

FileMaker Pro 17 includes six new starter apps plus a brand new Add-on Tables feature which allows anyone to quickly add new tables and related functionality to your app. Todd Stark shares a few thoughts about the My Apps window here. The My Apps window replaces the Launch Center with a more intuitive experience that makes it easier to open your apps and get started creating new ones. My Apps – FileMaker 17 centralized App launch area This can be a nice time-saver, which Monica Blum describes here. Another Layout Mode change that is less obvious is the ability to select and manipulate individual objects within groups without needing to ungroup. The new panels put a lot of power at your fingertips, but you may find the need for a second (or third) display so that you can comfortable work in Layout Mode on one display and view your work in Browse Mode on another. The right panel is a docked version of the four-tab Inspector. The left panel includes tabs for Fields and Objects.

One of the changes you’ll notice as soon as you enter Layout Mode is the addition of panels on the left and right side of the window. System administrators have the option to completely remove this option during installation, but the application name is always FileMaker Pro Advanced and Get(ApplicationVersion) returns “ProAdvanced 17.0.1”. The Tools menu can be enabled or disabled in the preferences. Version 17 simplifies this to one application…FileMaker Pro Advanced. Earlier releases included three different versions of the desktop application…FileMaker Pro, FileMaker Pro (for User Connections), and FileMaker Pro Advanced. Here are some of the reasons why we think it’s the best version yet. The FileMaker 17 Platform is a landmark release with many new and improved features that make it more powerful and even easier to use.
