User manual

Chapter 3 | Creating databases 55
3. Select a solution from the list (Windows) or the group of thumbnails (Mac OS), then click Choose.
4. Type a name for the file (choose a different folder, if needed), then click Save.
Windows: For Save as type, select FileMaker Files.
FileMaker Pro creates the file on your disk and opens the file. You can modify fields and layouts
in Starter Solutions. For more information, see the remaining sections in this chapter.
Creating a blank, empty file
1. In FileMaker Pro, choose File menu > New Database.
You can also use the FileMaker Quick Start Screen to create a blank, empty file. Choose Help
menu
> Quick Start Screen, then click Create a New Database.
2. Type a name for the file (choose a different folder, if needed), then click Save.
Windows: For Save as type, select FileMaker Files.
FileMaker Pro creates the file in Table View, displaying an empty database in a spreadsheet-
like table.
3. To define the first field, click Create Field in the first column heading.
By default, FileMaker Pro creates a text field. If you want to change the field type, right-click the
column heading (or click the arrow at the right of the column heading), choose Field
> Field
Type, then choose a different field type. See
“About choosing a field type” on page 57.
If you cannot select column headings to create fields in Table View, confirm that the Include
column headers option is selected in the Table View Properties dialog box. For more
information, see Help.
4. Type a name for the field.
For more information on naming fields, see “About naming fields” on page 56.
5. To create additional fields, click + in the column heading.
A new column is added to the last column of the table.
6. To add the first record, click under the first column heading or click + in the left margin of the table.
Create field names by typing in
column headings
Add data to records
by typing in rows