the right place, my friend.
Thanks to our main man, Scott we are slowly compiling the Ultimate FileMaker cheat sheet.
THANKS SCOTT!
The Basics: You can use these hotkeys in the search fields in Filemaker to make it easier/quicker to search using your keyboard!
CTRL + N --> Opens up a new note
CTRL + A --> Highlights all text
CTRL + C --> Copies all highlighted text
CTRL + V --> Pastes copies text
CTRL + - (hyphen) --> Inserts date
CTRL + ; (semi-colon) --> Inserts current time
CTRL + S --> Submits entered text
CTRL + G --> Clears search fields
Performing the search: These shortcuts will make it easier to find exactly what you are looking for when actually performing a search in Filemaker.
... = Date Range
For example, if you’re trying to search for a return placed between 12/15/16 and 12/31/16 you would entire it in the date field as 12/15/16...12/31/16 and BOOM! You get all the returns within that date
// = Today’s Date
For example, if you wanted to type today’s date into a search field, you could instead just type // Aww yeah! Savin’ those keystrokes!
! = All
For example, to find all orders placed within a certain date range, enter your date range and then enter ! for the company name or account number. VOILA! You get all the orders within that date range.
> = Greater Than or After
< = Less Than or Before
For example, you could put >50000 in the Total Value field on the Orders Advance Search screen and find all the orders we’ve had that are over $50,000. And, yes, we’ve had several! Bell Ringer x 100!
For another example, if you put <1/15/10 into the Order Date field of the same screen, it would show you all orders placed Before 1/15/10.
* = Fill It In, FileMaker!
For example, if you enter J*N in the contact field, FileMaker will find every contact that starts with J and ends with N (John, Joan, Jalen, Jen, etc.). This could be SUPER useful if you forget how to spell a Customer’s name but have vague idea and some other info like their order date!
Before you ask, YES, you can put these together to make super ninja-efficient level custom search parameters.
Added tips from Matt for using the Advanced Search screens:
- Look at all your fields available. You’d be surprised what you can use!
- Use multiple fields to have narrow your searches.
- Partial information is awesome! Ex: area code and a first name could pull up your Customer!
What other magical secrets does FileMaker hold?
If you know any, please email them to HDSAnswers and this article will be updated!
