Quick Tips #1: Quick Select/Deselect of Mapping Fields in FM11 Import

The issue:

In versions of FileMaker prior to 11, working with the Import Records mappings dialog was easy. You could very quickly select and deselect all mappings by selecting all fields and then clicking one of the arrow mapping icons between any two fields in the mapping.

Clicking on any of the arrow icons above will deselect every arrow.

The behaviour in FileMaker 11 has changed slightly, and so it may appear at first that this feature has been removed.

If you try and click one of the arrow icons in 11, all you succeed in doing is deselecting the selected fields, the arrows remain. Of course you could click each arrow individually, but if you are dealing with large tables that can be a real pain.

The 11 change is subtle - you must now hold down the shift key while clicking one of the arrows, this will select/deselect the mappings for all selected fields.

If you hold the shift key down while selecting the records you can combine the steps. Start by selecting one of the fields, hold shift, and click on the arrow in the row which you want to be your end selection of rows. This will select all the rows between your two clicks, and select/deselect the mappings at the same time.