My “Gotcha” Notes for

FileMaker Go
Byron Songer
Louisville, Kentucky
July 2010

Keep in mind that the primary purpose of Go is to enter or view data in a

relatively simple manner. When used with this in mind, it opens a whole
new world for custom data access on a mobile device. For “heavy lifting”,
FileMaker Pro should still be utilized on a Mac or Windows computer.
With this in mind, read on for some awareness builders of this exciting,
new product from FileMaker.
Note that “Go” refers to FileMaker Go and that references to iPhone also
apply to Apple’s iPod touch.

Not Supported -

• Printing, charting, spell checking, saving and sending records as Excel/

PDF, tooltips, external functions, and plug-ins arenʼt supported by Go.
Keep in mind that the primary purpose of Go is to enter or view data in a
simple, straight-forward manner.
• Replace Field Contents isn't supported within Go. Of course, few users
actually use or need this capability on a mobile client.
• Since the iPhone and iPad have limited memory capacities, the use of
indexing is also limited. Therefore, Auto-complete using existing values
does not function as in FMP.

Behavior -

• Form, list and table views are the only layouts available. There is no
preview or layout mode since this isnʼt a development environment or
used for printing output. Therefore, reports that can be viewed on the
desktop may not be viewable in Go.
• FM Go tries to hibernate when switching apps or when answering a call.
When returning from another app the user will be asked to restore the
previous view or open an new file.
Notes for FileMaker Go Page 2

• If a host (server) asks the client app to close Go waits 30 seconds for a
user response. If there is none then it attempts to close the connection
and the file.
• Timestamp/time picker doesn't get as granular as the desktop
application. Seconds and tenths of a second are of little concern for
accuracy within iOS when it comes to supporting the manipulation of
data.
• The app cannot display an ampersand (&) in a custom menu. Of course,
limiting menus on iPhone is not a primary consideration in most
instances.
• Container fields donʼt behave as well as within FMP. Therefore, leaving
media centered is best.

Design -

• Keep in mind Go is for entering or viewing data; it isnʼt designed for a

media rich user experience. Limit the number of graphic buttons used so
space can be maximized for viewing and changing data.
• The ideal width of a window for iPhone is 320 pixels wide. Since
anchoring of objects is supported, fields may be increased in width by
turning the iPhone to a horizontal orientation. The length of a window is
less of a concern. To minimize vertical scrolling, window length should
be no more than 612 pixels.
• FM Go canʼt switch to layouts that arenʼt set to show in the Status
Toolbar (menu), unless the developer provides a button for switching
views.
• Use the iOS data entry method to insert the date, time, or timestamp,
unless providing a button to do the same.
• Since tooltips are not supported, keep the user interface (labels) as
logical as possible.
• Tab control only works with fields, not objects. It isnʼt possible to tab to
one of the interface tabs Go supports.
• If you set a horizontal window size beyond what can be displayed at
100%, Go will attempt to reduce the screen size. Scrolling around the
screen is supported. Consider using the tabbed interface features to
more easily navigate rather than scrolling. The preference for scrolling
by most users is vertical over horizontal.
Notes for FileMaker Go Page 3

Fonts -

• Arial, Courier, Courier New, Georgia, Helvetica, Helvetica Neue, Times

New Roman, Trebuchet, and Verdana are all supported on iOS on the
iPhone and iPad. An ideal size for most fonts is 11 points.
• iPad has more fonts available than iPhone but use of those other than
the basic iPhone set (above) should be avoided.
• Font metrics may result in some differences in display between desktop
and mobile applications just as thereʼs a difference between Windows
and Mac display capabilities. The iPhone and iPad retain shape more
like the Mac OS with the exception of some ascenders and descenders
which may be different to accommodate the display of a maximized “x”
height. This means that one should avoid the use of fonts with atypical
ascenders and descenders (yet another reason to stay with the basic set
of fonts).

Scripts -

• FM Go doesnʼt support all script steps just at IWP doesnʼt.

• Sendmail doesnʼt work when Perform without a dialogue box is checked
• When hibernating, scripts are aborted. If Allow User Abort is on, the user
can return to the previous state when resuming Go. If Allow User Abort
is off, Go will close instead of hibernating.
• The FIleMaker Go Development Guide lists all the script steps that arenʼt
supported. These generally follow the behavior one would anticipate for
a mobile device.