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FileMaker Magazine

A blog by FileMaker Magazine in Affiliate Blogs

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Entries in this blog

Using FileMaker's Grid

Recently, while providing intermediate training at the annual FileMaker Devcon, I had an attendee approach me and ask a very simple question. "How do you turn off the grid in FileMaker?" Like all questions, it was asked within the context of innocent ignorance. This was simply because this person had not yet used, nor explored this area of FileMaker. This is totally understandable with the increasing number of options found across the increasing number of palettes within FileMaker. However, if

Duplicating Related Records - Server Side

The age old question commonly arises on FileMaker forums around the world. "How can I duplicate the whole record?" In other words, how can I duplicate the parent record and all related children records which make it seem like it's one whole entity. Well, at least, that's how a newer user/developer sees it. They may visually see the one record with all of its related records presented within the portal, but making the distinction that you're actually looking at 1 record plus N related records is

Reusable Dialogs

Card windows will continue to impact our FileMaker solutions for years to come. Released in FileMaker 16, who would have thought that simply creating a new way to draw windows would be so empowering. We've long been able to create modal windows which force user interaction - but taking off the title bar and dimming the background window was all it took to make things much more powerful. So, what is the most common thing you can do with a card window? Well, create a reusable dialog box of course

List Processing with Custom List

While FileMaker's calculation engine is super powerful for managing all kinds of unique calculations, the one thing it lacks is a feature for running a repetitive function across a range of data. This is certainly possible within the Scripting engine with the use of the ever wonderful Loop script step. However, as stated, there's no way to really process a range of data using just a function. Unless... you create your own or use one which has already been created. As it happens, there is just

Oauth External Authentication

Using multiple files for developing a robust FileMaker solution can be pretty normal when you plan out the distribution of your data and servers. Some solutions benefit from breaking out part of the solution into one or more separate files. So, whether taking the load off a given server or simply planning for quicker data access across multiple time zones, one of the bigger problems which pops up with your standard FileMaker accounts is password management. This is where it becomes much easier

Layout Object Palette Know How

The Layout Objects palette was an absolutely WONDERFUL addition to working in FileMaker's Layout Mode. If you've not given yourself the time to fully explore what's possible with it then this video will give you a great reason to do so. In this video, I walk through a re-work I needed to do on a database project which had a ton of extra layout objects. I show you how I used the Layout Objects palette in the most effective way possible. The tips and tricks provided may very well save you a ton o

Tabbed List Views

One of the challenges I love the most within FileMaker is creating something which requires less time and effort than the "older way" of doing the same thing. Such is the case with a tabbed list view. I recently came upon a sample file showcasing how to do something in multiple list views. It was using an older method of "simulated" tabs by simply placing clickable buttons in a horizontal row and making one of the buttons look different on each respective layout. So I thought to myself, "Why

Ultimate FileMaker Debugging

Every craftsman should know how to use his or her set of tools effectively. When you know all the various uses and features of a given tool you then become more efficient at your trade. In FileMaker Pro Advanced, now available to pretty much everyone in version 17, there's one tool which helps you both understand what's happening and figure out what's not happening. The Script Debugger is an absolutely essential tool. Creating a well functioning script is a lot like Michelangelo creating David

Custom ordered portals

Every software user loves convenience. Heck, every human being loves convenience. So, why not provide it within every aspect of your user interface? The problem, however, which you may run across is figuring certain features out. FileMaker can be a very simple program or something quite complex if you're trying to do something custom like providing users with the ability to custom order their related records. The most basic sequential ordering of data comes in the form of simply providing a nu

Exporting Field Data Properly

There's a lot of pretty boring stuff you need to know about when programming in FileMaker - or any other coding environment for that matter. Knowing the fundamentals of how to move information around is a critical skill. If the file format isn't correct or the receiving end of an online service just won't process your data, then it can certainly be a confusing dilemma which may take hours of learning in order to understand exactly what's going wrong. Of course, if you can simply watch a video l

Multiple Parameters using JSON

The ingenuity of developers has always extended beyond the limitations presented within any given environment - both physical and virtual. If you can't cross a river with your cart and horse, then you learn how to build a bridge and make it last. Such is the case with FileMaker's script parameters. There's always been only one way to pass anything into a script - as one big blob of text. There's nothing which controls what type of data is embedded within the block of text and it's up to the dev

iOS List View Swiping

Over the last few years, FileMaker, Inc. has been investing a lot into their mobile offering. FileMaker Go has been updated and revised to provide more and more performance along with accessing more features of the mobile platform. With FileMaker 17 we now have access to many more sensors and in the prior release they added more support for a variety of visual transitions between layouts. While all of these improvements are really great to have, there are still those certain features which make

FileMaker 17 - New Features & Functionality

It's that time of year again. The annual FileMaker Devcon approaches and FileMaker, Inc's commitment to more timely releases comes true yet again. This time around we have a number of new features. In this video I provide a quick hit list of all the major features you'll find within this latest release. Here's the list of new items covered. 00) Application Icon 01) Developer Tools 02) Redesigned Launch Center 03) New Hosts Dialog 04) Rearranged File Menu 05) Redesigned Layout Mode 06) Cop

Cool Card Window Tricks

When something new comes into fashion, sometimes, you just can't ignore it. Such was the case with Card Windows. They just opened up so many possibilities within the world of FileMaker development. While Button Bars, Popovers and Sliders have changed the way many things are done within your FileMaker user interface, the way Card Windows can be used should be your first consideration for many of your standard UI tasks. Understanding what happens when a card window comes forward allows you to ta

FileMaker Overview: Logical Functions

For some of us, one of the most enjoyable aspects of programming is the fact that we get to feel so "in control" over every single aspect of how something works. You are the God of your own universe and it's either as bad or as good as you make it. Our human shortcoming, however, is that fact that we don't just know it all - we have to learn the various ways of doing things. Knowing how to use FileMaker's functions, and when they are useful, is a key aspect to creating well functioning software

Ultimate Card Window Control

FileMaker 16 changed the entire landscape of how many things are accomplished within FileMaker. Because of the ability to show a completely different context as a new Card Window, you can now do all kinds of wonderful things. Need an interactive sidebar? Use a Card Window. Need greater degree of control over your custom dialog boxes? Use Card Windows. Need to present a pick list, a palette or pretty much any information you could ever want to display in a dedicated child window? Used Card Windo

No Duplicate Emails

FileMaker Pro has some very simple and straight-forward validation options. For example, if you only want one field named email to only ever have a single copy of a given email, you choose the Unique option in the Validations section of the field's options. But, what if you want to allow a given contact record to have multiple email addresses. How do you check for uniqueness across multiple fields? The same email could appear within one field and then would be perfectly valid in a second field

Reducing Available List Options

Whether you're just starting out with FileMaker Pro or you've been hovering in the intermediate zone for a little while, it's always a good thing to have a solid understanding of how to structure data and use the Relationship Graph in order to accomplish the end objective. When it comes to presenting a reducing set of available options, you have to understand how to get at what isn't being used in order to present it. The steps you need to take to show what isn't being used requires you to, fir

FileMaker Overview: Aggregate Functions

So, what's the point of collecting all that data if you're not going to determine what it's telling you? Well, a lot of those burning questions are often answered with the power of the Aggregate functions. Whether you simply need some total using the Sum() function or if you're an advanced developer writing crazy scripted loops using the List() function, you need to know how to use the Aggregate functions to achieve the desired results. There are a few peculiarities about using the Aggregate f

Zoomable & Clickable SVG Navigation

Don't get me wrong, FileMaker has a lot of cool things it can do all on its own. In fact, they keep adding more and more useful tools which makes it easy to create great working software. There are, however, those certain things that FileMaker just can't do on it's own. For example, you can't interact with images within container fields quite like you can certain web pages. Yet, right in front of us, we have the wonderfully powerful Web Viewer which exposes access to the power of JavaScript and

FileMaker Overview: Container Functions

When first learning about database development, and how to store large files such as media, archives and documents, I was introduced to the concept of a BLOB (Binary Large OBject). At that time, I wasn't using FileMaker Pro as of yet but a database called FoxPro. The concept of FileMaker's Container fields, as places to store BLOBs, came so much easier than having to convert a file into another format which can be stored within a SQL data store - which is what you have to do with some other dat

FileMaker Overview: Date & Time Functions

Knowing how FileMaker's Date and Time functions actually work is quite a big help when you're creating anything related to time based data. When I first started learning FileMaker, I was pleased to see how easy it was to use the date and time functions. However, I didn't quite know how things worked underneath the hood. It wasn't until I tried creating my first calendar within FileMaker that I had to really get into the guts of what was going on. Once I learned how the functions really worked,

FileMaker Overview: Number Functions

If you're the type of person who's into Math, then you probably know when you need to use Factorial() versus Exp() versus Div(). Inevitably, you're a better mathematician than I. My use of the Number functions extends to how useful they can be when you're creating your FileMaker user interface and solving workflow related problems. When it comes to FileMaker's Number functions, there are number of tricks I've picked up over the years from those who are much smarter at the "math part" than I am

FileMaker Overview: Text Formatting Functions

While placing fields and merge text onto a layout is a simple matter of adding the elements to the layout, the formatting you apply to onscreen data can only go so far. Sure, we can use Conditional Formatting in order to achieve all kinds of great looking layouts, but, what if there were a way to go beyond these straight-forward layout tools and leverage even more control. What about dynamically displaying colored and formatted text without having to create calculated fields? Well, all of this,

FileMaker Overview: Text Functions

When you're learning a new skill or programming language, you don't always know what you might need to know. Such was the case when I received an email asking me to go through the various groups of FileMaker functions. I thought to myself, "In most of my videos, I showcase the use of certain functions, but, I've never really gone through each function one by one." So, in this video, I do exactly that. I relay my experience and exposure to each of the various FileMaker functions. Starting with t

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