Community Videos, Tips, & Techniques, Articles.

hey gang, I was doing some testing after looking at a file from Todd Geist on his devcon discussion on commit records and learned alot from it. I suggest you take a look. http://www.geistinteractive.com/blog/2011/08/understanding-commit-record-video basically i downloaded the files and was looking at his sort on one of the portals as i did not see a realational TO for sorting ; which i thought was the norm. Also, his take was pretty darn ingenious. he uses a Let([ ] ) statement within the portal he wants to sort and a global field is placed on layout for you to type in information to find precise name, etc. I have definately made this very simple a…

File shows a technique for automatically assigning a new record created in a filtered portal to the corresponding category. This is done by auto-entering a value derived from the active portal's object name. FilteredPortalCreate.zip Compare to a method using a script trigger: (can't find this one at the moment)

Gas, Liquid, or Solid: Drive On --By— Steven H. Blackwell January 3rd 2012 Happy New Year to FileMaker developers and users around the world. We have a lot of work to do in the FileMaker World in 2012, and I am eager to get started. A very key element and requirement... View the full article

I do not know if someone has already written something about it. We all know that's not allowed to use the Self function in a script parameter calculation, but ... ( Try to duplicate any button and change its text ONLY ) P.S.: It works for sure on Win but I do not know if it will work on a Mac. Self into the Script parmeter.zip

I've always loved conditional value lists, but I've been bothered that it's easy for data errors to be made: 1) select an entry from the first menu 2) select an option form the second menu (that's related to the first) 3) change the first menu's entry This will leave the record with an entry in the second menu that is not related to the first menu. There are ways to avoid this, but (until now) all have required modal interface designs or event plugins to run scripts after fields have been entered, or both. No more. This technique uses the auto-enter calculation feature of FMP 7+ and combines it with the Evaluate() function. Evaluate has the o…

Solution / Tab Memory Description: This expands on the technique presented here: http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/173566/ It employs a repeating variable (finally found a good use for one I think...) to track visited tabs which is then used to restore the complete nested hierarchy when returning from a different layout. Working Under: 8 Solution Status: Beta Pre-requisites: Author(s): Razumovsky Date: 01/12/07 Credits: Instructions / Other Info: Disclaimer: FM Forums does not endorse or warrantee these files are fit for any particular purpose. Do not post or distribute files without written appro…

Hey all, some more videos added using the Let Function:

If you like me, found that you could no longer use ctrl ↑ or ctrl ↓ to change between records because of Mission Control, then I've a simple solution. Go to Apple Menu / System preferences / Keyboard / Keyboard Shortcuts Tab Then under Mission Control, double click on Mission Control keyboard shortcut and enter a new shortcut such as Ctrl alt ↑ Repeat for Application Windows. Close System Prefs and you're done. I hope this helps. Zane, Ireland

A Different Perspective On Recently Released FileMaker, Inc. How To Paper Regarding External Authentication Configuration By Wim Decorte and Steven H. Blackwell I am pleased to have as co-author of this BLOG posting the renown... View the full article

I've been developing with FileMaker for a long time and I've always specialized in eBay and PayPal integration. I've got a pretty good reputation in the PayPal community (I got the star developer award in 2008, 2009, and 2011) and I've finally taken the time to develop a set of custom functions for FileMaker that give you direct access to PayPal's API's. I wish I would have done this years ago as it's already saved me loads of time. Get it Now The solution consists of a simple FileMaker database that when loaded, populates your External Functions with a bunch of custom functions that coincide with PayPal's API's. Just like any other function in FileMaker, a…

File Name: ProductWithRecipes File Submitter: SilverReed File Submitted: 20 Oct 2011 File Category: Samples FM Version: 11 The files consits of the table of materials (products) and recipes for these products (the recipes use the materials) Click here to download this file

File Name: Where Are You ? File Submitter: Raybaudi File Submitted: 15 Sep 2011 File Category: Samples FM Version: 9 A way to know which tab you are on ( and which tab you come from ) No triggers. ( You may need to search... ) Click here to download this file

THis is a technique adopted from Matt Petrowsky. I think it is an awesome technique, just simplified what he had. Enjoy. rapid_Data_Entry Copy.fp7.zip

Locks, Keys, and Lock-Picking By Steven H. Blackwell Platinum Member Emeritus, FileMaker Business Alliance Recently, an experienced FileMaker Pro developer posed a question on developer group list about the behavior of FileMaker Pro files. Paraphrased, that question is as follows: We've come across a small, but possible, security issue.

 If a... View the full article

Pause[x]London 2011 A PauseOnError FileMaker Developer's Unconference, Meetup, etc. PauseOnError is a gathering of people who use FileMaker. This is a self-organizing event; content is user-generated, and attendance is free thanks to the support of our donors and sponsors. London, Oct 20 - 21, 2011 Where Park Plaza Sherlock Holmes. Reservation details here: hotel info. When Oct 20-21, 2011 Why We're holding this one for the same reason Pause was started... ...to spend some time with, and learn from, folks we just don't get to see often enough. We are, in part, inspired by the various community-driven events such as th…

Requires: Version 11 or higher New way to add records to a portal without scrolling portal to end. Now with portal filtering, no extra utility fields are needed as in the past. Past techniques referenced: Comment's SansScript Helpful Harry Technique Updated Portal_AddTo_11.zip

Hey everyone; Just another video here to show you how to limit a checkbox options to only 1 or the other selection. I have gone on to create a custom function for my library as this is something i need to keep on hand for the future. here is the video on how to implement and i have also included the custom function for you. enjoy; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgDq71qaNWw limit.checkbox.calc.zip

Hello Everyone; i hope you watch this video before watching the truncateList function video. This one will explain the left function a little bit before taking a dive into that video. hope you enjoy and again, any feedback is much welcome & appreciated. Happy Filemaking!! -ian

Hello Everyone; here is another 4 part series in the article written by FMweetbicks using a custom function to truncate a list. here is the article: Simple Truncated Displaying of Long Lists (+more) And here are my videos. enjoy, -ian LINKS: Archive.zip

Hello everyone; another video explaining for the beginner about the functions left, leftwords & leftvalues(). I hope you enjoy. Video is here: left.fp7.zip

Hey everyone; here is my latest on choose & case functions. Hope you enjoy choose_case.fp7.zip

Hello Everyone, i hope this helps some people because it took me a while to figure it out so here is the attached sample file as well as a link to the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2abc1jIgsLc enjoy, -i cond-value-lists.fp7.zip

If your Filemaker suddenly stops working and you have exhausted all other possible causes. Try updating your Internet explorer or uninstall and reinstall your Internet explorer. I had a case where a faulty ieframe.DLL registry entry was causing filemaker to crash and doing above seemed to solve the issue.

File Name: GoogleVoice.fp7 File Submitter: Angelo Luchi File Submitted: 12 Aug 2011 File Updated: 12 Aug 2011 File Category: Samples FM Version: 11 This file demonstrates Google Voice integration with FileMaker Pro 11. Using ScriptMaster and a custom JAR we can bring some basic Google Voice functionality to a users solution. This file is a basic contact manager allowing its user to Dial a phone number, send SMS messages, and receive SMS messages. There is no official API for Google Voice so this solution or Java code may need updates. If there are any questions, please contact Angelo Luchi at [email protected]. Click here to down…

July 26th 2011 Did You Hear What I Said? By Steven H. Blackwell ... View the full article

File Name: avaya1416.zip File Submitter: FMP12 File Submitted: 14 Jun 2011 File Category: Solutions FM Version: 11 This is a fm file to print out the button labels on the avaya 1416 phone and the DBM32 sidecar... this is not intended to use with their labels, just print on plain paper and cutout... Click here to download this file

Back Me Up, Don’t Take Me Out, Are You Never Gonna Do That? --By-- Steven H. Blackwell June 13th 2011 Well, with apologies to Emilia De Poret, this adaptation of her hit song’s title pretty well describes the system and process of FileMaker Pro file backups. Most all developers and IT Administrators who design or manage FileMaker solutions and deploy them in conjunction with FileMaker Server understand that a good backup system is absolutely one of several major requirements to assure the integrity and availability of business data the files contain. But a significant number of developers and administrators do not understand what best practices are for making …

Back Me Up, Don’t Take Me Out, Are You Never Gonna Do That? --By-- Steven H. Blackwell June 13th 2011 Well, with apologies to Emilia De Poret, this adaptation of her hit song’s title pretty well describes the system and process of FileMaker Pro file backups. Most all developers and IT... View the full article

I hope some of you find this useful. Blog post and sample file here: http://www.fitchandfitch.com/2011/05/filemaker-portal-sorting/

File Name: Multi-Column Printing (Faux Down) File Submitter: Ocean West File Submitted: 02 Jun 2011 File Updated: 02 Jun 2011 File Category: Samples FM Version: 11 FileMaker has two methods to print in columns Down First or Across First. When using DOWN first any summary parts are only the width of the column. When it reaches the end of the page it resumes at the top of the page next column. When using ACROSS first summary parts are the width of the page. However any alternating row colors do not alternate as you'd first expect. Since all odd rows are on the left and the even rows are on the right (if using 2 columns). My first attempt to cr…

Hi all friends did you know that you can have recursions w/o CFs and scripts ? Loop_into__the_field.zip

The Power and Advantages Of External Server Authentication With FileMaker Server By Steven H. Blackwell May 9th 2011 Since the advent of FileMaker® Server 7 in 2004, FileMaker developers have been able to employ External Server Authentication for controlling Identity and Access Management to... View the full article

Left outer join (from Wikipedia): The result of a left outer join (or simply left join) for table A and B always contains all records of the "left" table A, even if the join-condition does not find any matching record in the "right" table B. Example: You want a report based upon the Payments (child right) table but want to include Invoices (parent left) without payments or you want a report of Sales (child right) but you want all Sales Persons (parent left) listed even if they have no sales. This files shows dynamic way of using one temp table to merge table data and generically label the fields, all using global variables and merge variables. This is an in…

Permissive Versus Restrictive Privileges In FileMaker Pro Databases —By— Steven H. Blackwell April 25th 2011 In older versions of FileMaker Pro, those prior to FileMaker® Pro 7, privileges were, by default, permissive. This means that users were... View the full article

This is the method I have recently adopted to allow the user to sort ascending/descending/by value list, and know which field is sorted, and which direction it is sorted. The nice part about this setup is that different windows of the same layout will each have their own sort status icon, and the icon will disappear when records in the window are no longer sorted. 2011-04-23_Sort.zip

If $variable[7] contains "Alpha", and field Repetition contains the number 7 - what should be the result of = List ( $variable[Repetition] ; "Bravo" ) ??? List&RepeatingVariableBug.zip

Sometimes you need to add a field to an existing database that should have values for all the already existing records in the table. Say you’ve added a new field on an existing database. It’s not a calc field, but will have an auto-entered calculation field that will always be filled out. For example, in the table People you add a field called “Full Name”. It’s a combination of First Name and Last Name fields which are in the same table. = First Name & “ “ & Last Name. You want users to be able to modify the combination, so it’s an auto-enter field and not an uneditable calculation. Easy enough, except that for existing records, there’s no value…

Welcome to the first posting to my new FileMaker Security blog. From time to time, I’ll be discussing issues of significance and importance related to FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Server security. In all these discussions I will keep foremost the concept that security is supposed to be focused on the preservation of the Confidentiality, Integrity, and... View the full article

Over the years I have been a big fan of using Quickeys with Filemaker, but just recently I stumbled on "BetterTouchTool", and I have to say it is blowing me away. http://boastr.net/ While it offers keyboard and trackpad customizing, I am really enjoying its options for Apple's Magic Mouse. EXAMPLE Two finger Swipe Down: Layout Mode Two finger Swipe Up: Browse Mode Three finger Tap: Enter (Ok) Two finger Swipe Left: Previous Record/Previous Layout Two finger Swipe Right: Previous Record/Next Layout etc. Then there is the all powerful 'TipTap' http://www.youtube.com/user/andreashegenberg#p/u/14/svUHAzjcf80 I use TipTap left to call up the app…

File Name: Sokoban File Submitter: andries File Submitted: 15 Feb 2011 File Updated: 15 Feb 2011 File Category: Samples FM Version: 10 This is an example I found in my archives when FileMaker 10 introduced ScriptTriggers. It was fun to create, not really useful in a solution, but fun to play :-) Help Santa to deliver his gifts ! Click here to download this file

File Name: Set Graphics to Global Variables File Submitter: Ocean West File Submitted: 20 Dec 2010 File Updated: 21 Dec 2010 File Category: Samples FM Version: 10 This technique is used on startup of a solution where it will run a script and set the contents of a container field to a global variable ( $$variable ) for use elsewhere in the solution, such as a calculation that determines the boolean state of a flag on/off and allowing you to use the corresponding graphic. By referencing the global variable in the calculation. Click here to download this file

File Name: ClockMaker Pro Advanced File Submitter: andries File Submitted: 20 Jan 2011 File Category: Samples FM Version: 8.5 This is just a nice use of the webviewer to display an analog clock in FileMaker using the webviewer. You can play with the parameters until you have the clock you want. With GetLayoutObjectAttribute ( "wv Copy" ; "content" ) you can grab the HTML code and place it in a webviewer in any solution. Click here to download this file

File Name: Sexagesimal Expression s Evaluator File Submitter: raybaudi File Submitted: 07 Jan 2011 File Category: Samples FM Version: 9 A simple sexagesimal expression's evaluator. Click here to download this file

One of the Features that I missed in version 11, was the ability to select a function using the space key in the Calculation box and Manager Scripts Steps and/or Functions. Guess what? I read a tip a few minutes ago by Darren Terry (Experts List) that makes this option available if you change the Preferences for OS Keyboard shortcuts, of Spotlight which will then allow you to use the Keyboard combination of Control + Spacebar. A Big thank you Darren! Hope others find this helpful. Lee

I thought I might as well share this, as it's taken me a while to figure this out. We needed a script to automatically connect to our FM host's FTP server, and download that day's backup. This shell script here does that, plus compresses and renames the resulting .tar file to date. This will run on any Unix system; we use it on a computer in our office running Mac OS X. #!/bin/sh ############################################################################## # script that downloads a file, compresses and renames it to date # copy to plain text editor and save as fmbackup.sh # open Terminal, run "chmod +x fmbackup.sh" (drag sh file into terminal aft…

I needed something to generate a bunch of unique serial numbers. I found a great custom function by Martin D. Brunner - [email protected]. @ www.briandunning.com. and built a file around it. Hope you can use or improve it. RIVET_Unique_Serial_Number_Generator.fp7.zip

Another effort to eliminate TO's and fields. Note that each parent retains its own selection. ViewSelectedChild11.zip

A way to visualize points on an image ( or a chart ). It needs 10 ( at least ) _10_PointsOnImage.zip

Compare with previous versions: http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/171912/ http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/172518/ MatchAnyOrAll11.zip

Horizontal portal with scrolling. As in part 2 of the series, each parent retains its selection for the duration of the session. HorizontalPortal11.zip

This file demonstrates a concept I am calling "single field edit". Under every data field is a different copy of the same global field. Script triggers control access to the field, and you can control access, editing, auditing, tab order, etc with a very small set of scripts because all activity is routed through the same field. In find mode, the user enters the standard data fields. SingleFieldEdit.fp7.zip

We get questions about how to format a text field so that the user doesn't override fomatting set place by the developer. In orther words, the users will paste in data from the clipboard, that uses a different fonts, or they type in a phone number XXX-XXX-XXXX or XXXXXXXXXX, etc and you want it to display (XXX) XXX-XXXX etc. You can control this somewhat by using the Auto Enter >> Calculated Value. There are several example files showing the use of the Auto Enter Function, but sometimes we spend a lot of effort spelling out the steps involve. The purpose of this tip, is to show visually the steps. [color:blue]To start, you need to go into the Man…

Hi all A way to change the background color of a field, going from one color to the other(s) with a simple click. ( No containers ) This works on 10 ( and UP ), but can be adapted to work ( slowly ) even with 9. _10_Toggle_Field__s_Background.zip

I've been using Filemaker as a college teacher for almost two years now, and I thought I'd share the fruits of my labors with others on this forum. I'm posting this here as a way of offering my help to others who are interested in using FM in place of a traditional gradebook or a spreadsheet. Please reply with any questions; I'm more than willing to offer further guidance or even post my FM solution as an example. I'm not posting it here now only because my actual FM solution has a lot of personal tweaks which will make it less than helpful to a newbie user. What my FM solution does: 1) keep track of student data (grades, mostly) 2) produce grade reports for assi…

This is cool. It's a quick and dirty demo of the substantially improved letter merging features in FMP 7.0. Basically, text and paragraph formatting can be used in a template that is then applied to another database through a related calculation field. It is seriously serious stuff. For some reason my clients all want letter templates like this. In FMP 5 it was possible but no formatting (character or paragraph) could be used -- if they did it was lost during the merge. In FMP 6 character formatting could now be applied in the templates, which was a big step forward, but it required the use of the Replace function, copy and paste, and each record had to be proce…

Just thought I would share this with others; especially those that have not played with merge variables yet ( dunno if it has been shared on other sites yet ). With the implementation of layout level variables, they can be used as layout level calculations. To address the refreshing of the data one could use an OnRecordLoad and call a script to refresh the data using Refresh Window []. However, this looks horrible with the flash particularly on Windows. A better way would just use a Freeze Window. To refresh the layout merge variable values just call a script with a single Freeze Window step. Allow the setting of the variable to be set as a Script Par…

After a fair amount of Googling, I worked out the technical details to use a real drawing language inside the FileMaker Web Viewer. This method does not require any external files, web servers, or plug-ins. It uses only FileMaker's built-in web viewer and its ability to render an internally calculated URL using the "data:" protocol. The HTML or XML is generated by a FileMaker calculation for the Web Viewer to display. The drawing language used is either SVG or VML depending on the platform. SVG is not yet supported by the IE-based Web Viewer on Windows. The attached file demonstrates the technique to draw circles, ellipses, arcs, lines, rectangles, and r…

I just finished recording an 11-video series on FileMaker 11. They are anywhere from 5-10 minutes and cover new features (along with tips and tricks) in the new version. MightyData's "11 Days of FileMaker 11" is available at http://www.mightydata.com/11days.html. The videos are published through YouTube (low-res) and Screencast (high-res). Enjoy! - Martha Z

FileMaker gives us local and global variables, which are quite useful. Further, these variables can have a "repetition number" in square bracket format such as $data[23] or $data[0] or $data[-128]. The repetition can be "sparse" - you can set rep #1 and 17 and 85 without setting any other rep numbers. As it turns out, these integer values can be large. As in quite large; as in integers of over 400 digits. Well - OK - but what good is that??? Let us consider another FileMaker feature. We now have the code() and char() functions. Code( "a") produces result 97. Code( "FMForums") produces: 11500109001170011400111000700007700070 And it is reversible: …

Here is an organizational concept for organizing the Relationship Graph. mwI5BYEZ1Yg

Solution / : Horizontal and Vertical Photo Browser Description: A browser that uses portals, and a repeating calc field to simulate vertical and horizontal tiling of photos. The "photo's" used are just returned from a google search for small clip art images. As usual if you download this file, please put a vote in, there is no real point to the vote except it's the only way i get feedback as to whether you think it's a decent file or not. Working Under: Solution Status: Finished Pre-requisites: Author(s): Genx Date: 02/22/07 Credits: Comment -- Just cause he rocks : And also because I learnt that you could use GetNt…

February 9th 2010 One month from today, March 9th 2010, will mark the sixth anniversary of the release of FileMaker Pro 7 and the advent of the .fp7 era. An auspicious anniversary it will be, to be sure, and worthy of appropriate commemoration. I am curious what other developers may think are the top five items that characterize the modern .fp7 versions of FileMaker Pro or FileMaker Pro Advanced and that have come along as the product matured and advanced. Here are my five: 1. Security schema 2. $ and $$ variables 3. GetValue and List functions 4. Conditional formatting 5. Triggers Steven

Probably here is a bit more like just to make a relationship or calculation. Making database for home movie collection is one thing. Making database to register student activities is another. Making CRM or ERP database again is different case. Skills can be on the same for ALL variants and in a lot of cases some average or intermediate is enough. Difference is in understanding FOR WHAT database is created. As higher is knowledge "for what" as more complicated database you can create with the same skills. What I want to say - you need to knew much more to develop good database for situation: how user and admin look on your created result, how easy is to imple…

Creating application "Lesson content sources management" I use Layout Tab panels. And here I face some navigation problems. The way I have solved them is here. Probably here isn't much new. What is interesting here? - navigation from portal record to related record field on Layout Tab panel - GoTo Object, - multilingual labels via separate table records (similar to many internet portal solutions), - script to insert in to Container field located on Layout Tab panel, for example - PDF file reference and calculate web viewer address from reference, - on this layout - instead to define Window width and height - hairline and Resize Window to Fit do the job, …

Not being one to read manuals, just stumbled across this one in FM10. Double clicking on the tool icon in layout mode locks the tool, great for quick format changing, always hated having to go to prefs for this option.

Solution / Dynamic Labels Description: I have been playing with global calculations for a while and this the first fruit from that investigation. This little example lets you change the language of the labels in your solution without scripting (other than on startup). I think its pretty powerful stuff. Have fun... Working Under: Solution Status: Finished Pre-requisites: 8.5 untested in 8... Author(s): Stuart Taylor Date: 12/31/06 Credits: Instructions / Other Info: Disclaimer: FM Forums does not endorse or warrantee these files are fit for any particular purpose. Do not post or distribute files wit…

Microsoft has now released Windows 7. [color:red] FileMaker, Inc. has some important information on compatibility of its products with Windows 7: http://thefmkb.com/7453 http://thefmkb.com/7454 At this time the only FileMaker Pro version we expect to run correctly on Windows 7 will be FileMaker Pro 10.0v3. There are a few minor issues, but we expect it to run. No previous version of FileMaker Pro is compatible with Windows 7. If you plan to run FileMaker Pro on Windows 7, you should be running version 10.0v3. Steven

The FileMaker Design Caucus presents SmallCo's Design SMACKDOWN! Thursday, Oct 22nd at 3 pm Eastern Time (UTC - 4). No Caucus membership is required. Join as a guest at: http://smallco.net/caucus --- Join us, and help to SMACKDOWN three FileMaker solutions: 1. SmallCo alum Curtis Michelson returns from The Land of Open Source with The Synchorator, a developer utility for syncing SQL and FileMaker data. 2. John Weinshel shares his pain with a particularly tough redesign of a "ransom note" FileMaker layout. 3. Albert, Scott, Dave and Jose ask you to throw darts at their work for The University of North Carolina Press. Did we get TOO big for our …

This solution helps tie the real world to the data world by allowing a project to be open, active and span any length of time while having the capability to invoice Assignments as be become completed. Goal is to build an iron clad project based invoice system. This file is a good solid start.Tho this file is raw and the interface is not done, the structure is pretty much established. Tho I believe some of my coding, relations and scripts are dodgie and could be a lot cleaner and sound. Please play around with this file, take a look on how it works and make some suggestions on how I can make this better. Thank you so much for your time!!! project_invoice_mo…

I have been working on this script logging file for the past few days, and I was hoping I could recruit some help with testing, development, and ideas. I guess I'm kinda wanting to make it an "open source" project. The file is still rough - the layouts aren't pretty yet, but the system works. I included my RowHighlightSelection demo file, as the test file with script logging enabled on it. The "Help" layout has a To Do list and Instructions on implementing it. Please have a look and tell me what you think. If you can contribute to any of the To Do list items, it would be much appreciated. ScriptLogging.zip

A workaround for the annoying "keep sorted" behavior of version 10. SortOnce10.fp7.zip

Solution / Browse Portals As Pages Description: Thought i'd post this as i haven't posted any in a while. This is sort of a follow up to a previous topic called Horizontal Photo Browser. I really don't like list view, in fact i personally think its kind of useless and will never give me the end user experience i want. So, this sample file is designed to get around it and simulate a web-like paging interface. I don't expect you to share my opinion, but for those who do... Another issue with list view is that IWP's list capabilities have no real use, displaying only 15 records at any one time. You can use the scroller and the script without the po…

[color:blue]X4X X4X X4X X4X X4X X4X X4X X4X X4X X4X X4X X4X X4X X4X X4X X4X Marking the release of the FileMaker Pro 10 Bible, NightWing Enterprises is pleased to announce **Ten for 10!** Available immediately, are ten new demonstration files which showcase a selection of the new features of FileMaker Pro 10. The X4X downloads can be accessed online at: NightWing Enterprises - FileMaker 10 Demos These are free downloads, provided as a courtesy to readers of the FileMaker Pro 10 Bible , as well as to fellow developers and prospective clients. Full access is provided to all ten files so you can pull them apart to view the code. The ten sample and d…

Here's a technique to implement live (i.e., as-you-type) Spotlight-style filters using FileMaker 10's new event model. This technique does add a bit of bloat in order to store and index exploded keys, but you can adapt this technique to utilize FileMaker's Find Mode as well. Have fun! spotlight_filter.zip

Solution / : Custom Login Screen Description: FileMaker custom login screens -- I'm looking for someone to try and hack this, crack this, break this, get through this, using whatever tools or methods they might have in FM or developer or anything else they seek fit to rely on. I made this a while ago and i've forgotten the password soooo... But if no-one manages to crack it within two weeks, i'll recreate the file and post it in this thread as a sample. [color:red]EDIT 3: DEVELOPMENT ON THIS FILE WILL NOT CONTINUE DUE TO VARIOUS METHODS DISCOVERED AROUND FM'S PRIVILEGE SETS Working Under: Solution Status: Untested Pre-requisites: A…

You know in a list view when you have each row alternating colors. But also have two fields stacked on top of each other (one a calculated display field) the other the data entry field, you we don't have the option to FORCE the field behind to invisible. You have to mask it by making the overlay field WHITE - or some color fill. But doing so will prevent your alternating row color from appearing... The first thing is easy .... using conditional formatting we can set the overlay field to have three sets of display color options by using a boolean condition. Mod(Get(RecordNumber);2) = 0 for your first color Mod(Get(RecordNumber);2) = 1 for your second color …

Just posted 10 techniques for FileMaker 10. Help yourself ! http://www.bh-a.com/downloads/

Based on David Graham’s Spotlight Filter, here is a way to mask a field entry. This solution required FMP10 password_mask_fmp10.zip

Check out the new “Tips-n-Trick” file just posted to the “Downloads” section of our web site, contributed by Mike Duncan, a Lead Developer at Excelisys, Inc. FileMaker Pro 10 introduced native script triggers as a tool for developers to utilize in their solutions. This example demonstrates the usage of a search filter, which many FileMaker developers are familiar with in complex portal filtering solutions. Now, with the use of script triggers, it is simple enough to implement the same functionality but you are not restricted to displaying results in a portal, and therefore have much more flexibility in the interface. Instead of being required to set a complex key tha…

I recently have found a reason to look for methods to allow a user to store an arbitrary number of "import order" specifications WITHOUT forcing the user to edit/save a script. I searched the site here and was NOT able to find any discussion thread on this topic of "storing import order as data". I've put together an approach that essentially can store something LIKE a "import order" and allow the user to recall it for later use. The mappings are stored as DATA. I've also arranged for storage/retrieval of values for global parameters that might affect details of the import process. The demonstration is still a little rough around the edges, but I thi…

The new FM 10 events are getting a lot of press, but there's one event that we've always had that just got a tiny bit more powerful. The OnLastWindowClose event is the event which has always triggered the script you've selected to run when closing the file. In FM 10, this event has now been modified to run the script prior to the event, which means that you can now ask the user if they really want to quit the database. If you return an Exit Script [result=false] step then it wont execute the close command on the last window for that file.

I doubt this has anything in it that hasn't already been done, but I've never seen a Launcher file like this. I've made a couple of other FM Launcher files in the past but always hated having to define scripts for every single file. The Open File script step doesn't let you use a variable so I made this to get around it. Its very ugly and extremely basic but hopefully useful to someone. There is a ton of room for improvement and I'll keep working on it to make it pretty and many enhance it a little. Any suggestions please let me know. Launcher_Demo.fp7.zip

Here is a quick demo that can be used to navigate between records and fields using the keyboard arrows. It will wrap around to the next record once reaching the last object and viceversa. Demo requires version 10 or higher ArrowKeyRecordNav.zip

EXCELISYS, INC., (www.excelisys.com) a database solutions and consulting organization specializing in quality custom database application design, development, and consulting for LAN, WAN, and Web deployments is proud announce a new Tips and Trick for FileMaker Pro 10! Everyone at Excelisys loves to hear that rhetorical question asked: "Woah! You can do THAT in FileMaker?" Oh yeah, you can. Well this is one of those moments, and we just posted a demo file and white paper about it up on our Excelisys web site. With the new script triggers introduced in the recently released FileMaker Pro 10, we all can now deliver a richer user experience to our custom…

Hi, The new version of CFExplorer is now available. CFExplorer is a simple, elegant, free database for FileMaker developers to store and ‘debug’ their custom functions ... and it's also free! * Updated for FileMaker 10 * The simple library now allows full editing of calculation code using familiar FileMaker tools * Import custom functions from www.briandunning.com and www.fmfunctions.com/ * ‘Debugging’ through custom functions is now improved * Sign up to the CFExplorer mailing list from inside the solution * Easy to move all your functions and tests to the new version with 1 button Download it now directly from the CFExplorer site! Hope yo…

There are two great options here and here for passing and retrieving multiple script parameters. Both options have a lot in common, and it's easy to write script parameters which utilize these custom functions. I got tired of having to explicitly retrieve the many different parameters and wanted to instantly have all of my parameters available so I could tell immediately if I had any problems during debugging. This is why I wrote my own custom function which converts a multiple-parameter string instantly into multiple populated variables. It's easier to screw up the parameter string, but the end result is worth it for me at least. Take a peek and tell me what y…

Here's v2 (2.4 actually) of the demo. Comments and suggestions for improvement are of course welcome. conditional_summary_report_headers__v2.4.zip

There are times when the full rigor of FileMaker's structured data methods are exactly what you need. On the other hand, there are times you want to work with temporary lists, data snapshots, clipboard contents, and so on. It turns out there are some useful techniques for dealing with data of this type. You probably know about FileMaker global variables, and global fields. Did you know you can create list views and portals from a global variable? Did you know you can sort, find, filter, export, and print the contents of a global variable? You can create an in-memory database of thousands or tens of thousands of records by passing data to a …

[blurb] FileMaker Pro developers all over the world are facing business uncertainty in coming weeks and months as a result of the economic turmoil gripping the global marketplaces. Near-hysterical media reporting fuels further uncertainty and fear. However, the situation is very serious, and it deserves very close attention. In my professional lifetime, I have been through a number of recessions, some of them short-lived, others prolonged, deep, and accompanied by deflationary spirals and by stagnation of economic forces. The present-day sharp downturn, while very significant, is not as severe as those of the middle 1970’s and the late 1970’s through 1982. The …

CFExplorer v0.1 released CFExplorer is a simple, elegant, free database for FileMaker developers to store and ‘debug’ their custom functions. Oh and it's also free...! * A simple custom function library * Import custom functions from www.briandunning.com * ‘Debug’ through custom functions using test data This version was originally released to the UK TechNet conference on 23rd October 08. Download it now from the CFExplorer download page! Enjoy CFExplorer.zip

This may be one of those common practices that I just 'discovered' on my own, but I am having very good luck using separate files when converting a flat file to a relational one. I've never liked clogging up my development file with import tables, TOs, layouts, and scripts. But only recently have I discovered I don't have to. I started simply building all my importing routines in a separate "Interface/Import" file and (so far) it works wonderfully. Any one else doing this?

Hi all, I've figured out a patch to make Instant Web Publishing work with FileMaker 7 and 8.x on Mac OS X Leopard - detailed instructions at http://www.rorohiko.com/wordpress/?p=36 It involves a bit of work with a hex editor, but should not be too difficult... Hope it's helpful! Cheers, Kris

Solution: Apple Accordion Thingy Description: A UI element based on calculated repetitions and designed to mimic the behavior of the apple accordion widget seen all over the apple website, particularly here: http://www.apple.com/support/ The sample file and an overview video are available off Harry and I's (indeed with the lack of grammar) new blog: www.filemakerdesign.com/blog/?bid=1 Please let us know what you think (of both the site and the blog posts : ) Working Under:8.5 Advanced Solution Status: Demo Author(s): Genx Date: 08/13/08 Credits: Apple Disclaimer: FM Forums does not endorse or warrantee these files are…

Solution: Boss GT-8 Guitar Processor Description: The file is called GT8.fp7 and was created in FM ADV 8.5 It may work with FM 8 but I don't know. This is a "not pretty" compilation of the Boss GT-8 effects data. I created it to keep track of my personal modified settings/likes/dislikes but then I added all the factory settings which is the only data in this file now other than a few unnecessary notes of mine that I didn't feel like taking out. Working Under: Solution Status: Beta Pre-requisites: Author(s): Jeff Bills Date: 01/03/08 Credits: Uco Mesdag's Boss GT-8 sysex reader for helping me gather info Instructi…

Custom Web Publishing (CWP) carries with it inherent vulnerabilities for the exposure of any credentials a user enters into a browser’s credentials dialog box. As a result, developers likely should follow a restrictive policy for these credentials. Circumstances and attendant adverse impact will vary from situation to situation. The bottom line however is this: CWP credentials are subject to being intercepted and retained without any warning to users and without any knowledge that a breach has occurred. Download the article today at: http://www.fmpug.com/members_download.php?filename=credentialexposureincwp.pdf&free=true Many thanks to Steven Blackwell for w…

Solution: Faux Portal Filter Description: Combining the power of Find Mode with the control of a portal. Solution Status: Beta Author(s): jmormond Date: 08/28/08 Your Thoughts? I wanted to get your opinion and suggestions on this idea. I would like to get away from using the copy all records script step, since it uses the clipboard and an extra layout), but I can't figure another way that doesn't drastically slow down the performance. (Tried using a Loop to grab the ID's, but the more search results you have the slower it goes) This works great in the solutions that I am currently using it in. Even with a search result of 14,000 rec…

This is an example of drag and drop without the use of a plugin. RIVET_drag_and_drop.zip

I inform you that on the web http://filemakermagic.blogspot.com have a selection of good tricks in Filemaker. I hope you like. Javier

a file full of colour. Rivet_x11colors.zip

Hey guys, A few people have continuously berated me at different points and I've done my best to explain how it is that port forwarding works in a text based format. In truth though, the explanations are never full blown and are just enough to scrape people through their particular issues. For a fairly decent (if i do say so myself) explanation of port forwarding, head on over to: http://www.filemakerdesign.com/blog/?bid=11 - I've tried to put this together as a static resource. If someone is having issues with port forwarding, please direct them to this post first (if you think its decent) - at least that way they will have a basic understanding of what it is…