Welcome to our community, full of great ideas on developing your FileMaker solutions effectively,
for peer-to-peer support of the FileMaker Platform and related products and services.
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
WidgetStudio makes it easy to use, design and share powerful interface widgets, like calendars, gauges, charts, and timers. Pick from the constantly growing set of included widgets or build your own. Freely share them with your customers or friends.
The post Announcing WidgetStudio – FileMaker WebViewer Widgets appeared first on Geist Interactive.
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Hierarchical JSON Viewer / Editor
By Andy Persons & Doug West
One of the standout new features of FileMaker Pro 16 is native support for the JSON data-interchange format. In addition to providing easy integration with a host of online services, it also provides developers with the tools to create robust hierarchical structures for use entirely within FileMaker. This hierarchical JSON viewer / editor file provides some tools for visualizing, manipulating, and leveraging JSON text.
Features
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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Whether you're new to developing in FileMaker or have been using it for a while, unless you’re already familiar with standard timestamp formats and have experience working with external systems, there are several important things to understand about using dates, times, and timestamps within FileMaker — especially when integrating with other systems and APIs.
In this part of our series, we’ll explore a helpful suite of custom functions which serves as a solid foundation for nearly anything relat
The Outlook Manipulator plug-in makes it easy to connect your Claris FileMaker solution with Microsoft Outlook and the new Microsoft 365 Outlook (we refer to it as Outlook Remote). Whether you want to centralize contacts, archive emails, manage calendar events, or automate communication, Outlook Manipulator gives you the tools to make Outlook an integrated part of your FileMaker workflow.
Direct Integration with Outlook Remote and Outlook Classic
Outlook Manipulator supports both modern
In my opinion, before creating your first complex solution in FileMaker, it’s best to become familiar with the core features the environment provides. When considering how to structure your solutions — whether using a data separation model or a single file — it helps to understand how certain features can influence your decisions.
In this video, I cover the External Data Sources feature. While this feature is primarily intended for connecting to external data sources, its utility goes beyond si
See how FileMaker can use AI to perform live internet searches and return real-time company data, news, and insights. Explore how to connect FileMaker to OpenAI to gather and organize results directly within your solution.
AI models are powerful, but their training only extends to a specific date, which means they often lack awareness of recent news or developments. When you enable AI search, FileMaker can look up current information on the web and combine it with the model’s existing knowle
As with all increasingly complex human creations, especially those that go beyond the simple steps of “1, 2, 3, and done”, it’s important to plan for a solid foundation. A well-thought-out foundation guides a project toward long-term success and easier maintenance once the initial effort has been invested.
These early investments in your technical solution cover a variety of areas, one of the most important being permissions. Controlling what can be done, and by whom, not only protects against
Here are links to articles and resources related to today’s FM Training Livestream presentation: Best of FileMaker Hacks Tips, Tricks and Traps, part 3. YouTube link Best of FileMaker Hacks Tips, Tricks and Traps (part 3) [coming soon] Demo Files 2025-Nov-Livestream.zip [coming soon] FMH Articles SortValues and UniqueValues FM 22: Pseudo Indexing Sometimes Less Is… Continue reading November 2025 FM Training LivestreamView the full article
Demo file: FM-22-Pseudo-Indexing.zip (works w/ FM 16 or later) When I wrote about Sort Values and Unique Values back in 2017, I made passing reference to an article I’d written a couple years previously on the topic of “pseudo indexing“, i.e., displaying a list of unique values for a specific field for a found set, rather… Continue reading FM 22: Pseudo IndexingView the full article
Microsoft is phasing out basic authentication for SMTP, with rejections starting in March 2026 and a full cutoff on April 30, 2026. If your FileMaker apps still rely on basic authentication, you could soon face major disruptions. By preparing now, you’ll safeguard your email workflows, strengthen security, and avoid last-minute headaches. Includes sample file and video.
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Featuring: Description: In this episode of The Context Podcast, join Martha Zink, Todd Geist, and Ernest Koe as they discuss ProofChat— our new, FREE tool that allows you to add an AI Chat interface directly into your FileMaker solutions. Join the conversation to learn all the reasons why this could save you time and change […]
The post The Context Podcast: ProofChat appeared first on Proof+Geist.
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Are You ‘Too Hot’ for Your Web Developer?
By Kurt Knippel,
Project Manager / VP of Production
Ever get the cold shoulder from a web developer who thinks your brand, identity or messaging is too polarizing? In today’s highly splintered and politicized world, we’ve heard about web developers “playing it safe” and refusing work out of concern they might alienate future clients or harm their reputation by virtue of association.
At eXcelisys, the only reputation we care about is our reputation f
Chat with Your Own FileMaker Data FileMaker 2025 gave developers some fantastic new features for integrating AI into FileMaker apps. It opened the door to powerful AI experiences, yet most developers (including us) face the challenge of building chat infrastructure from scratch before delivering actual value. So we built ProofChat. ProofChat is a module you […]
The post ProofChat Is Here appeared first on Proof+Geist.
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In any multi-user solution, one of the first things to focus on is managing its users. While it's always possible to create a FileMaker solution without a dedicated Users table, doing so prevents you from offering users a wide range of benefits, with user preferences being the first major advantage.
While adding a Users table will allow you to manage those users and their preferences, you might as well also add a Sessions table to track whatever you wish about user activity while they're logged
Recently, Vince Menanno, Nick Orr, and Dave Ramsey joined a Claris Community Live session to share their insights and perspectives about three unique FileMaker analysis tools. Each of them brought a different tool to the table — BaseElements, InspectorPro, and FMPerception — and together they explored how these tools help developers understand the full breadth […]
The post Three Perspectives on FileMaker Analysis Tools appeared first on Proof+Geist.
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The FMPerception 22.0.0 update introduces full support for the latest wave of AI-related script steps and functions added by Claris in the FileMaker 2025 release. If FileMaker can do it, FMPerception can now analyze it. With this version, FMPerception adds support for new script steps and understands the new AI-centric functions, providing a wider view […]
The post FMPerception 22.0.0: Ready for FileMaker 2025 appeared first on Proof+Geist.
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A Claris Community Live Recap
On September 11, 2025, the Claris Community gathered for another Community Live event during which Marc Larochelle, Productive Computing CEO, discussed artificial intelligence and FileMaker. The session featured real-world examples of how AI is already transforming the way developers and businesses build solutions.
How to Use AI in FileMaker
The conversation centered on practical AI use cases in FileMaker, not just theory but rather demonst
Manual address entry leaves room for error, like missing apartment numbers or wrong street suffixes. Fortunately, USPS offers a free address validation tool that helps ensure your data stays accurate and reliable. In this article, we’ll show you how to integrate USPS address validation into your FileMaker database so your mail always gets where it’s supposed to go. Includes video and a free download file.
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Here are links to articles and resources related to presentations/discussions I will be participating in at the [Full Access] un-conference Oct 20-23, 2025. Virtual List Demo Files Coming soon Virtual List Articles Virtual List Simplified (for FM 21 and earlier) Virtual List Even More Simplified (for FM 22 and later) Long Documents in FileMaker 11… Continue reading October 2025 Full Access Resource PageView the full article
Spreadsheets are beneficial for quickly organizing data but can become liabilities as fast-growing teams scale due to lack of structure, version control, security and auditing capabilities. As team complexity increases, reliance on spreadsheets can hinder efficiency. Transitioning to purpose-built internal tools can streamline processes, enhance usability, and support growth without massive overhauls.View the full article
Debugging your solution's features isn't simply about using the built-in debugger offered by FileMaker. Debugging also involves knowing enough about the environment to determine what could be causing a problem. It includes being able to investigate and troubleshoot a particular feature while testing.
It's probably no surprise that using a dedicated developer-only option, such as a debug menu, is one of the best ways to approach the problem.
In this video, we walk through the foundations of the
Being able to move within a development environment with ease and efficiency is one of the great joys of integrating features quickly into your solution. The quicker features go in, the better you feel about the progress.
While setting up and taking the time to familiarize yourself with and use shortcut keys may feel like a bit of a hassle, it's well worth the investment for the time it saves.
In this part of an ongoing series, we'll cover a highly effective method for managing your personal k
Since its introduction, the FileMaker OData API has significantly advanced, with new features and further compatibility with more recent OData releases. Since our last discussion on OData, various latest features such as casting, parameterization, and nesting have been introduced, and optimizations have been made. This includes a video and a demo file.
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Demo file: virtual-list-even-more-simplified.zip [expects, but does not require, FM 22 or later] Note 1: The example in today’s article/demo is intentionally very basic. Note 2: The demo is self-populating to keep the data current, so the values you see in the screen shots may not exactly match those you encounter in the demo. As long… Continue reading Virtual List Even More SimplifiedView the full article
