Skeleton Key's Bloghttps://fmforums.com/blogs/blog/56-skeleton-keys-blog/enJanuary-FileMaker STL Meetup: “Alexa, ask FileMaker…”https://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1930-january-filemaker-stl-meetup-%E2%80%9Calexa-ask-filemaker%E2%80%A6%E2%80%9D/Please join Skeleton Key's FileMaker STL meetup, January 23, 2018, 6pm (CT). Colleague, Jeremy Upton, will present: "Alexa, ask FileMaker...". "Alexa, ask FileMaker..." SK is Skeleton Key. SK is host to FileMaker STL Hey Siri. Hey Google. Hey Alexa...the holiday season was explosive with its ads for voice command devices. Wouldn't it be cool if you could say something like "Hey Alexa, ask FileMaker how many contacts live in the state of Texas?", and have the results of your FileMaker database said back to you? We think so too! And that's why we are excited to have Skeleton Key's very own Jeremy Upton lead the meetup topic this month.


View the full article

]]>1930Fri, 05 Jan 2018 20:36:40 +0000January-FM Academy Webinar: FileMaker JSON and Multiple Script Parametershttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1931-january-fm-academy-webinar-filemaker-json-and-multiple-script-parameters/FM-Academy-Logo.gif Join us Tuesday, January 23, for a free one-hour webinar at 2pm (EST)/ 1pm (CST)/ 11am (PST), as Rohit Roy from IT Solutions presents FileMaker JSON and Multiple Script Parameters.

View the full article

]]>1931Fri, 05 Jan 2018 18:56:18 +0000<![CDATA[Skeleton Key & Brightsource IT are Moving!]]>https://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1844-skeleton-key-brightsource-it-are-moving/ Skeleton Key & Brightsource IT are moving!

We are excited to announce that, due to our continued growth, we are moving Brightsource IT and Skeleton Key to a new office space on August 21st.

The post Skeleton Key & Brightsource IT are Moving! appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1844Wed, 16 Aug 2017 18:23:41 +0000Skeleton Key is Headed to FileMaker DevCon 2017https://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1831-skeleton-key-is-headed-to-filemaker-devcon-2017/Mark Richman, President, Greg Lane, VP of Application Development, and Application Developers: Chad Adams, Jay Sayers, Todd Stark, and Jeremy Upton, are headed to Phoenix, AZ from July 24-27 to participate in FileMaker, Inc.'s annual Developer Conference aka DevCon. They'll be staying at The JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge, host hotel of more than 50 DevCon sessions. They will join over 1,500 FileMaker developers to network, catch up with colleagues. Primarily, they will take advantage of the variety of session tracks, to further their knowledge with tips, best practices, and techniques to continue building powerful business solutions for our clients.

Mark R., Greg L. and Chad A. will have the honor to host the following sessions:

The post Skeleton Key is Headed to FileMaker DevCon 2017 appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1831Tue, 18 Jul 2017 21:26:26 +0000The FileMaker 16 Platformhttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1730-the-filemaker-16-platform/The FileMaker 16 Platform has launched and it's packed with great new features for both developers and users. We're excited about significant new features such as server-side PDF creation, card windows, the new Windows UI, enhanced data viewer, and native JSON functions. The platform also introduces several innovative features such as the FileMaker Data API, external script steps, OAuth 2 support, and region monitoring.

The new FileMaker 16 Platform is stronger than ever and we can't wait to start building with this great new feature set. Our team has written a series of blog posts to introduce some of our favorite new features. Check back soon for more posts.

FileMaker 16: Card Window by Jay Sayers
FileMaker 16: Layout Objects Window by Alan Kirtlink
FileMaker 16: New Windows Interface by Calvin Cooper
FileMaker 16: Data API by Todd Stark
FileMaker 16: Enhanced Data Viewer by Jay Sayers
FileMaker 16: Animations and Transitions by Chad Adams
FileMaker 16: New JSON Functions by Jeremy Upton (Coming Soon)

The post The FileMaker 16 Platform appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1730Tue, 09 May 2017 15:00:26 +0000FileMaker 16: Card Windowhttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1731-filemaker-16-card-window/Card-Gallery-Sample

The FileMaker 16 Card Window is a new user interface tool which will not only make your application look better, it will help you reuse your layouts. Using the Card Window Style you will be able to display unrelated record data, related record data, and transform the look of currently viewed records. At the same time, it just might make window management easier.

The post FileMaker 16: Card Window appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1731Tue, 09 May 2017 14:55:17 +0000FileMaker 16: Layout Objects Windowhttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1732-filemaker-16-layout-objects-window/Once upon a time FileMaker layouts were simple. Everything was visible all of the time and unless it was done by mistake, we never stacked objects on top of one another. Over the years however, a lot of features have been added to FileMaker to help us get the most out of small screens. These days we have tools such as tab controls, slide controls, pop-overs and object hiding that allow us to cram lots of objects into a small amount of space and show the users just those that we want them to see.

These features allow us to do things that used to be impossible, but with so many objects on a layout it can be difficult to find the one you are looking for. To help us with this, FileMaker 16 adds a feature called the Layout Objects window (LOW). Here's how it works.

The post FileMaker 16: Layout Objects Window appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1732Tue, 09 May 2017 14:50:13 +0000FileMaker 16: New Windows Interfacehttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1733-filemaker-16-new-windows-interface/With the release of FileMaker Pro 16 a great new feature has been introduced for those of us who use the Windows operating system. The FileMaker Pro 16 Windows interface has been redesigned to work more like the Mac OS version by now allowing multiple and separate windows! No longer will Windows users be limited to keeping all their layout windows within the FileMaker Pro application window.

Separate Windows

Individual windows can now be resized independently. Each window also contains its own menu bar and status toolbar.

FM16 Windows - New Windows

Window Snapping

Windows natively has a window snapping feature when dragging windows to the sides of the screen. You can now effectively leverage this snapping feature with the changes to the FileMaker Pro 16 Windows interface.

The post FileMaker 16: New Windows Interface appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1733Tue, 09 May 2017 14:45:44 +0000FileMaker 16: The FileMaker Data APIhttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1734-filemaker-16-the-filemaker-data-api/REST comes to FileMaker

While we have been able to use plugins and the Insert from URL script step to consume data from other web-based systems using either SOAP or REST services, FileMaker did not have a native way to easily serve its data to other sites. There is custom web publishing, and ODBC connections, but that was still somewhat limiting when it came to serving data to other web-based systems from anywhere in the world. That all changes in FileMaker 16 with the introduction of the REST based Data API. Now your FileMaker solution can behave like any number of other databases from around the globe who have distinct APIs written for external users to consume the data.

The post FileMaker 16: The FileMaker Data API appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1734Tue, 09 May 2017 14:40:38 +0000FileMaker 16: Enhanced Data Viewerhttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1735-filemaker-16-enhanced-data-viewer/FileMaker 16 Advanced Data Viewer Animation

The Data Viewer in FileMaker Pro 16 Advanced got some much needed attention with this release which can best be described as FAST! Its improved interface will have you working, testing and troubleshooting faster and easier thanks to the Auto-Complete, Search and Automatically Evaluate tools.

The post FileMaker 16: Enhanced Data Viewer appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1735Tue, 09 May 2017 14:35:54 +0000FileMaker 16: Animations and Transitionshttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1736-filemaker-16-animations-and-transitions/Since the addition of the Set Layout Object Animation script step and slide panels you have been able to mimic a slide transition while navigating from layout to layout. The cost of implementing this simple UI experience is a complication of your layouts that may be unacceptable.

FileMaker 16 vastly simplifies the process and at the same time adds many more transition options.

The post FileMaker 16: Animations and Transitions appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1736Tue, 09 May 2017 14:30:02 +0000FileMaker 16: New JSON Functionshttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1749-filemaker-16-new-json-functions/One of the highest community voted features making its way into the release of FileMaker 16 is a new set of functions dedicated to the parsing of JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) text strings. These come in conjunction with the introduction of REST API into the FileMaker Server software, and serve as a new valuable tool for developers to communicate with third party data sources. JSON holds a demanding position as an industry standard in web services. Now, where FileMaker developers used to have to turn to custom functions and/or third party plugins to interact with these services, they will have use of standard built-in functions that will ship with FileMaker 16.

The post FileMaker 16: New JSON Functions appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1749Tue, 09 May 2017 14:25:28 +0000A Simple Browser-Like Back Button in FileMakerhttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1725-a-simple-browser-like-back-button-in-filemaker/I recently tackled a request from a client to implement a back button that functioned similar in nature to the back button in a web browser. This is certainly not an uncommon request and a simple explanation as to why this isn't practical normally results in the client withdrawing their request. However, the customer was adamant that they wanted this functionality. So, I set out to design a solution for them and came up with a solution using snapshot links.

Snapshot History Demo

The post A Simple Browser-Like Back Button in FileMaker appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1725Thu, 04 May 2017 18:39:51 +00002017 FileMaker Training: Developer Essentialshttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1648-2017-filemaker-training-developer-essentials/ChalkboardSK
Our 2017 FileMaker training series class, Developer Essentials is scheduled!

Our trainers are Certified FileMaker Developers, who have been developing custom solutions at Skeleton Key for many years.  Please visit our webpage for information, dates, and to register.

The post 2017 FileMaker Training: Developer Essentials appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1648Fri, 16 Dec 2016 21:42:36 +0000FileMaker CWP performance tiphttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1645-filemaker-cwp-performance-tip/If you have a website that connects to a FileMaker database, this simple tip might help improve performance.

The post FileMaker CWP performance tip appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1645Thu, 08 Dec 2016 19:42:49 +0000Skeleton Key is headed to FileMaker DevCon 2016https://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1611-skeleton-key-is-headed-to-filemaker-devcon-2016/ top, right: Mark Richman; bottom, left to right: Calvin Cooper, Chad Adams, Greg Lane
top, right: Mark Richman; bottom, left to right: Calvin Cooper, Chad Adams, Greg Lane

Mark Richman, President, Greg Lane, VP of Application Development, Chad Adams, Senior Developer and Trainer, and Calvin Cooper, Developer, are headed to Las Vegas from July 18-21 to participate in FileMaker, Inc.'s annual Developer Conference aka DevCon. They'll be staying at The Cosmopolitan, host hotel of more than 60 DevCon sessions. They will join over 1,500 FileMaker developers to network, catch up with colleagues and take advantage of the variety of session tracks including core, design, innovation, mobility, business & web, to further their knowledge with tips, best practices, and techniques to continue building powerful business solutions for our clients. Mark, Greg and Chad will have the honor to host four of these sessions.

The post Skeleton Key is headed to FileMaker DevCon 2016 appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1611Thu, 14 Jul 2016 22:41:29 +0000Sizing layouts for Android devices for FileMaker 15 WebDirecthttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1559-sizing-layouts-for-android-devices-for-filemaker-15-webdirect/With the release of FileMaker 15 Server the Chrome browser on the Android operating system is now supported for use with FileMaker 15 WebDirect when using devices with a five inch or larger screen. I have spent some time testing this out and I've found that things seem to work as well as it does on the other platforms. However, during my testing I did come across something I found to be a bit odd and not quite as intuitive due to the variety of Android screen sizes and resolutions.

iOS has historically used whole number multipliers to scale to the native screen resolution. Using either a 2x or 3x multiplier they can scale the output resolution to the native screen resolution and keep all elements of the items large and legible on the device screens.

Android uses multipliers in the same manner as iOS, however the difference is that Android strays from simple 2x and 3x multipliers. Depending on the device resolution the multiplier may be anywhere from 1.3x to 3.5x! With the increasing density of new devices this problem is only going to get worse.

The post Sizing layouts for Android devices for FileMaker 15 WebDirect appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1559Thu, 30 Jun 2016 18:14:56 +0000FileMaker Go 15 background scriptshttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1550-filemaker-go-15-background-scripts/When FileMaker Go is running a script and the user locks the device or switches to another app, the script is paused and FileMaker Go enters a suspended state. Check out this video for a simple technique to allow a script to continue to run while FileMaker Go 15 is in the background. This can be a great way to help ensure a long-running script isn't interrupted by an impatient user.

The post FileMaker Go 15 background scripts appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1550Tue, 24 May 2016 17:24:37 +0000Integrating Autotask with FileMakerhttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1518-integrating-autotask-with-filemaker/Autotask to FileMaker

Group Session #1

Hi. My name is Andy and I'm an API Addict.

In my defense, I have to say it's all Brian Dunning's fault. See, when I was first starting out with FileMaker, and discovered all that sample data on Mr. Dunning's website, I found I couldn't get enough. I was sorting, and parsing, and testing, and munging, and wrangling, and...and...and I just kept needing bigger and bigger datasets to "work" with. When I'd gone through the biggest one there, I realized I still needed more.

The post Integrating Autotask with FileMaker appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1518Wed, 02 Mar 2016 20:16:06 +00002016 FileMaker Training Course Schedulehttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1424-2016-filemaker-training-course-schedule/ChalkboardSK

Our 2016 FileMaker training courses are scheduled!

Our trainers are Certified FileMaker Developers, who have been developing custom solutions at Skeleton Key for many years. Please visit each page for information, dates, and to register.

If you would like an individual invoice, please contact us. We offer a multi-person discount for companies that would like to send more than one trainee. Please contact us with interest in this discount. We offer on-site training for companies that qualify. Please contact us if you'd like training for your staff members at your company's location.

The post 2016 FileMaker Training Course Schedule appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1424Tue, 08 Dec 2015 21:42:48 +0000FileMaker naming conventionshttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1425-filemaker-naming-conventions/In a recent discussion at the FileMaker Community a question was asked about why a FileMaker developer would choose NOT to use SQL-friendly field names. It's an important question that I believe many FileMaker developers often answer incorrectly. Here's a bit about how my view of naming conventions has changed over time.

For reference, a SQL-friendly field name in FileMaker would be a name that:

starts with a letter
contains only letters, numbers, and underscore characters
is not a reserved word (an evolving list of over 200 words including DATE, FIRST, FROM, VALUE, ZONE, etc.)

Developers also often adopt naming conventions that use PascalCase, camelCase, or a variety of prefixes and suffixes to indicate properties of the field or alter the sort order of fields.

I was once in the camp that thought it was a best practice to always use these kinds of naming conventions to optimize developer productivity. I come from a computer science background with experience in dozens of different languages, each with its own arcane naming rules. Some of those languages were created when every byte was precious...many computers had just a few kilobytes of memory, data transfer rates were measured in bits per second, and programs and data were stored on punched cards or magnetic tape. I started using some amalgamation of the various rules I knew when I began using FileMaker in 1986. Over the years, my naming conventions evolved modestly as the FileMaker platform changed and I was exposed to other developers' code.
GL_BW_2011-06

The post FileMaker naming conventions appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1425Tue, 10 Nov 2015 22:10:08 +0000L5SimpleFM v 1.0 – A Composer and Laravel 5 friendly PHP package for interacting with hosted FileMaker datahttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1426-l5simplefm-v-10-%E2%80%93-a-composer-and-laravel-5-friendly-php-package-for-interacting-with-hosted-filemaker-data/ TLDR Overview

L5SimpleFM is a PHP package used to provide a simple, readable, declarative syntax for accessing data hosted on a FileMaker Server from a composer-friendly PHP project. The package also has a ServiceProvider class which allows it to be easily pulled into a Laravel 5 project.

The post L5SimpleFM v 1.0 – A Composer and Laravel 5 friendly PHP package for interacting with hosted FileMaker data appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1426Thu, 17 Sep 2015 17:46:30 +0000Join Us for FM Academy Webinar: Options for Licensing FileMaker Platformhttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1427-join-us-for-fm-academy-webinar-options-for-licensing-filemaker-platform/FM-Academy-Logo.gif

Join us Tuesday, September 22, for a free one-hour webinar at 2pm (EST)/ 1pm (CST)/ 11am (PST), as Mark Richman presents Options for Licensing FileMaker Platform. During the webinar, he will explain the different options for connecting users to FileMaker solutions, and demystifies the various options for licensing the technology.

The post Join Us for FM Academy Webinar: Options for Licensing FileMaker Platform appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1427Tue, 15 Sep 2015 20:44:14 +0000Help iOS users save their datahttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1428-help-ios-users-save-their-data/I ran into a situation recently where a user would not or could not remember to commit their changes before exiting their FileMaker Go solution on their iPad.

The truth is it's easy to complain that the user isn't using the system as it was intended. Complaining about the user doesn't really solve the problem, and we are problem solvers. This is custom software; it should work the way the user works, not the other way around.

clock

In this case, the user was using an iPhone or iPad Mini. He pulls it from his pocket, opens a work order, adds some photos and notes, and then sticks the device back in his pocket. Then he does some work (like replacing a window in a building) and then takes some more photos of the completed repair.

The post Help iOS users save their data appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1428Tue, 08 Sep 2015 15:19:30 +0000FileMaker Training: Developer Essentials Class in Nashville, TN Areahttps://fmforums.com/blogs/entry/1429-filemaker-training-developer-essentials-class-in-nashville-tn-area/Nashville[1] copy

Skeleton Key will be taking our 3-day Developer Essentials, FileMaker Training class to the Nashville, Tennessee area from Tuesday September 22 to Thursday, September 24.

The course will be hosted at:

Goodall Homes, 323 Maple Street, Suite 100, Gallatin, TN 37066

Seating is limited. Register ASAP, if you are interested in attending this training class.

The post FileMaker Training: Developer Essentials Class in Nashville, TN Area appeared first on FileMaker Development Company.


View the full article

]]>1429Thu, 20 Aug 2015 18:29:19 +0000