Design flaw - layout object selection (14 Comments)

Issue report by Christopher Gauntt

Product

FileMaker Pro

Version

12+

Operating system version

Windows 7

Description of the issue

The blue glowy border around the selected area obscures whatever is underneath it. This makes dragging / moving any selected object extremely frustrating and adds extra steps to make sure that the object you are moving ends up exactly where you want it. These extra steps either double or triple how much time it takes for me to manually rearrange things.

Steps to reproduce the problem

Select any object in layout mode.
Note blue glowing border
Attempt to drag an object and perfectly line up the edge exactly where you want it in relation to the edge of another object.

Expected result

Be able to see where the edge of the selected object(s) are in relation to the other objects on the layout.

Actual result

You can't because the blue glowing border obscures everything that is underneath it.

Workaround

Workarounds are annoying and take extra time. I usually have to deselect the object, determine if I "hit the mark", and when I haven't, I have to reselect them again. The only other workarounds also take up extra time in terms of selecting another object, noting the the pixel position of the border I want it to overlap with, then selecting the first object and typing in the pixel position.

Preferred solution:
A preferences option to show / hide blue border. That way people who like it can still use it.

Please note, that because this increases my development time, I ethically have to inform my clients that if they upgrade to FM 12+, they can expect an increase of development costs of 20-30% because of the increased time spent trying to maneuver objects around on the screen. As a result, none of my clients have been willing to upgrade from FM 11, because the increased price tag is too much.