Community Videos, Tips, & Techniques, Articles.

FileMaker Coaches' Corner - Tip 10 - Directed Workflow In this video, Jonathan Lai explains and demoes Directed Workflows. Get up to speed with the FileMaker Pro 16 Video Training Course! Top Rated Course by FileMaker Expert, Richard Carlton. http://learningfilemaker.com/fmpro16.php Experience Richard's dynamic and exciting teaching format, while learning both basic, intermediate, and advanced FileMaker development skills. With 27 years of FileMaker experience and a long time speaker at FileMaker's Developer Conference ,Richard will teach you all the ins and outs of building FileMaker Solutions. The course is 50 hours of video content! Richa…

In this Coaches' Corner tip, Richard Carlton challenges you to go learn how to use RESTful services! Get up to speed with the FileMaker Pro 16 Video Training Course! Top Rated Course by FileMaker Expert, Richard Carlton. http://learningfilemaker.com/fmpro16.php Experience Richard's dynamic and exciting teaching format, while learning both basic, intermediate, and advanced FileMaker development skills. With 27 years of FileMaker experience and a long time speaker at FileMaker's Developer Conference, Richard will teach you all the ins and outs of building FileMaker Solutions. The course is 50 hours of video content! Richard has been involved wit…

FileMaker Coaches' Corner-Tip 8-Converting from fp7 to fmp12-FileMaker-FileMaker Experts Download the free PDFs to see FileMaker’s documentation: http://bit.ly/2nSg7BM Get up to speed with the FileMaker Pro 16 Video Training Course! Top Rated Course by FileMaker Expert, Richard Carlton. http://learningfilemaker.com/fmpro16.php Experience Richard's dynamic and exciting teaching format, while learning both basic, intermediate, and advanced FileMaker development skills. With 27 years of FileMaker experience and a long time speaker at FileMaker's Developer Conference ,Richard will teach you all the ins and outs of building FileMaker Solutions. The…

FileMaker Coaches' Corner - Tip 7 - Slide Panel & Button Bar https://youtu.be/pjLL38KIkZo Download the free sample file here: http://bit.ly/2E2lAO1 For this Coaches’ Corner tip, Myles Debski demonstrates how to use a slide panel & button bar as an alternative to trying to hide a tab panel. http://fmstartingpoint.com/downloadform2.php http://www.fmcoachescorner.com Most Recent Upload https://goo.gl/Dbn9fm Get up to speed with the FileMaker Pro 16 Video Training Course! Top Rated Course by FileMaker Expert, Richard Carlton. http://learningfilemaker.com/fmpro16.php Experience Richard's dynamic and exciting teaching format, while …

For this Coaches’ Corner tip, MacKenzie Jew demonstrates how to use the Range operator in Find Mode and the benefits that this has. You can follow along with the demo by getting a free copy of our starter solution, FM Starting Point. http://www.fmcoachescorner.com http://www.fmstartingpoint.com Most Recent Upload https://goo.gl/Dbn9fm Get up to speed with the FileMaker Pro 16 Video Training Course! Top Rated Course by FileMaker Expert, Richard Carlton. http://learningfilemaker.com/fmpro16.php Experience Richard's dynamic and exciting teaching format, while learning both basic, intermediate, and advanced FileMaker development skills. With 2…

FileMaker Coaches' Corner - Tip 5 - Portal Record Moving via Sort https://youtu.be/pVt432ZlTVs For this Coaches’ Corner tip, Kristian Olsen explores using sorts to move a portal record up or down. The key is Sorts! Grab the sample file here: http://bit.ly/2FTJn3k http://www.fmcoachescorner.com Most Recent Upload https://goo.gl/Dbn9fm Get up to speed with the FileMaker Pro 16 Video Training Course! Top Rated Course by FileMaker Expert, Richard Carlton. http://learningfilemaker.com/fmpro16.php Experience Richard's dynamic and exciting teaching format, while learning both basic, intermediate, and advanced FileMaker development skills. …

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 Automatically creates a representation of any JSON text as a hierarchical portal of records, where individual elements can be expanded and collapsed Dynamica…

For this Coaches’ Corner tip, Kristian Olsen demos a simple technique for creating a popup menu in which you can make multiple selections. Very useful! Grab the sample file here: http://bit.ly/2qTSttq FileMaker Coaches' Corner - Tip 4 - Editable Popup Menu - Custom Function https://youtu.be/HGw_nkhU58A www.fmcoachescorner.com Most Recent Upload https://goo.gl/Dbn9fm Get up to speed with the FileMaker Pro 16 Video Training Course! Top Rated Course by FileMaker Expert, Richard Carlton. http://learningfilemaker.com/fmpro16.php Experience Richard's dynamic and exciting teaching format, while learning both basic, intermediate, and advanced …

For this Coaches’ Corner tip, John Boubonis demos a simple technique for creating a multi-page Invoice. You can follow along with the demo by getting a free copy of our starter solution, FM Starting Point: www.fmstartingpoint.com www.fmcoachescorner.com You can download FM Starting Point from this link: http://fmstartingpoint.com/downloadform2.php FileMaker Coaches' Corner - Tip 3 - Multipage Invoices - Multipage Printing https://youtu.be/DSXcIWZebqg Most Recent Upload https://goo.gl/Dbn9fm Get up to speed with the FileMaker Pro 16 Video Training Course! Top Rated Course by FileMaker Expert, Richard Carlton. http://learningfilemaker.…

For this Coaches’ Corner tip, Jonathan Lai demos a simple technique for creating a hierarchical portal i.e. a portal with dynamic sub-summaries. You can actually display or hide sub-summary groups! Very cool technique. Link to the demo file used in the video: http://bit.ly/2zaI9zo FileMaker Coaches' Corner - Tip 2 - Portal Filtering - Portal Sorts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJiQ-50Hps8 www.fmcoachescorner.com Most Recent Upload https://goo.gl/Dbn9fm Get up to speed with the FileMaker Pro 16 Video Training Course! Top Rated Course by FileMaker Expert, Richard Carlton. http://learningfilemaker.com/fmpro16.php Experience Richard's …

Hello Everyone, I've written a PowerShell script to allow you to get a free SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt to use with FileMaker Server. You can schedule this to run every few months and renew your certificate automatically. Now there's no reason to keep using that default certificate. Check out the post for instructions! How to Use Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificates with FileMaker Server | Blue Feather - FileMaker Developer, Android, Web EDIT: One compatibility note for everyone - While it looks like it's all compatible with FileMaker Pro 13-15, only FileMaker Go 15 is compatible. FileMaker Go 14 is unable to connect with these certificat…

Most of my medium to heavy scripts are now performed on server. To give the users some feedback while they wait, I wanted a method that was simple and subtle. In this example I ; added a popover button with '+' icon set the feedback message in the popover title bar formatted, sized and positioned the popover added a OnObjectEnter script tigger to the popover in the script I add a PSoS step with Wait for completion set to 'On' last step of script is Close Popover

File Name: NavSystem File Submitter: jdu98a File Submitted: 07 Sep 2011 File Updated: 06 Oct 2011 File Category: Samples FM Version: 11 I wanted to see how far I could take the idea of using global repeating container fields to store layout objects, specifically for navigation buttons. This is what I came up with. All image and text values that are displayed on the layout for navigation are stored in an "Objects" table. The benefit of this is that any layout that has the needed global repeating fields on it will display the same navigation buttons and text. Want to add more buttons? Just go to the Objects layout (click the grey globe but…

How to Connect FileMaker to PayPal - Webinar Promo https://youtu.be/wurBUS7GOFY Thursday, Nov 9th | 1-2pm PDT Register here: http://bit.ly/2iRDaOn The Sample File will be released at the webinar. Question: Where is the Paypal Sample file? A: It will be released Thursday Nov 9th at the Webinar Question: Is the Webinar going to be Recorded? A: Yes. It should be available approx 48 hours after Webinar is complete. Question: Is there a Cost to this? A: No. There is no plugin, and the Sample File is FREE. However, you will need FileMaker Pro 16 or Go 16 Question: Does Paypal Charge for this Service? A: No, it is FREE. …

After voting up the 'Time Picker' suggestion in Filemaker's new Product Ideas, I thought perhaps I could just simplify the method of input without a picker and without punctuation. - enter times using only numbers. - AM/PM is determined by the Workday Starting Hour. - use punctuation to override. NOTE: - the Workday Starting Hour only considers hours 1-12 right now. - I have added a 'clamp' in the time fields auto-enter calc to the keep the start and end times logical. Enjoy and please post any improvements RIVET_rapid_time_entry_v1.zip

Hi all, it took a while to get this done but now I'm pleased to announce the "DevCon 2015" edition of a pack of Replacement icons for Filemaker from 11 to 14… well, to save work it is for the next version too (not sure if it's called 15 ;o) Download is FREE Have fun pixi

We got a new video for you about our latest functions for FileMaker 16. While talking to other developers at dotfmp conference in Berlin, a few developers told me about the new card window feature in FileMaker 16 lacking a few details in functionality. A quick check showed that a plugin could of course monitor mouse clicks and trigger a script if a click is done outside a given area. The new EventMonitor.SetCardWindow function allows you to define where the card is and which script to trigger in case of a click. This script can than clear the trigger with EventMonitor.ClearCardWindowand close the card.Please try next week the new plugin and this feature and let me know ho…

Hi All, I am happy to present the FmDynamix project, including cfCall () and #load (), my new 2 custom functions .... In an interest to further test FileMaker more and more ... I tried to give you a presentation of this new method, as explicit as possible, I hope to have succeeded ! You have the description and the presentation here, and take before the file demo : fmx_FmDynamix_Presentation.fmp12 I hope that this file will give you the urge to see this method, I do not think I have view of similar thing I hope that this "modularity" will please you and will give some ideas, feel free to test and give me your comments ! Thanks for your interest Agnès …

Here is a trick I use on popovers, since its difficult to place an object edge to edge on them without activating the scroll bars. select the object set fill to gradation pull the left and right gradation handles tight towards each other

A silly game - or ... ? Psychic.fp7.zip

Repeating fields are legacy feature in FileMaker however they do have their uses. I was trying to create a report with columns that would slide up to the height of the maximum field the problem with using regular fields and turning on any borders on the fields the sliding up of all above or directly above did not produce the desired result some columns would be shorter then others and the lines would not be consistent from the top of the body to the bottom. In this case the columns are all the same width so I thought the use a calculation will be able do the trick. With the final result sliding up to the height of the largest column, with a lit…

The deadline for submitting Program Proposals for the 2017 DevCon is fast approaching: just a little over a week left. There is a new format for this year. There is more information here: https://community.filemaker.com/community/devcon-2017/pages/about-devcon-2017 Steven H. Blackwell

for those using lauchbar's wonderful snippet feature, here are all the functions for the BaseElement plugin BaseElements_snipits.zip

When i use a local robot to create pdf files or other, i have a problem when the connection go down, filemaker loose every reference to the remote file. The only way is to close the file and open again, i solved this problem on Mac using this apple script. 1) The AS check the connection if ok open the file. 2) If the connection go down then the AS close the file and wait until the connection is up, at that time it reopen the file. 3) if you close the file then the applescript quit it self. I am not a Apple script developer, i assembled it using few examples, then probably isn't well done but it work. --------------------------------------…

Just a basic sketch with (almost) no frills. Compare previous implementations: Excelisys Hierarchical Portals: http://www.excelisys.com/tips-tricks-filemaker-downloads.php Mikhail Edoshin: http://edoshin.skeletonkey.com/ HierarchicalPortal11.zip

Just with installing 6.4pr8 (or newer) MBS Plugin, you get a new context menu in your script workspace. You can activate / deactivate script lines, copy, cut and paste. Enjoy! See picture

Some familiar FileMaker faces in this video:

2016_fmp_iconPack_v2.zip

Hi all, If anyone else is using Parallels 12 on a Mac this may be of use to file away somewhere. I run my development FM 15 Server in an OS X El Capitan Parallels environment. Host machine is OS X Server, VM is OS X. FileMaker Server runs on the VM. Generally works well for me. Upgraded to Parallels 12 when it came out a few weeks ago. Had to replace my backup drive as it wasn't big enough. The new drive is 4 tb, USB 3.0. The Host computer would see the drive but when I tried to attach it to the VM it would vanish - neither the VM or Host would see it, nor would Disk Utility on either side. Only way to get it back was to reboot the Host…

A while back I wanted to see if I could emulate the UI of Reeder3. While not very practical, there is a bit of an illusion that is kind of interesting. The sample has two layouts. The one you see in the gif and another with actual data. Enjoy RIVET 3 panel slider.zip

I have 4 layouts for a form that we print and the script goes to the layout for the form 4/6/8/12 depending on the data (wells) in the record. It turns out they need to batch print and its convoluted to write a print a script to switch layouts in an automated fashion. So I had revised it by using hide object when and stacked all the elements up on the layout but it turns out to be rather ugly in layout mode. this was using repeating fields in order to get the desired data to show. But then i decided on a better method - using button bars and hide objects. This essentially does the same thing but much easier to see in layout mode. Now I ca…

I needed a way to notify users that the server just received X number of new emails as I am using a server side plugin (360Works) to fetch mail every few minutes. However unless someone actually does something that triggers a script they have no visual notification in the database to know there is new mail waiting. Or they have to leave outlook/mail open just to hear the chime. I would like to introduce to you Boxcar http://www.boxcar.io an app/service that uses the push notification protocol to alert you on your iPhone with audible alerts, visual banners, badges, to see when an important event happened. The setup is this: Sign up for Boxcar - you can cho…

http://www.soliantconsulting.com/labs/2016/05/filemaker-15-executive-summary

Yet another way to quickly create multiple requests, one for each searched field. Requires version 10. Note that the list of fields to search could be created automatically by placing the fields on a layout (of another table!) and getting them via the FieldNames function. In both cases, fields can be freely renamed, and do not need to be named as layout objects. SearchMultipleFields10s.fp7.zip

Not a fan of reading a tome on a computer screen, too many other distractions to get you thru the content that really want to read? Check out Spritz which has a Spritzlet that you can add to your browser bar and then read long form text on most web pages. http://www.spritzlet.com After a bit of practice you can be reading more then 450 words per minute, and actually retain more of what you read. Although it works for narrative text - you may need to be selective when trying to consume technical articles or codes with a lot of examples. Cheers Stephen

Do you travel a lot for your job and need the best route possible to save time and money? Learn how to connect your FileMaker solution with the Google Maps Directions API for route optimization! Free sample file and video included. https://www.dbservices.com/articles/filemaker-google-route-optimization/ David Happersberger www.dbservices.com

Little tip ... It often happens that we wish to not allow pasting in a field. It 's simple, just two steps of a script and the trigger OnObjectEnter Set Selection [ Start Position:1 ] Copy [ ] Copyng an empty selection clears the clipboard.

In my view, in the world of FileMaker Server the concerns of owners and admin with FMS11 and earlier are little different to those of FMS14 admins today. Yes, the product has developed and we now have the new appearance layer from 12 onwards, and WebDirect from 13 on. But, the underlying issue remains, how do you get to understand FileMaker Server and get the best out of it, when it is trivial to build a very "bad" FM solution that is slow and unscaleable and when FMI provides no comprehensive and clear advice? FM software does little to prevent folk using the freedom of FM in that manner, because as an "enabling" and "accessible" type of software it lacks the controls…

Here is a demo of how easy portal sorting can be done in FM12. This demo uses the calculation that Tom Fitch provided a while ago with his portal sorting technique but one can use the PositionValue custom function as well. Portal_sort_fast12.zip

Do you have a FileMaker Server with connections for WebDirect/FileMaker Go? Read this article to learn more about how you can save money before price increases in May! FileMaker Server Connections Renewal Price Increase David Happersberger www.dbservices.com

You know a language that can reply as XML, and you would like to have your own "plugin?" Here is my outline/proof of concept; example written in PHP: http://wethecomputerabusersamongst.blogspot.com/2013/10/execute-php-script-from-filemaker-with.html There is also a contributed example using Ruby, NodeJS, ASP, or your favorite language that can deliver XML over TCP/IP( with some async approaches this may or may not time out. )

Deskspace Systems Limited in the UK have just released the Review Edition of the Deskspace rwApp Responsive Web-site Builder. It is of course built 100% in Filemaker. You can find out more and download it here: http://www.deskspace.com/rwapp_features.html Cheers, Nick Like many other web site builders... the rwApp Responsive Web-site builder enables you to write and edit your pages and immediately see how your page will appear. But there are two very big differences you will notice after comparing the rwApp Responsive Web-site builder with its competitors... (1) the rwApp Responsive Web-site builder is very very fast, both to render wh…

See this article: http://www.macnn.com/articles/16/02/16/not.so.much.an.app.more.a.way.of.life.132570/

Since FM14 came out with the new button bars having the ability to calculate data on the fly on layouts for display purposes has been great - the fact that you can display data without a dedicated calculated field or extra relationships just to display a bit of information. So I am generating a document that prints a portal however the data is not connected to the portal in the traditional parent / child relationship - but rather it's showing related data for the given product kits. This invoice line item record is not "parent" to the portal of kit items. That presented a challenge - originally i had a convoluted way to generated this report using a virtual lis…

Anyone have any experience of using barcode scanners with FileMaker, ie reading barcodes on boxes with a physical scanner, perhaps connected via usb? Or Bluetooth? Intended Usage is for stock control.

Awhile ago sixfriedrice.com had a great article on using the webviewer without the web. What was missing was a way to hyperlink back to the actual database. Well it is now possible by calling the FMP internet protocol along with a script name, a parameter and a variable. This example uses the FMP url to view a related record and set a field value. (hosted file only, I have to look at local file possibilities ). Along with this feature, FMP12 has also blessed us with the ExecteSQL function which is used here to compile all the data, reducing the need for all those messy TOCs. Enjoy. PS. if anyone can solve my line numbering in the html lay…

Hey, Just wanted to let everyone know about a little module we put together for geocoding and mapping. Simple to install and free to download. I'd love to hear what people think. http://msnmedia.com/blog/2015/04/10/geocoding-and-mapping-module-filemaker-pro

I had a client who took extensive notes during phone calls and occasionally they would loose the notes because of an interuption between FMP client and server. To help with the issue I created a small script to auto-save the notes on a timed interval, while the field is active. In this example I have the interval set to 12 sec. and to give the user an indication of when the auto-save happens, I have scripted an apple notifcation for Mac (10.9+) users and a title bar change for PC users. -enjoy If you see any way of improving please post update sample. RIVET field auto-save v1a.zip

This teaching is part of the Design Masterclass course [ DESIGNmasterclass.co ], but it's not quite ready for prime time yet, and that's why we're posting here! A select group of Design Masterclass alums are set to meet with us this Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 11:30 EDT, to review the teaching in private. There are TWO slots still open for that meeting, and we are looking for experienced designers to join us for the conversation. We prefer to find: Alums of the Design Masterclass or other app design training Software designers or project managers with experience leading software teams If you'd like to join us for a 60-minute roundtable discussion, please contact me here, o…

Just one script for all buttons, all layouts and all windows. Sorts occur dynamically. Each column restores it's last sort order and a default sort order can be set for each field type. Any comments or suggestions appreciated. Smart Sort List View.fmp12.zip.001

I find the v14 breakpoint icons just a bit light, so here are two replacements to be placed in: Filemaker/Content/Resources breakpointicons_content-resource.zip

[Content moved by OP from "FileMaker 14 Script Workspace" forum] Man alive, how long have FM developers pined for something like this!!! One thing about the Script Workspace is that it continues to reveal its secrets the more you work with it. Here are a few tips that make scripting faster and more fun to boot: 1. How do you insert a Comment line? The obvious way, of course, is to type a hash (aka "number/pound/octothorp") sign (simultaneous right pinky on the Shift key — left middle finger on the 3, or some equivalent thereof on other keyboard layouts), then type your comment. But try this instead: Hit Space, followed by Return, then comment away. (Space drops d…

Version 14 has made me rethink my custom debug keys. I have attached the macros for anyone using Keyboard Maestro FMP_debug_keys.zip

Three new Filemaker icons (13, 12, 11) for your newly installed OS X 10.10 Enjoy Filemaker_Yosemite_Icons.zip

For anyone using LaunchBar (Mac) and is aware of the snippet feature, attached is a set of Filemaker Function Snippets. Since LaunchBar searches by the snippet name, I have added spaces to the file/function name to speed up the results. i.e. 'Get(ScreenWidth)' is 'Get ( Screen Width )', this mean you can retrieve the function by typing 'gsw' A snippet is a simple text file with the function inside. You can edit the file to customize the pasted results, which I have done with a few of them. To install, unzip the attached file, and place all the .txt. files into: ~/Library/Application Support/LaunchBar/Snippets enjoy More Info: http://www.obdev.a…

Solution / : Multiple Portal Row Selection Description: This file will show developers how to allow end users to "select" portal rows in a single or multi user environment and display that selection. Further it allows selection of multiple portal rows simulating general OS functionality. Solution Status: Finished FileMaker Version: FileMaker 7+, FileMaker 9+ Author(s): Genx Date: 09/11/06 Disclaimer: FM Forums does not endorse or warrantee these files are fit for any particular purpose. Do not post or distribute files without written approval from the copyright owner. All files are deemed public domain unless otherwise indicated. Ple…

Using FileMaker Pro to generate Code 39 barcodes without the need for fonts or plug-ins. By Doug West, Product/Project manager for Excelisys. This FileMaker Pro file demonstrates the use of conditional formatting with a repeating field to draw the bars of a Code 39 (Code 3 of 9) barcode. This FileMaker Pro code 39 barcode generator uses a series of 16 “slots” per character which appear as wide or narrow bars. The intermediatebarcodeBitFlags field simply tells each repetition of the repeating field whether or not to use a background fill color, creating the bars. For the repeating field to display properly, the width must be set to 1 pt for each repetiti…

http://bluefeathergroup.com/blog/importing-xml-data-into-filemaker-using-xslt-xsl-style-sheets/ I've written a new post about how to create XSL Style Sheets so that you can import data from XML data sources into FileMaker. Please let me know if you have any comments.

For those looking for a way to do caller ID integration with FileMaker . . . . Here's what I have going. The US patent office's examiners each have a unique phone number, which we have stored in a database. When a phone call comes in on our VoIP phone (our provider is Phone.com, but Call Centric looks better and better), an AppleScript is trigger, which triggers a FileMaker script to show all the relevant patent applications we're working on with that examiner. Even before the phone is answered, we know who the person is, and what application(s) he's going to be discussing. The glue between our VoIP phone and FileMaker is a Mac program called Phone Amego. I hi…

I'm pleased to announce the availability of the first group of a series of new and updated demo and example files for FileMaker 13. The first ten demos in this series are available immediately and include a mix of new techniques based on the features of the FileMaker 13 platform, along with updated versions of some of our previous demos (reworked in light of the new features). This set of demos showcases a number of our favourites among the features of FileMaker 13. Eight of this first set of FileMaker 13 demos are unlocked, so that you can access the code. Two are preview-only (code available to registered users). These include an update to version 2.0 of our UltraLo…

I've gotten a lot out of this forum, so I try to pay it forward when I can, even though it'll likely only benefit newbies. I have an "image" button that is tied to a popover. So you click the button, and you get the popover. Easy enough. Usual UI interaction is that if you click the button, the popover appears, and if you click it again, the popover disappears. Again, all typical FM stuff. FM does not allow conditional formatting of image buttons to change the color. I wanted to emphasize to the user that for the layout field in question (in the popover), data has been entered. So I created another layout object -- an oval/circle surrounding the image button…

Background. A record in a table is related by a field to a field in another table. To select the related record, I use a dropdown box that shows all the relevant field values that can be selected from. The issue is, if the desired value is not there, you want the user to be able to enter a new value, and then automatically create a record for that new value in the related table.  I was having trouble with this issue previously, and decided to take another look at it. I came across the following solution, which is worth reposting here.  http://forums.filemaker.com/posts/d11c45f9f8  Here's the relevant section.   Now, for whatever reason, this d…

Just wanted to share with everyone that there is a great way to visualize tree-like structures, using GraphViz (GraphViz.org), which is an open source command line tool. Basically, I have FileMaker create a text file indicating the nodes in the tree (corresponding to records), and the edges among the tree (corresponding to relationships).  For Mac users, the Mountain Lion version you can download at the web site also works for Mavericks; I'll be testing it to make sure it works with Yosemite, too.  You have a script generate the text file (I have a recursive script that goes to each child, until a record is reached that doesn't have children), and then call the …

Not sure if v14 will update the toolbar icons. So for now I have converted a handful of the icons to flat. OS X: right click application icon and put icons in: /Contents/Resources FMP_toolbar_icons_v0.7.zip

The recent cyber attack on Sony Pictures serves as a new, additional, and very loud wake-up call for businesses all over the world about the need to protect digital assets. Organizations who use the FileMaker Platform to manage their businesses and whose databases contain proprietary and sensitive information, business process control methods, or financial data especially need to be diligent about data protection. If you are a small business, an education institution, a not-for-profit organization—all typical FileMaker Platform customers—you are just as much at risk as are large multi-national organizations, perhaps even more so than they are. As I have noted before, F…

hey everyone. thought I would share this interesting technique. I have a solution where users email measurement data from an Ipad (the measurement app is 3rd party, not FMGo). It is delivered in the form of an attachment XML file. I created a unique gmail folder/filter for all of these emails to be sent to. Using 360Works Email plugin, check for new messages in this folder. and download attachment (to temporary location on local drive) View file location with webviewer. Pull content of file with GetLayoutObjectAttribute ("webviewer";"content"). I made my webviewer tranparent/no border and tiny. So it is hidden. Voilà! all the raw XML data whic…

There are probably other ways to do this, but you can use two Troi plug-ins, URL and File, to achieve this functionality very easily. Downside of course is that you have to buy the plug-ins. The URL plugin is used to download the PDF file into a variable. The File plugin is then used to save the variable as a file. Although File thinks it's a text file, by simply adding ".pdf" it's saved as a PDF. I read somewhere that variables can have up to 300 million characters or so, which means that this trick will work for any file up to around 300 megabytes in size. And of course, it's not limited to PDFs. Here's an example, which downloads a patent in PDF form from Go…

How many times a day do you double-click to select text in a "Specify Calculation" window, and it selects the space at the end of the text? And then if you double-click a field it consumes the selected space character, and the next time you double-click the ")" or the ";" gets selected and consumed.  I find myself fumbling over entering function parameters all the time, on the Windows platform, so I finally broke down and created an AutoHotKey script that helps me select the parameter without selecting parentheses, spaces and semicolons.  Typical Double-click gives me this selection: or this  AutoHotKey Control-key+Single-click gives me this selection: …

If you are all hooked up with iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 you might enjoy this URL schema: tel://xxx-xxx-xxxx others: facetime://xxx-xxx-xxxx facetime-audio://xxx-xxx-xxxx https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/featuredarticles/iPhoneURLScheme_Reference/PhoneLinks/PhoneLinks.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40007899-CH6-SW1

Not sure if this is new or revolutionary but I didn't find this exact technique when I was looking. In this example file, you will see a technique used to select multiple items in a popup using portals with more flexibility than using a value list. The main objective is to be able to select multiple items from different categories. PopoverPickList.fmp12.zip

Learn why and how to create FileMaker Scripts that are easy to ready. Creating Readable FileMaker Code Saves Time, Money

see recent blog post here: http://www.mbsplugins.de/archive/2014-08-27/Toolbar_functions_for_FileMake/monkeybreadsoftware_blog_filemaker Feedback is welcome Christian

Hi Guys, here is a sample to show how to make a simple notification system like in OS X, in FileMaker 13 using a Slider and a Script. Download File Original Post: Notificaciones estilo OS X en FileMaker

For anyone in the printing industry, the new features in V7 for dynamically applying color to text and so is very interesting. I have been working on an app that uses the features. I created a table with "all" of the Pantone PMS colors and their RGB values and Hex values. I am attaching an xml file with the values. originally the values came from Reed Design. Maybe someone else can benefit too. PMS_RGB_Hex.zip

I had to do this recently for a client, and thought I'd write an article about my solution to this problem. Hopefully this will be helpful if anyone else needs to make a chart with a fixed number of x-axis labels with any number of records. http://bluefeathergroup.com/blog/fixed-number-of-x-axis-labels-in-a-chart-for-any-number-of-records/

Generating a PDF from FileMaker Server is a common request. Learn how to make a PDF using open source tools. Includes video and sample file. How to Create a PDF from FileMaker Server

We here at DB Services love the BaseElements plugin. In fact we love it so much we decided to sponsor the development of HTTP POST in the plugin back at the beginning of 2012. So, as history tends to do, we repeated ourselves by sponsoring the development of the plugin again, but this time for encryption functions. FileMaker AES Encryption with BaseElements Plugin

Over the past dozen years, I have discussed in a number of venues the necessity for robust security practices and the techniques needed to implement them on the FileMaker Platform. Such discussions have as their underlying framework a fairly traditional Information Security paradigm. There are Threat Agents who seek to initiate Exploits or Threats that negatively Impact the Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability of FileMaker Platform systems or other Digital Assets. These attacks also can damage the Resilience of the Digital Asset. These Threat Agents exploit a Vulnerability in the design or the deployment of the FileMaker systems. FileMaker Platform developers a…

I'm not going to say that it's all going to be how-to's, but my second article is on how to install and update FileMaker using Active Directory Group Policy Objects: Installing and updating FileMaker Pro automatically with Active Directory Group Policy Objects (GPO)

Introduction to FileMaker CWP I've started a new blog on my site where I'm going to be making posts related to the Atlanta FileMaker Developers Group meetings as well as other FileMaker tips and techniques. Our meeting for July was about FileMaker CWP, so I've written a getting started guide for CWP as my first post. Please let me know if this is useful or if you have any feedback. Thank you!

FileMaker Themes Best Practices In an earlier article we discussed FileMaker WebDirect and how to optimize your solution. This optimization relied on using FileMaker Themes. In this article, we explore using FileMaker 13's new feature to create custom themes and styles. A custom theme will allow you to create a custom appearance in your application while maintaining an optimized solution. Theme optimization will benefit the entire FileMaker platform including FileMaker Go, Pro, and WebDirect.

The answer might surprise you :-) It turns out that GetContainerAttribute doesn't require a container field. You can use it to get the MD5 hash of any string. There are some neat things you can do with that. And it gets even more interesting when you throw in the new ListOf summary field. I posted a blog with a video and example file on my website that covers a couple of the possibilities. http://g.eist.co/1iddRNk Thanks Todd

FileMaker Increasing Renewal Rates Renew your FileMaker licenses by June 28, 2014 to save money, as FileMaker will be increasing its renewal rates by about 15 percent. This is the first increase in renewal rates in several years.

This morning I created icons for v12 and v13 so I could tell which version was open. Thought I'd post them here in case it helps anyone. I now see that rivet already posted icons for version 12, but maybe someone will find these useful. One icon shows a "12', the other a "13".  Both are png files. For Mac users� 1) open them in Preview, and copy 2) do a get info for each version of FM, and paste  That's it! Works in dock and with com-tab.  Michael

Here is a demo of conditional value lists using FMP12 and ExecuteSQL. In the demo there is one sample of using straight text and another using IDs instead of the text. There are no relationships between the user interface and the tables of values. ConditionalVL_SQL.zip

I read periodically that folks want to have an object hide upon hover (but not require a button click). Or they want an image to appear upon hover. Here is a method to do just that (both an FMP12 file and video). It has very limited use. The labels or images must be pre-determined and established as Styles. This is presented only as another tool for the toolkit. Possible uses: Create the US state's names as an image. Then the state name can disappear when hovering on a map so roads can be easily read. These can be saved as Styles to use throughout the solution or shared with other files. Placing large Section letters A, B, C on auditorium seating where, up…

I have recently learned that there may be any number of FileMaker Server installations world-wide that are hosting files that open automatically without credentials challenge to the [Full Access] Privilege Set. The default-installed FileMaker Server Sample File is one of these; however, there are others. This is not such a good practice. Such files offer an attractive attack vector that a Threat Agent can use to inflict damage on the FileMaker Server machine or on its hosted files. If a Threat Agent can locate the server and access it, an attack can occur using these files. Most attacks occur when a Threat Agent utilizes some vulnerability to mount an exploit that h…

FileMaker WebDirect is new to the FileMaker platform and allows you to publish your database to the web like never before. Real-time updates, a defining characteristic of the FileMaker experience, have made their way to the web browser now. Read more in our new article. http://www.dbservices.com/articles/filemaker-webdirect

My FileMaker Go barcode example without using any iOS barcode reader app and it supports EAN-8/13, UPC-A/E, Code-39/128 and QR Code. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0GSczzMpv0 I hope you like it. PS: I will post later step-by-step guide.

FMI Security Webinar On February 11th FileMaker, Inc. presented two webinars on FileMaker Platform Security. I am highly gratified that FileMaker, Inc. did this. These webinars, conducted by Consulting Systems Engineer Rosemary Tietge, clearly laid out the case for following Best Practices for securing files and their data across all elements of the FileMaker Platform. I want to expand on a number of recommendations about enhancing FileMaker file security from those webinars. By way of reminder from information in a previous FileMaker Security Blog post (http://fmforums.com/forum/blog/13/entry-600-assessing-threats-vulnerabilities-and-risks-to-filemaker-pro-databases/…

Well version 13 has been release but it is the same icon as v12. Since you can run multiple version on the Mac a visual distinction always helps. I have attached a new 'FM12DApp.icns' file to put into the apps content / resources folder. After you replace it you can 'get info' on the app, select the icon in the top left corner, then copy / paste to refresh the new icon. FM12DApp-blue.zip FM12DApp-green.zip FM12DApp-orange.zip

FileMaker 13 introduced a number of very useful enhancements to the relationship graph, none of which are included in the help file or release notes. Use these techniques to increase your productivity. Check out our new article. http://www.dbservices.com/articles/filemaker-relationship-graph-what-they-did-not-tell-you

For clients on Mac os 10.9 and above only. The attached sample will push an alert to the Apple Notification Centre via applescript. RIVET AppleNotification.fmp12.zip

Here is a simple example of a popover as a user friendly dialog box.

A function to finds all the dates for a week day within an given date range. For example: We need to find what are the dates for the Thursdays in the date range starting from 1/1/2013 to 1/31/2013. In this case: The function would be defined as FindDay ("1/1/2014";"1/31/2014";5) Here the start date and end date in the function parameters are text. Here the 5 refers to the number that represents Thursday in the week. Output: 1/2/2014 1/9/2014 1/16/2014 1/23/2014 1/30/2014 And for the invalid dates passed as the function parameters would return "N" that refers to NULL. For Reference: Sunday: 1 Monday: 2 Tuesday: 3 Wednesday: 4 Thursday: 5 F…

The opacity option in the color palette, is a great way to reduce development time. In the attached example, each state (normal, hover, pressed) of the navigation buttons are filled with a certain opacity of white or black. When objects are setup like this, they will adopt the colour behind, which make the objects very modular. TheBeautyOfOpacity.fmp12.zip

This grew out from: http://fmforums.com/forum/topic/90635-change-text-background-color-of-part-of-the-field/ The attached file allows you to mark text by coloring it using the three provided buttons. The colored text is converted to highlighted text in three corresponding background colors. When done, press the Export button to export a "highlights.html" file (note: the attached "hilite.xsl" file is required for this operation and must reside in the same directory as your solution file). Open the exported file in a browser and print it from there. Select "Print backgrounds" or similar option, according to your browser, when printing. The separately attached P…

Using some of the new GetContainerAttribute function output: http://www.soliantconsulting.com/blog/2014/01/references-embedded-container-data

This is a small technique for removing extra carriage from a list of values where the No of carriage is not constant. For example , "1¶2¶3¶4¶4¶¶4¶¶¶¶5¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶¶6" is the input and we need the output as "1¶2¶3¶4¶4¶4¶5¶6". This simple online function will help to achieve this. Substitute ( Text ; ["¶¶" ; "¶#"];["#¶";""] ;["#";""] ) We need to be careful with "#" symbol. If the list itself contains "#" then it will create a problem. We can use any symbol or charecter (if we are sure that the list contains only numbers ) in place "#", which is not present in the list. - Thank You.