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Like a Boss: Let us Discuss the FileMaker Let Function

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. View the full article

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1,529 views

Todd Geist
February 26, 20188 yr

FileMaker Kanban: Organize Your Data

FileMaker Kanban is the latest tool that offers familiar functionality for users and flexibility for the developer. It offers great functionality and organizes your data visually into lanes and cards. The post FileMaker Kanban: Organize Your Data appeared first on Geist Interactive. View the full article

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11,154 views

Todd Geist
July 25, 20187 yr

A Conversation About '2 Factor Authentication'

[ Edit: 3/16/2016 - With the help of some other people, we have been able to recover, or recreate some of the original images from original thread. ] Security is always a big topic when it involves data, or people, or possessions. Recently, over on the FileMaker Community, there was a very beneficial discussion regarding security. Unfortunately, that discussion was the victim of a necessary action...and was deleted. It was deleted, because the discussion was tied to a video that, as was det

1 Comment
7,029 views

Josh Ormond
February 8, 201610 yr

Forum Etiquette

Forums are a great way to get technical advice for FileMaker but for some reason, many people don't think they have to be nice in the electronic world. I was raised to say "please" and "thank you" and that has translated over to the internet for me. But, other folks think the anonymity of cyberspace is an excuse to be a jerk. Some posters are outright offensive and others will just leave snide responses like, "that wasn't much help". News flash! People on the internet are real and you should be

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10,553 views

John Mark Osborne
July 2, 20196 yr

Karbon Webinar – Getting Started

Free webinar introducing Karbon our free application framework for building ambitious custom business applications. If you are interested in using the FileMaker Workplace Innovation Platform at a high level you'll probably want to see what we have cooked up. The post Karbon Webinar – Getting Started appeared first on Geist Interactive. View the full article

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11,443 views

Todd Geist
August 30, 20187 yr

Quick Find Power Mode

Who doesn't like the simplicity of using a single field to search across many. That's essentially what Quick Find is. In fact, by default FileMaker makes the silly assumption that every field you add to a layout is something you want the user to be able to search. Essentially, you want to take control of the user experience in terms of search and make sure the user is not only searching what you want them to search, but also able to search in a fashion which is both familiar and comfortable. T

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749 views

FileMaker Magazine
September 10, 20205 yr

Transactional Processing

Record locking in a multi-user scenario is easy to control on a single record. Just use the Open Record/Request script step and test for an error 301. If the error occurs, stop the script and present a dialog telling the user they can't run that script right now. If no error occurs, the current user now has control of the record and it can be freely modified by a script. However, if your script loops through records or uses the Replace Field Contents script step, the difficulty controlling recor

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928 views

John Mark Osborne
September 8, 20205 yr

Render Found Set as JSON Object

Demo file: found-set-to-json-object.zip (40MB; requires FM 18 or later) [Author’s note: the demo file is a work in progress. Modify it as you see fit.] Today we’re going to compare various methods one might consider employing to render an arbitrary found set as a JSON object. The demo consists of a table of US customers… Continue reading Render Found Set as JSON Object View the full article

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1,014 views

Kevin Frank
September 7, 20205 yr

Web Direct And The Browser Back Button

The post Web Direct And The Browser Back Button appeared first on fmcloud.fm. View the full article

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507 views

fabriceN
September 4, 20205 yr

WebDirect et bouton retour…

WebDirect a été introduit par Claris à partir de la version 13 de FileMaker et à su évoluer avec le temps en apportant son lot d’améliorations et d’optimisations jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Cette technologie permet d’utiliser vos applications FileMaker depuis un navigateur web via le réseau internet. Claris prenant soin d’apporter une expérience utilisateur très proche de […] Cet article WebDirect et bouton retour… est apparu en premier sur 1-more-thing. View the full article

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fabriceN
September 4, 20205 yr

WebDirect et bouton retour…

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1,168 views

fabriceN
September 4, 20205 yr

Killer Keywords

In many situations, you'd think the easiest solution would be the best. Saving time and getting the job done quickly. This, however, just isn't the case if you're going to allow users to use a simple text field for managing keywords or tags. A tagging system relies on making it easy for the user, but it may not be so easy to implement itself. Here are a few questions you might be faced with. What happens when one user enters "devloper" on record 1 and another user enters the correctly spelled "

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749 views

FileMaker Magazine
September 2, 20205 yr

FIleMaker 19 : Obtenir une liste d’identifiants avec Exécuter FileMaker Data API

[ATTENTION: cette video en Anglais est réservée aux geeks :). Elle n’explique pas les détails de la technique. Elle n’est là que pour partager une idée, pas du code prêt à l’emploi] Une de mes fonctionnalités favorites de FileMaker 19 est la nouvelle instruction de script, non documentée, Exécuter FileMaker Data API. Comme je […] Cet article FIleMaker 19 : Obtenir une liste d’identifiants avec Exécuter FileMaker Data API est apparu en premier sur 1-more-thing. View the full article

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fabriceN
August 27, 20205 yr

FIleMaker 19 : Obtenir une liste d’identifiants avec Exécuter FileMaker Data API

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fabriceN
August 27, 20205 yr

Error Handling & Logging - Updated

When talking about logging, error handling and writing clean code it's never quite as exciting as working on the key features of your solution. Adding in the "cool" stuff and simply making things work is way more fun. Yet, one of the main things you rely on when developing is information from users and from your software itself. If you don't capture any of that helpful information, then you're essentially developing in the dark. You'll get obscure support requests like "It doesn't work." which

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864 views

FileMaker Magazine
August 27, 20205 yr

JSON Currency Exchange Rates

Welcome back for another exciting round of JSON exploration. Last time we discussed a JSON-related bug fix in FM 19, as well as a free package tracking service that returns results in JSON format. Today we’re going to look at a free currency exchange rate service. Demo file: json-exchange-rates.zip I threw together this FileMaker front… Continue reading JSON Currency Exchange Rates View the full article

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783 views

Kevin Frank
August 25, 20205 yr

JSON Currency Exchange Rates

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626 views

Kevin Frank
August 25, 20205 yr

JSON Currency Exchange Rates

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592 views

Kevin Frank
August 25, 20205 yr

JSON Currency Exchange Rates

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615 views

Kevin Frank
August 25, 20205 yr

JSON Currency Exchange Rates

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576 views

Kevin Frank
August 25, 20205 yr

JSON Currency Exchange Rates

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Kevin Frank
August 25, 20205 yr

JSON Currency Exchange Rates

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Kevin Frank
August 25, 20205 yr

JSON Currency Exchange Rates

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Kevin Frank
August 25, 20205 yr

JSON Currency Exchange Rates

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528 views

Kevin Frank
August 25, 20205 yr

JSON Currency Exchange Rates

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Kevin Frank
August 25, 20205 yr

JSON Currency Exchange Rates

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Kevin Frank
August 25, 20205 yr

JSON Currency Exchange Rates

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Kevin Frank
August 25, 20205 yr

JSON Currency Exchange Rates

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Kevin Frank
August 25, 20205 yr

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Total Blogs 34
Total Entries 2,687

Productive Computing

A blog by PCIPal in Affiliate Blogs
- 77 Entries
- 0 Comments
- 19227 Views
What’s Hiding Inside Your FileMaker System?

Latest entry by PCIPal, 11 hours ago11 hr
Let’s Look Under the Hood

Most FileMaker systems do not become difficult to maintain overnight.

They evolve over time as new features are added, business processes change, and development priorities shift. A layout created for a special project may remain in the file long after the project is finished. Scripts are modified, reports are duplicated, and old ideas are abandoned before they are completed. The system continues to work, so there is little reason to question what is happening behind the scenes.

Years later, making even a small change can feel more difficult than it should. At that point, you may realize you no longer have a clear understanding of everything that exists within your solution.

Two benefits of our Maintenance Support Program, a FileMaker Health Assessment and the Under the Hood System Cleanup, can help you better understand your system, improve organization, and create a clearer path for future enhancements.

The Hidden Side of Technical Debt

If your FileMaker system has been in use for several years, there is a good chance it contains some level of technical debt.

Technical debt often appears as unused layouts, orphaned fields, abandoned development projects, outdated components, and other remnants that accumulate over time.

During Health Assessments, we regularly find elements that nobody remembers creating, features that are no longer used, and development efforts that were never fully completed.

While these items may not cause immediate problems, they can make future development, maintenance, and enhancements more time-consuming than necessary.

Your system may contain:
- Layouts that no one has opened in years
- Scripts that are no longer used
- Unfinished development projects
- Duplicate functionality
- Fields that were removed or hidden from layouts
- Areas of the solution that everyone avoids because they are afraid to break something
The presence of these items is not unusual. The bigger challenge is that they often remain hidden until someone takes the time to look for them.

Start With a Health Assessment

Before deciding what to improve, it helps to understand the current condition of your system. A FileMaker Health Assessment provides a detailed review of your solution, including:
- Performance
- Security
- Stability and reliability
- Adaptability
- Ongoing maintenance concerns
Using tools such as BaseElements, server inspections, security reviews, and schema analysis, our team develops a report card for your solution and identifies areas that deserve attention.

The assessment provides a clearer understanding of your system’s security, performance, maintainability, and overall organization, giving you a practical roadmap for future improvements.

Get a Health Assessment!

Turning Recommendations into Results

A report is valuable, but improvements only happen when action follows.

The Under the Hood System Cleanup, provided by our Maintenance Support team, helps you turn the findings from your FileMaker Health Assessment into meaningful improvements. Using the assessment report card as a guide, our developers work through prioritized recommendations and help improve the organization, maintainability, and overall health of your system.

You may already have a list of improvements you would like to make. Before tackling those projects, it often makes sense to organize and optimize the system you already have. The challenge is finding the time and resources to work through those priorities while still supporting day-to-day operations.

For organizations participating in the Maintenance Support Program (MSP), dedicated cleanup hours are included to help move those recommendations forward. Priority customers receive up to 20 hours of Under the Hood System Cleanup, while Platinum customers receive up to 40 hours.

This dedicated time gives you an opportunity to begin making progress immediately rather than postponing important improvements for a later date.

Depending on the needs of your solution, the cleanup effort may include:
- Reviewing and cleaning up user accounts
- Removing unused layouts, scripts, and fields
- Organizing relationship graph structures
- Evaluating server configuration and backup strategies
- Addressing findings identified during the Health Assessment
- Improving organization for future development efforts
You may choose to participate in the cleanup process, or simply ask our team to manage the work and keep you informed along the way.

The goal of the Under the Hood System Cleanup is to improve the organization of your system and create a cleaner environment that makes future development, maintenance, and enhancements easier to plan and implement.

Understanding Your FileMaker System

Many organizations rely on FileMaker every day, yet few have a complete understanding of how their system has evolved over time.

A Health Assessment and Under the Hood System Cleanup provide more than a list of recommendations. They give you a clearer picture of how your solution is organized, where improvements can have the greatest impact, and how to plan future development with confidence.

When you understand what you have, it becomes much easier to make informed decisions about what comes next.

A Practical Path Forward

A FileMaker Health Assessment helps you understand the current condition of your system. The Under the Hood System Cleanup addresses areas that need attention. Through the Maintenance Support Program, you gain a dedicated team of certified FileMaker developers who become familiar with your system, your team, and your business processes. That familiarity makes it easier to plan, prioritize, and implement improvements as your business evolves.

Together, these services provide a practical roadmap for getting more value from your FileMaker investment.

You begin by understanding what you have today. From there, you can improve organization, streamline your solution, and create a cleaner system environment that supports future improvements. Ongoing support through MSP helps ensure your system continues to evolve alongside your business.

Some of the most valuable improvements come from creating a cleaner system environment that is easier to maintain, easier to enhance, and better prepared for future growth.

How Well Do You Know Your System?

If your FileMaker system has been running for years, ask yourself a few simple questions:
- Do you know which layouts are no longer being used?
- Are you confident your scripts and relationships are organized?
- Have you reviewed your security settings recently?
- Do you know where the biggest maintenance risks are?
- Could a new developer quickly understand your solution?
If the answer to any of these questions is “I am not sure,” the Maintenance Support Program can help you gain the clarity needed to plan your next steps.

Learn More About MSP

Other products and services Productive Computing, Inc. offers:
- What can PCI do for you? – overview of our services
- Health Assessment – a comprehensive report of your FileMaker system
- Consulting and Development – services billed by the hour
- Maintenance and Support – services billed monthly
- Packaged Services – Security Audit, SSL or Server Installation
- Plug-ins – tools to integrate with QuickBooks, Outlook, Google, and more
- Solutions – free customizable and scalable CRM template
- Claris and FileMaker Licensing – discounts on new seats and renewals
- FileMaker and QuickBooks Hosting – host your files in the cloud
- Productive Computing University – online beginner to advanced training courses
- Certification Programs – expert-led training, hands-on development, and personalized evaluations
The post What’s Hiding Inside Your FileMaker System? appeared first on Productive Computing, Inc..

View the full article
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eXcelisys' Blog

A blog by eXcelisys in Affiliate Blogs

147 Entries
16 Comments
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Shopify vs. WordPress for Your Webstore

Latest entry by eXcelisys, Tuesday at 01:24 PM2 days

Shopify vs. WordPress: Which is Best for Your Online Storefront?

By Michael Suhrbier,
eXcelisys Web App Developer

Ever ask a developer this prickly question – Shopify or WordPress?

In answering, most will discuss these online storefront platforms as if they’re standing in the power tools aisle comparing battery-powered drills vs. corded drills, arguing over performance, convenience and cost.

But our developers ask a different question – sure, we will discuss features with you but we will also talk to you about sovereignty. As in, once you build the garage, do you want to own it or will renting meet your needs?

With Shopify, you are essentially renting space inside someone else’s platform and you have to play by their rules … but for that you sure do get a lot of built-in bells and whistles. With WordPress, you own the land, the building and the keys … but with great power comes great responsibility, and here it all falls on you.

When discussing e-commerce platforms with clients, this is the part of the equation we take a lot of time with. People need to know what they’re getting into, both for the short-term and long haul.

Think about it: choosing an e-commerce platform shouldn’t just be about what gets you spinning the fastest out of the box. You need to consider long-term control, flexibility and ownership. Do you want your business to be truly cordless and free to move, or permanently tethered to someone else’s outlet? That’s essentially the difference between using WordPress (with the WooCommerce plugin) and Shopify. If you want to compare the two platforms from the perspective of “The Merchant’s Choice vs. The Creator’s Choice,” check out this comparison.

Shopify or WordPress: 5 Critical Considerations

1. Platform Risk: “The Poof Factor”

One significant risk with an SaaS (Software as a Service) platform like Shopify is Terms of Service (ToS) vulnerability. Because you are on a “tech giant’s stack,” you are subject to its rules and interpretation of your business.

The Shopify Risk: We have seen instances of “de-banking” where a Shopify payments account has been suspended or a store shuttered overnight due to perceived ToS violations. If Shopify decides your products or business practices no longer align with its policies, your storefront can vanish instantly.
The WordPress Solution: With WordPress, you own the “dirt” your house is built on. If a hosting provider or a payment processor like PayPal threatens to seize funds over policy changes (similar to the PayPal misinformation fine controversy), you can simply migrate your files to a new host or switch to a different payment gateway. You have bulkheads; if one part of the ship leaks, the whole business doesn’t sink.

2. Technical Debt and “Liquid” Literacy

There is a hidden cost to Shopify’s proprietary nature: skill portability.

Shopify uses an open-source templating language called Liquid. While it simplifies coding for its specific environment, that skill is non-transferable. If your team spends time mastering Liquid, that skill can only be used for Shopify.
In contrast, WordPress is built on the web’s foundational languages: PHP, CSS and HTML. The “learned ability” gained on WordPress builds a skill set that works across the entire internet, not just within one company’s ecosystem.

3. Beyond the “Typical Storefront”

The Hybrid Model: Many modern businesses are hybrids, offering physical products, digital services and SaaS (Software as a Service) components.
The Flexibility Gap: Built to handle retail, Shopify struggles with complex SaaS billing and intricate service-based architecture while WordPress, designed as a general-purpose Content Management System (CMS), can be molded into anything.

If you want to add a community forum, a subscription platform, a specialized workflow or a bespoke product builder, WordPress can handle this without any hiccups. With Shopify you may discover your customizations are beyond the scope of the platform’s approved framework

4. Security and Isolation

Do you want to be part of a community or would you rather go it alone?

On Shopify, you are part of a massive, centralized infrastructure. If one tenant (i.e., Shopify client) consumes excessive resources and demand spikes, problems can ripple across the entire system. Your business might be running smoothly, but if there’s a platform-wide outage, security issue or resource strain elsewhere, the network could leave your storefront sitting in the dark alongside everyone else.
WordPress allows for siloed security. You can choose your own server architecture, implement custom firewalls and create specific security bulkheads that are unique to your business, rather than relying on a shared “stack.”

5. Scaling: Ease vs. eXpense

It is important to give credit where it’s due: Shopify handles scaling (both vertical and horizontal) with incredible ease. Its backend is intuitive, making it an eXcellent choice for non-tech-savvy teams. However, as our developers note, this convenience is “relatively easy, though expensive.” In other words, you pay a premium for Shopify to handle the “what-ifs.”

Choose WordPress If …	Choose Shopify If …
You want complete ownership and sovereignty over your platform	You’re fine “renting” retail space & following the rules of the landlord (so to speak)
SEO and content marketing drive customer acquisition	Social commerce is important (you rely on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and influencer marketing to drive sales)
Your business eXtends beyond traditional e-commerce	You primarily sell physical products
You are comfortable managing technology or hiring developers to do it	Your team is non-technical and you want hosting, security and updates managed for you
You may eXpand beyond traditional e-commerce	You prefer convenience over customization
Long-term flexibility is important	You want to launch quickly

Shopify or WordPress?

Choosing between Shopify and WordPress isn’t really about picking the best or cheapest or quickest-to-launch platform. It’s about deciding what kind of business you want to build and how much control you want over its future.

Choose Shopify if you need to go fast, have a non-technical team and are comfortable with the trade-off of “renting” your platform in exchange for simplicity and managed scaling. If you want to focus on products, marketing and sales instead of maintaining behind-the-scenes infrastructure, Shopify would be a great choice.
Choose WordPress if you are planning to grow beyond a simple store, require total control and customization over your data, and want to ensure that no single tech giant can “poof” your hard work out of existence.

In the end, the smartest platform choice is the one that still fits five years from now, not just five days from now.

Even though we lean toward the flexibility of WordPress, we work in both worlds and can bridge the gap between the two, whether that means building custom Shopify integrations to bypass platform limitations or hardening WordPress sites for enterprise-level security.

THE TAKEAWAY: Don’t just pick a platform for today; pick the one that won’t have you “mistaken” about your ownership tomorrow.

Not sure which path to take? Our solution consultants and developers can help you choose the platform that fits your business today and grows with you tomorrow. Let’s talk!

**Shopify and WordPress are trademarks of their respective owners. This independent review is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Shopify Inc. or the WordPress Foundation.

The post Shopify vs. WordPress for Your Webstore appeared first on eXcelisys.

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Welcome To FMForums

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Let’s Look Under the Hood

The Hidden Side of Technical Debt

Start With a Health Assessment

Turning Recommendations into Results

Understanding Your FileMaker System

A Practical Path Forward

How Well Do You Know Your System?

Other products and services Productive Computing, Inc. offers:

Recent Entries

Shopify vs. WordPress: Which is Best for Your Online Storefront?

Shopify or WordPress: 5 Critical Considerations

1. Platform Risk: “The Poof Factor”

2. Technical Debt and “Liquid” Literacy

3. Beyond the “Typical Storefront”

4. Security and Isolation

5. Scaling: Ease vs. eXpense

Shopify or WordPress?

Recent Entries

Recent Entries

Recent Entries

Recent Entries

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