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for peer-to-peer support of the FileMaker Platform and related products and services.
Part 2: What Should You Consider When Selecting a Development Partner? What Questions Might You Ask a Potential Developer?
Hiring a developer is about creating a working relationship. You want someone who gets your business and gets you. Having a good working relationship often determines the success or failure of a development project. Hire someone you are comfortable with who also has the skills necessary to make your project successful. Beyond the quality of the working relationsh
The FileMaker Script Debugger is powerful. Its features are often overlooked. In this post we examine the buttons that control stepping through a script.
The post Like a Boss: Using the Script Debugger to its Full Potential appeared first on Geist Interactive.
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Hacking Your Own FileMaker Platform Solutions
Should FileMaker Platform developers mount hacking attacks on their own solutions? At first glance, this may seem an odd question. But I believe that the answer is “Yes, we should.”
Consider this. As developers we see our solutions from a totally different perspective than Threat Agents see them. Without practicing our own hacking skills, we can become blind to the vulnerabilities a Threat Agent can exploit to compromise the Confidentiality
In the past year and a half here at Geist Interactive, I’ve been tasked with some development work that involves connecting to various APIs. I’ve written modules for clients that get definitions, other forms, synonyms and antonyms, hypernyms and hyponyms of a term from the client’s internal dictionary and such public dictionaries such as Oxford […]
The post HTTP Request: I don’t know how, but it works appeared first on Geist Interactive.
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The FileMaker Let function is your tool to make a calculation readable, well formatted and easy to debug. Let us discuss how it can be used.
The post Like a Boss: Let us Discuss the FileMaker Let Function appeared first on Geist Interactive.
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Ahhh... the ubiquitous notes field. Seems simple, right? In a way it is. Just slap down a field and resize it to show more data. Add a scroll bar and you're done. The problems occur when you are trying to locate an important note, print a report or perform a find. Data can be strewn all about a text field that allows free form entry and supports up to ten million characters. Imagine hundreds of different users trying to follow the exact same format for data entry. Pandemonium! This article will
Ahhh... the ubiquitous notes field. Seems simple, right? In a way it is. Just slap down a field and resize it to show more data. Add a scroll bar and you're done. The problems occur when you are trying to locate an important note, print a report or perform a find. Data can be strewn all about a text field that allows free form entry and supports up to ten million characters. Imagine hundreds of different users trying to follow the exact same format for data entry. Pandemonium! This article will
I Got Quicker at Debugging and So Can You
Eradicate those Annoying Little Code Demons with these Tools and a Few Lines of Custom Code I Developed
by Michael Suhrbier, eXcelisys Web App Developer
You’ve probably heard of these PHP / MySQL debugging techniques:
Xdebug — Great if you can get it working.
BackTrace(), print_r(), var_dump(), etc. — Very useful but usually very ugly and not easy for humans to read and understand.
PHP / MySQL logs — Fine for the average user, but let’s e
When you're the one creating the database, you're the one who says which data makes it in and which data doesn't. This all happens through the various methods of data validation.
Data is either considered valid or not - and this happens according to your data validation rules. If the data is valid, then everything proceeds as normal. If, however, the data isn't exactly what's required, then you get to choose what happens.
In most cases, you can let the user keep taking a whack at it until they
Join us for a free webinar about Otto, our Automated Deployment and Dev-Ops utility for FileMaker Server. Otto handles the tedious, and error-prone tasks of transferring files to servers and performing data migrations. If you regularly have to perform data imports and data migrations on your FileMaker systems, you will want to attend this webinar. In this webinar, […]
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If you don’t know which method FileMaker uses for record locking, optimistic vs pessimistic, then you’ll find out during his talk. He’ll share his journey into how he became an optimistic database architect. What are the critical things be aware of when allowing FileMaker to work with optimistic record locking. We’ll look at security considerations when using this approach, and architecture and building solutions for maximum performance while maintaining data accuracy and reliability.
Under
The Microsoft OneDrive API can allow you to edit files without downloading and re-uploading to FileMaker. Integrate FileMaker with Microsoft OneDrive to store documents in the cloud and improve sharing while keeping your database lean and mean.
Be sure to check out the full article: https://dbservices.com/articles/filemaker-onedrive-integration/
Includes free sample database and tutorial video
dbservices.com
Scripts that run on the opening of a FileMaker file allow you to accomplish so many different tasks. Open scripts can initialize global fields, setup variables, determine which layout to display based on security or platform, perform sub-scripts, install menu sets and so much more. This article will cover some of the most important uses of Open scripts but each FileMaker solution will likely have unique open script steps.
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Scripts that run on the opening of a FileMaker file allow you to accomplish so many different tasks. Open scripts can initialize global fields, setup variables, determine which layout to display based on security or platform, perform sub-scripts, install menu sets and so much more. This article will cover some of the most important uses of Open scripts but each FileMaker solution will likely have unique open script steps.
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Prior to FileMaker 13 we never even had the option of performing scripted tasks where the data actually exists. The processing of a script, client side, always had, and still does, make a full round trip for all kinds of these processing activities. Many times, FileMaker does it's best to optimize whatever is being done, but it's still not as fast as executing certain things directly on the server.
With the addition of Perform Script on Server we gained a REALLY BIG performance boost by being a
We are releasing a major upgrade to Otto, our powerful Data Migration and Developer Operations tool. Otto automates the complex and error-prone process of migrating and upgrading FileMaker solutions, making it a key component of your Workplace Innovation Platform.
The post Otto v1.6.1 Released appeared first on Geist Interactive.
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To Be … Or Not to Be – A FileMaker Certified Developer
Should You Hire Only FileMaker Certified Developers?
How Do Developers Earn Certification and What Does it Mean?
We asked a bunch of developers about the certification process and its impact on their work. As a consumer, you want to know what you’re paying for when you hire a developer with the FileMaker Inc. seal of approval. How do developers get certified — and what, eXactly, does it mean?
“I do think the certificate process
The Script Step reference pages in FileMaker's help is a useful source for all developers, new and experienced alike. It's worth our look once in awhile. There's a lot to learn and to be reminded of on each page.
The post FIleMaker Script Steps Reference: Worth the look appeared first on Geist Interactive.
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The FileMaker help functions pages are a worthy set of documents to review many times in a developer's career. There's a lot of information about each function. Here we take a look at the pages and see how their set up.
The post FileMaker Help Functions: Always more to learn appeared first on Geist Interactive.
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Geist Interactive is sponsoring the CIO/CTO Focus event series. The next event will be Feb 19, 2019, and will feature a discussion with leading Chief Information & Chief Technology Officers (CIO & CTOs) from the area. Todd Geist, CEO of Geist Interactive will be moderating the event. Register using the link below.
The post Geist Interactive Hosts Local CIO/CTO Focus appeared first on Geist Interactive.
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The FileMaker help guide is a useful set of documents, and we can use the context-sensitive help feature to get to the relevant help pages quickly. It is worth our time to review what is written.
The post FileMaker Help: A Worthwhile Read appeared first on Geist Interactive.
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One of the most wonderful aspects of FileMaker, or any development project, is implementing a portion of the software which can be used system wide. Meaning you don't have to recreate functionality over and over again in order to benefit from what you implement initially. Especially when it can be used in all locations universally.
In this video, I show you how to implement a Universal Tagging System in which you can apply tags to any other element you're managing within your database system. A
Out with the Old & In with the New,
Updating PHP is Essential for You!
Why PHP & WordPress Updates Should Top Your New Year’s “To Do” List
By Michael Suhrbier, eXcelisys Web App Developer
What is PHP?
Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) is an amazing and popular server-side programming language used in web development. How prominent is it? Well, it’s powerful enough to run the biggest blogging system on the web (WordPress) and the largest social network platform in the world (Facebook)!
I've always been intrigued with how to mimic a web browser's back and forward buttons... as have many other developers. While I don't usually include them in a professional solution, I do find the exercise of creating an airtight historical navigation solution challenging. I prefer well designed navigation over history buttons. Therefore, I present this article as a brain teaser and not necessarily as a recommended solution. But, I'll let you make the decision. I'll go into why I don't think his
I've always been intrigued with how to mimic a web browser's back and forward buttons... as have many other developers. While I don't usually include them in a professional solution, I do find the exercise of creating an airtight historical navigation solution challenging. I prefer well designed navigation over history buttons. Therefore, I present this article as a brain teaser and not necessarily as a recommended solution. But, I'll let you make the decision. I'll go into why I don't think his
While many FileMaker solutions will manage multiple parameter passing in very simple and straight-forward ways, there are some solutions which you know will grow over time. Because of this expected growth, you may want to have an additional level of comfort knowing you've implemented a very strict system for managing data transfer between scripts.
You also may be interested in working with external APIs and connecting to systems and data which is provided via the currently popular format of JSO
Editor’s note: I first became aware of Paul Jansen when I licensed his FMTools in the late 1990s, and I finally had the pleasure of meeting him last June at dotFMP after 20 years of online and voice communication. It’s an honor and a privilege to welcome him to FileMaker Hacks as a guest author. […]
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Holiday Light Maker Finds Peace on Earth with Sales Quoting & Fulfillment App
FileMaker Platform Brings Bright Sparkle to Global Operations at Christmas Northeast / Nicolas Holiday
Just as Santa relies on the elves to keep his North Pole toy shop churning, holiday light manufacturer Christmas Northeast / Nicolas Holiday depends on the FileMaker Platform to manage sales and distribution of its bulbous bling.
As the sole manufacturer of all GE-branded holiday lighting products, the compa
