Keyboard and Mouse
Keyboard and Mouse What is it?

Keyboard and Mouse is a FileMaker® Pro database plugin that gives you ultimate control over your keyboard and mouse:

  • Assign hotkeys to any or all layouts.
  • Simulate keyboard typing.
  • Simulate keystrokes in response to any key press or mouse click to do things like continue a script or return to Browse mode from Preview mode.
  • Hotkeys can run scripts.
  • Hotkeys can also set variables and continue a paused script to act on the variable that was set.
  • Make things clickable in Preview mode.
  • Use a single image as a series of buttons or tabs in any number of layouts and databases. The image and script it calls are easy to update in one place.
  • Change the mouse pointer shape. Make it an hourglass while a script is busy.

One Image, One Update.

Mouse Clicked In Image ButtonsUse any image as a set of buttons or tabs simply by checking where the image was clicked.

Even regions in Preview mode can be made clickable.

Don't edit individual buttons on dozens of layouts! Use a single image container field linked to a single script to form a consistent menu bar across all your databases that is easy to update in a single place.

Easier Hotkeys.

FileMaker 10 introduced built-in hotkey support, but Keyboard and Mouse lets you or your customers use hotkeys all the way back to FileMaker 7.

Keyboard and Mouse hotkeys are easier to use and do not require you to split your FileMaker scripts up - they can be used while a script is paused and will un-pause the script for you.

Keyboard and Mouse even lets you hotkey FileMaker shortcuts that FileMaker 10 won't let you override. Hotkey Command-Q (Ctrl-Q on Windows) so it can't be used to accidentally quit FileMaker, make Command-N launch a script to guide users through creating a new record, or have Command-F perform the find in Find mode instead of clearing the find requests a user just finished typing in. Although FileMaker Pro Advanced will let you edit menu items to link Command-N and Command-F to scripts, it won't let you change Command-Q.

Hotkeys Save Time.

Get hundreds of handwritten names entered more quickly than with mouse clicks by using Alt-N to launch your "New Person" script, Enter to commit the person, and Escape to cancel. It's amazing how much time this saves on a repetative task.

Hotkeys To Enter Name

Don't Split Your Scripts.

Hotkeys Resume a Paused ScriptUnlike built-in hotkey support in FileMaker 10 and later, there's no need to split your functionality into multiple scripts to use hotkeys. Within one script, set up one or more hotkeys, pause the script, and the hotkeys will resume the script you left paused. When the script resumes, you remove hotkeys and check the value of a variable to determine which hotkey was pressed.

Press Keys.

Keyboard and Mouse can simulate key presses.

Help confused users get out of Preview mode by having Keyboard and Mouse press Command-B (to enter Browse mode) when the user clicks anywhere in a FileMaker layout or types anything.

Press keys that continue a paused script or perform a find when the user clicks or types.

You can also press key combinations that activate menu items from your script that can't otherwise be activated in earlier FileMaker versions. These key combinations affect the foreground window, so a background script or a script in another database can use simulated key presses to make the foreground window do things like enter Find mode.

Change the Mouse Pointer.

Keyboard and Mouse lets you pick from a variety of mouse pointers:

Mouse Pointers

Keep users from trying to click things while your script is running by changing the mouse pointer into an hourglass. FileMaker sometimes fails to do that for you, especially when calling long-running plugin functions.

Try for free.

Keyboard and Mouse provides unique capabilities not found in any other FileMaker plugin. Give it a try - free for 30 days.

Found a great use for Keyboard and Mouse we haven't thought of? Let us know and get $10 off your next purchase.

System Requirements
  • FileMaker Pro 14 through 21.1
  • Windows 2000 through Windows 11
  • Macintosh OS X 10.13 (High Sierra) through macOS 15 (Sequoia), Intel or Apple Silicon (M1, M2, and future) processor
  • FileMaker 13 and earlier on OS X 10.8 and earlier were last supported in 2empowerFM Family v2.65
Purchase

Pricing and License Options

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