Help

Saving, importing, and exporting data
F
ILEMAKER PRO HELP 517
• Shortcuts/aliases to files: FileMaker Pro locates each original file and imports it.
• Shortcuts/aliases to folders: FileMaker Pro does not locate the original folders and
import from them.
• Some items are not imported:
• Windows: FileMaker Pro does not import files or from folders that are hidden, offline,
system, or temporary.
• OS X: FileMaker Pro does not import invisible files or from folders that are invisible.
• The maximum size of most text files that you import is 1 GB. The size limit on UTF-16
encoded text files is 2 GB.
• If you import the File Path data into a field, you can open the original file directly from
FileMaker
Pro: select the entire file path text, right-click the text, and then choose Open File
from the shortcut menu.
Importing Bento data (OS X)
FileMaker Pro can import Bento data into an existing FileMaker Pro file or convert Bento data into a
new FileMaker
Pro file. The Bento file must be created with Bento 4 (or a later supported version).
Bento
4 (or a later supported version) must be installed on the computer running FileMaker Pro.
Note You can import from Bento 1 by saving Bento data as a .csv file and then importing the .csv
file into FileMaker
Pro.
Before you begin importing Bento data, be sure that the bento.bentodb file is in its default location in
your home folder:
Library/Application Support/Bento.
To import Bento data into an existing FileMaker Pro file:
1. Open the FileMaker Pro file that you want to import records into (the target file).
2. If you’re updating existing or matching records, choose File menu > Save a Copy As to
make a backup copy of the target file.
Important Updating existing or matching records overwrites data in the target file and
cannot be undone, so make sure you understand how updating records works before you
begin. See Methods of importing data into an existing file.
3. If the target file contains multiple tables, use the Layout pop-up menu to display a layout that
shows fields from the table you want to import data into.
4. If you’re adding new records, skip to the next step.
If you’re updating existing or matching records, do the following before you import:
• If you’re updating existing records in the file, make sure the found set contains only the
records you want to replace.
• If you’re updating matching records, make sure the found set contains only the records
you want to update. Records outside the found set will not be updated, even if
match
field data matches.
5. Choose File menu > Import Records > Bento Data Source.
6. Enter the Database Password in the Bento Password dialog box, if one was set in Bento.
Click OK.
7. In the Select Bento Source dialog box, select the library and collection that you want to
import, then click Continue.