Freeze Window for visual and performance optimization

Expert

Use Freeze Window to suppress screen redraws during long scripts, and learn when it actually improves speed.

What you'll learn

When Freeze Window improves actual script speed vs. only visual experience
How Refresh Window works alongside Freeze Window
How to structure scripts so users see progress without full redraws

Freeze Window stops FileMaker from redrawing the screen during a script, showing the current state as a static image. This improves perceived performance significantly for multi-step scripts that navigate layouts, change found sets, or update many fields — and in some cases improves actual performance by removing layout-rendering overhead.

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When to use Freeze Window

Freeze Window is most effective when a script navigates between layouts repeatedly, or when it updates fields that have expensive conditional-formatting or portal-refresh calculations. Without Freeze Window, each layout change triggers a full redraw.

FileMaker Script

Freeze Window
Go to Layout [ "Processing" ]
# ...batch operations...
Go to Layout [ original layout ]
Refresh Window

Global variables in multi-user solutions Building scripted finds and compound requests