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The Philosophy of FileMaker

A blog by John Mark Osborne in Affiliate Blogs

  • Entries

    182

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    3

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    21,735

Entries in this blog

Themes Rule

Before you create any layouts, you need to decide on a theme. Choosing a theme is one of the most important decisions you will make for a project. Themes define the user experience more than any other feature in FileMaker. Buttons, backgrounds, Fields, Tab Controls, Portals, Popover Buttons, Slide Controls and just about every object in FileMaker has been thoughtfully designed by interface extraordinaire Heather Winkle. I’m not talking about the tools themselves but how the objects they create a

Themes Rule

Before you create any layouts, you need to decide on a theme. Choosing a theme is one of the most important decisions you will make for a project. Themes define the user experience more than any other feature in FileMaker. Buttons, backgrounds, Fields, Tab Controls, Portals, Popover Buttons, Slide Controls and just about every object in FileMaker has been thoughtfully designed by interface extraordinaire Heather Winkle. I’m not talking about the tools themselves but how the objects they create a

Weight Lifting

This technique has no real use in the real world. Say what? Yes, you read that correctly! Think of the technique I'm about to cover as weight lifting for your FileMaker mind. It's about solving a complex problem, learning new scripts steps and functions, and generally getting smarter so the next time you tackle a problem you'll be more prepared. I believe in conditioning so much, I often write scripts from scratch I could easily copy and paste. But I digress. All I can say is if you want to buil

Weight Lifting

This technique has no real use in the real world. Say what? Yes, you read that correctly! Think of the technique I'm about to cover as weight lifting for your FileMaker mind. It's about solving a complex problem, learning new scripts steps and functions, and generally getting smarter so the next time you tackle a problem you'll be more prepared. I believe in conditioning so much, I often write scripts from scratch I could easily copy and paste. But I digress. All I can say is if you want to buil

Form Letters in Browse

Empowering users of your solution to create their own form letters is life-changing. No longer do they have to contact the developer, explain their needs and go through a back-and-forth testing stage. The developer just designs a single interface that allows the user to create, save, edit and delete their own form letters. It's really not that hard to program either. You just need some global fields, a calculation and a couple of scripts for the foundation of this technique. This approach seems

Form Letters in Browse

Empowering users of your solution to create their own form letters is life-changing. No longer do they have to contact the developer, explain their needs and go through a back-and-forth testing stage. The developer just designs a single interface that allows the user to create, save, edit and delete their own form letters. It's really not that hard to program either. You just need some global fields, a calculation and a couple of scripts for the foundation of this technique. This approach seems

Context and Relationships

Context is everything! Haven’t you ever had something you said taken out of context and then tried, desperately, to figure out how to get yourself out of the hole you just, inadvertently, dug for yourself? The same goes with relationships. In life, as in FileMaker, they can be tricky and, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can get yourself in a whole mess of trouble. This article is really for newbies to FileMaker; anybody who has been working with FileMaker for a while will, or should, kn

Context and Relationships

Context is everything! Haven’t you ever had something you said taken out of context and then tried, desperately, to figure out how to get yourself out of the hole you just, inadvertently, dug for yourself? The same goes with relationships. In life, as in FileMaker, they can be tricky and, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can get yourself in a whole mess of trouble. This article is really for newbies to FileMaker; anybody who has been working with FileMaker for a while will, or should, kn

Parsing for Features

Data parsing isn't just for manipulating data into a preferred format. You can also create features that weren't otherwise possible with standard FileMaker tools. That's one of the things I love about FileMaker. Instead of giving you a one-dimensional menu item to support a specific need, like Microsoft, FMI gives you multidimensional tools. By combining two or more tools, you can can create a new capability in a FileMaker solution. One of the most overlooked tools are the text and value functio

Parsing for Features

Data parsing isn't just for manipulating data into a preferred format. You can also create features that weren't otherwise possible with standard FileMaker tools. That's one of the things I love about FileMaker. Instead of giving you a one-dimensional menu item to support a specific need, like Microsoft, FMI gives you multidimensional tools. By combining two or more tools, you can can create a new capability in a FileMaker solution. One of the most overlooked tools are the text and value functio

Parsing A Web Form

Have you ever gone back to modify a script six months later and wondered what the heck you did? Even with all the commenting and documentation, it still takes you a while to relearn the script. And, what if you want to move the script to another solution. You have to modify it to match the layout, field and table names in the new database. Dynamic scripting is about creating smart solutions. If you program a script with intelligence, it can adapt to layout, field, table and file modifications. I

Parsing A Web Form

Have you ever gone back to modify a script six months later and wondered what the heck you did? Even with all the commenting and documentation, it still takes you a while to relearn the script. And, what if you want to move the script to another solution. You have to modify it to match the layout, field and table names in the new database. Dynamic scripting is about creating smart solutions. If you program a script with intelligence, it can adapt to layout, field, table and file modifications. I

Data Parsing

Imagine receiving a file from a client, or your boss, with improperly delimited data. It's actually quite common. Just because someone can build a database, doesn't mean they can properly structure it. A common scenario is for the first and last name fields to be in the same column but you never know what you are going to encounter so it's best to be well versed with the text functions in FileMaker. In fact, data parsing can actually assist in creating features that weren't otherwise possible! T

Data Parsing

Imagine receiving a file from a client, or your boss, with improperly delimited data. It's actually quite common. Just because someone can build a database, doesn't mean they can properly structure it. A common scenario is for the first and last name fields to be in the same column but you never know what you are going to encounter so it's best to be well versed with the text functions in FileMaker. In fact, data parsing can actually assist in creating features that weren't otherwise possible! T

Anatomy of a Calculation

FileMaker calculation formulas allow you to add, subtract, multiply and compare values with operators. If you are familiar with spreadsheets like Excel or Numbers, it will help you to understand FileMaker calculations. However, FileMaker Pro calculations go much further and enable you to manipulate text, work with dates, ascertain the status of FileMaker Pro, make decisions and much more. Rather than covering any specific calculation formulas in detail, the aim of this article is to focus on pro

Anatomy of a Calculation

FileMaker calculation formulas allow you to add, subtract, multiply and compare values with operators. If you are familiar with spreadsheets like Excel or Numbers, it will help you to understand FileMaker calculations. However, FileMaker Pro calculations go much further and enable you to manipulate text, work with dates, ascertain the status of FileMaker Pro, make decisions and much more. Rather than covering any specific calculation formulas in detail, the aim of this article is to focus on pro

Seven for Seventeen

There's a lot of FileMaker 17 content on YouTube. It's hard to tell which material is the best so you can optimize your learning. You could spend hours trying to find the right video to answer all your questions about FileMaker 17. I've gone through a lot of the videos on YouTube and here are my favorites. Hopefully this will save you a ton of time. Let me know in the comments area below if I've forgotten an incredible video. View the full article

Seven for Seventeen

There's a lot of FileMaker 17 content on YouTube. It's hard to tell which material is the best so you can optimize your learning. You could spend hours trying to find the right video to answer all your questions about FileMaker 17. I've gone through a lot of the videos on YouTube and here are my favorites. Hopefully this will save you a ton of time. Let me know in the comments area below if I've forgotten an incredible video. View the full article

Seventeen is Prime

Last year was sweet sixteen. This year is prime seventeen. That's the best title I could come up with after Googling the number seventeen. Not much out there for this number. While seventeen is a prime number, prime can also describe the new FileMaker 17, adding features that will change the way you develop your FileMaker solutions. Seriously! Also, I'm going to focus on desktop enhancements but I'm sure there are many bloggers out there who will talk at length about FileMaker Go and FileMaker S

Seventeen is Prime

Last year was sweet sixteen. This year is prime seventeen. That's the best title I could come up with after Googling the number seventeen. Not much out there for this number. While seventeen is a prime number, prime can also describe the new FileMaker 17, adding features that will change the way you develop your FileMaker solutions. Seriously! Also, I'm going to focus on desktop enhancements but I'm sure there are many bloggers out there who will talk at length about FileMaker Go and FileMaker S

Interface Ease

Good interface design should be instantly recognizable and immediately useable. Creating an appealing layout is easy with themes. Designing a functional layout is another story. There are many techniques out there for developing intuitive interfaces but I prescribe to the grid. Grid interfaces provide a clean, organized and calming effect on users. Your interface design can make or break the success of your project, so design carefully by starting with a well designed form and list layout based

Interface Ease

Good interface design should be instantly recognizable and immediately useable. Creating an appealing layout is easy with themes. Designing a functional layout is another story. There are many techniques out there for developing intuitive interfaces but I prescribe to the grid. Grid interfaces provide a clean, organized and calming effect on users. Your interface design can make or break the success of your project, so design carefully by starting with a well designed form and list layout based

File Freedom

In my two decade career, I've only seen corrupt files while working in technical support. I was in technical support for five long years but even then it was not a common occurrence. Rarely have I encountered a corrupt file while working with a client or in my own personal FileMaker solutions. With good file management practices, your FileMaker file can live a long and happy life, free of corruption. I'm not saying corruption doesn't happen, it's just rare. Still you need to be prepared if the F

File Freedom

In my two decade career, I've only seen corrupt files while working in technical support. I was in technical support for five long years but even then it was not a common occurrence. Rarely have I encountered a corrupt file while working with a client or in my own personal FileMaker solutions. With good file management practices, your FileMaker file can live a long and happy life, free of corruption. I'm not saying corruption doesn't happen, it's just rare. Still you need to be prepared if the F

FLF

I've mentioned FLF (Find-List-Form) in several other articles on this web site but I think it's so important that I wanted to devote an entire article to the subject. So many developers have moved so far away from the roots of FileMaker that they almost don't even know what they are. Then they teach other budding FileMaker developers wacky workarounds for something that is so easy to accomplish with basic FileMaker tools, and these impressionable minds think it's always the right approach. Yes,

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