FileMaker Pro v7 – v11

Upgrade to FM 8 Advanced! (Seriously) If you are doing anything of even moderate complexity, I strongly urge you to consider moving to FM 8 Advanced. I've found that the addition of Script Variables and the various Export & Email records as XLS/PDF alone have paid off quickly. Script variables allow you to get rid of a lot of global fields, which can make your overall design much cleaner. I'm not affiliated with FileMaker, in fact I'm usually cursing them, but I do appreciate when a better product comes out, and FM8 Advanced is enough better than FM7, the upgrade cost is really trivial (if you value your time, or sanity).

I've had FMP8 Adv on my Mac PowerBook G4 for probably 6-7 mos. Just last week, I started experiencing some weird issues. My first attempt to launch FMP8 Adv in the morning fails, or rather, cycles forever. When I am finally able to launch and use the program, the performance is PITIFUL. I get the spinning beachball on almost every click/operation I perform. The performance problem applies to local files as well as remote ones. The only notable thing I can think of that may be affecting this is an AppleScript I added to my startup items a couple weeks ago that automatically connects me to my office server... Any other ideas?

I have been developing a solution on PC with FMP 8 Advanced and have recently seen that when i swhitch layout it blinks/flashes more than ever. Previous solutions on PC has also been doing this but not this mutch. It looks like it loads the layout 3-5 times. I wonder if it has anything to do with using tabs? It's realy annoying and ugly and i wonder if i can do something different or this is just the way the PC version handles the graphics? Btw it looks ok/great on mac.

In FileMaker 5 I could use "Open....file name" in a script to open another FileMaker file. In FileMaker 7, when I use "Open file....file name" in a script, I get the desired file, UNLESS the file is already open. How do I prevent this cloning of the file, and just "go to" the file if it is already open? Thanks, Jim

Hi, I am very new to Filemaker, on either platform, but not new to technology. I just got off the phone with a client who is currently using a Filemaker Pro 7 on OSX DB but is leaving to a new job that is Windows-XP based. How can she take her DB to the Windows-XP? Also, she will need Filemaker at the new job - should I recommend the latest or keep with the version she is coming from? Thanks! -Eric aka Shoregeek

I am trying to decide if FileMaker will solve my situation. Here's my situation: I am in need of a database solution to assist me with the following situation. I work in a hospital laboratory. We are inspected once every two years by an organization that uses "checklists" which are basically questions like, "How do you handle XYZ issue?" We currently have this information compiled in a bunch of different paper manuals spread out across the laboratory. I want to be able to put on our network a database that includes the following information: [1] The checklist item (question); this would be static (i.e. it would only be changed/updated by the database …

Does anyone know where i can get 7.01 and 7.02 upgrade files. I am trying to upgrade to version 7.03 and the upgrade requires that the previous versions are installed, shame filemaker dont have it on the web site

Hi! I'm new to filemaker and so far I have created a runtime application with several functions including buttons that open new windows. However, all the windows have the "X" greyed out so I can't seem to close the windows other than creating a custom button to close the window. Is there a way to fix that problem? What am I doing wrong? Thanks for any help.

I am wondering if it is possible in fm 8 to reference a filename based off of data in the database. So you have an id number in the database like 1. I want to reference a file on a shared drive Y: which is a pdf with the filename 1.pdf. The open file command doesn't seem like it is able to do this, it asks for a specific filename. This is on a windows network.

i need to 'get' some data from a FMP6 db and populate it in a FMP8 db. (migration is not an option with FMP6 db) Before i go ahead with my idea of exporting out via script a dbf file from FMP6 db and then impoting this in to my FMP8 db via script i thought i would ask you guys if you can think of a better way of doing it? thanks in advance.

Hi, I'm new to this forum, just found out about it today. Been using FM7 for 1.5 years now as the patient database for our clinic and day care surgery. It has been great to use FM to organise our computerisation, though have had to struggle through many frustrating programming aspects and have a lot more to learn. I am having a weird problem now and it has been appearing on and off for the last 6 months. In the clinic we have 3 FM7 networked together and the receptionist hosts the files. Sometimes when the receptionist registers a new patient and makes a new patient record, she finds when she tries to access the patient record after leaving it, it can't be found. Eve…

I've tried to upgrade from FM v7.0.1 to v7.0.3 on my Windows 2000 Server using the FM upgrade package but I keep getting an error message stating that a DLL is missing and the upgrade cannot continue. I've tried on two different servers withour luck. Anybody else had this problem?

I've been beating away at this for a bit now, but can't seem to come up with a solution. This worked well in FM6, mind you, so something from our recent FM8 upgrade is messing with this. We have a simple text field that uses a calculation to display a "warning" of sorts on a form. Nothing complicated, just a basic "If FieldA = 'yes' set field B to 'Warning'" type statement. Nothing appears there now, which is normally fixable except that when you click the field in Browse mode, the text is there. Click off the field, "poof" it disappears. I've made sure it was "brought to the front", I've checked text colors, etc. but the simple fact is that the text is THER…

For the longest time, I have used the 'Open URL' ScriptStep which makes a 'https://' request from both FMPro 5.5 and FMPro 8, to Internet Explorer. After installing the Internet Explorer 7 Beta on my PC, this wonderful functionality simply stopped working. Now when I initate the 'https://', the URL I receive in IE is 'http://1/'. Please note, normal non-secure 'http://' request continue to work properly. In search of a solution, I have checked my IE Internet Options against a PC with FMPro that still works correctly, but unfortunately I could not find an answer. Thus the post, anyone with any idea. All the best from Prague, Czech Republic, Dino

Hi silly question can Filmaker display a webpage. i.e If I put a weblink into a box say [ http://www.filemaker.com ] could I make filemaker display that link?

Any FM people from D.C., MD, VA area? Please email me at [email protected]

I have been using FM for many years, but only recently have I been having this problem. For simplicity sake, let's say I have one table with two layouts. Layout One has been set up with name and address fields in Optima 14. Layout Two has the same fields but set up in Optima 12. Data entered into Layout One in Optima 14 appears as Optima 14 (not 12) when viewing Layout 2. I don't know whether I have changed preferences, or whether this inability to retain the field text properties when going from layout to layout is something to do with upgrading to FMP7. Is there something I should be trying other than reloading the FMP7 software? Any suggestions very welcome.

I am using FMP 7 Developer and sometimes, but not always, when I place the cursor in a text field, it appears one, or sometimes two, characters to the right of where I want it. But if I start to type or delete, the actual changes will occur one or two characters to the left of where the cursor appears to be. (This is the kind of little glitch that can really fry your brain when you don't have much to run on anyway!) Has anyone else run into this problem and is there a fix for it available somewhere?

Just making the move from FM6 to FM8. My layouts in the new version look really bad. All the fonts (mostly Ariel) look fuzzy/blurry. I've made sure my WindowXP settings are correct (to smooth fonts) and I've played around with the font smoothing style in Preferences. Nothing really helps. When I run both versions side by side my layouts in FM6 look smooth and crisp... the layouts in FM8 look like I need new glasses. What's up? Am I doing something wrong, or do I just need to stick with FM6 to get a clear, crips layout? Thanks in advance for any help.

I am looking for a brief, general description of the technical approach taken in database design, management and analysis I would be eternally grateful. I am responding to a request for proposals to provide communications services to a federal agency and need to respond to this section and we don't have anything formal developed in this regard. Thanks john

Hi all, I have a looping script that inserts files (physical files, not refs) into a container. Before the script finishes the insertion of its 3990 files it crashes. I'm thinking that this must have something to do with the File Cache size and/or Saving Cache Contents, which can be specified in Preferences. Can anyone offer some insight as to how I can remedy this? FYI Script exits loop properly, so I know that isn't the problem. Also, toward the end of each loop is a "Commit Record" step. I thought that step would remedy it, but it didn't. Thanks in advance for any help offered!

When writing a script the function Set Variable is available. My question is. After you Set the Variable how do you change it in the script. For example: What if I Set Variable $Examp to 25. Then later in the script I want to add 15 to the variable. Do I just do another Set Variable with the same name?

Not even sure if this is a problem or not, however I noticed that printed forms now see to be justified differently since the upgrade. I had a bunch of forms that were justified (equal margins) on sides, top & bottom before the upgrade. Since the upgrade the right side and bottom were cut off, thus forcing me to make changes to again set the margins correctly. On the layout I now have to shift everything tot he right and going by the layout they are shifted way to the left. Also I have to now leave adequate space near the bottom and cannout get too close to the page cutoff line otherwise the bottom is cut off. Perhaps this was indeed a fix in the upgrade since I've…

Is there a way to script a tab control tab ?? Basically, I'd like to jump to a certain nested subtab based on a field value on the master record. So, if you have three employee types: A, B, C When you click on the contact info tab control tab, it will go to either the type A, type B, or type C nested subtab based on the type of employee it is. Is there any way to pull this off ? or could someone recommend the best possible workaround ? thanks

Hi! Is there any way to add tab with script? Thanks in advance Dejan

We have a few records in our database that won't allow data to be entered. We can call up the record and edit any of its fields that already have data, but if we go to a blank field, it won't allow us to do anything. 99% of the other records in the database are fine. Any thoughts on what is going on here?

I've been using FileMaker Pro 5.5 and 7 for a while now... and I'm currently working on recreating the database I have in 5.5 in 8. I wish i had the Advanced version but i'm stuck with the no so advance one for now. Questions: 1. Text Bounderies: As i started creating layouts in 8 i noticed that when you add some text in a layout the text boundaries don't shrink to the size of the text when i click on "Line Spacing, Single" like it used to do in 5.5. This is really annoying when trying to align text. What's the workaround? 2. Aligning: in 5.5 there was a dialog box that let you decide the aligning options along with the vertical or horizontal distributi…

When I was using 8.0v1, I am able to access database remotely using FMP7://IPAddress/MyApplicaiton.fp7 After upgrading to 8.0v2, when run, it gave this error "protocol fmp7 does not have a registered program". Is it a bug in 8.0v2 ?

Hey everyone! I have a lot of people ask me about a list of all states and a list of all cities to use with FileMaker (any version). Well, to make the work easy for those people I help, I put togeather a filemaker database with all the states and citys in it. This file contains two basic tables; Cities and States. The Cities table contains the city name, its state and zip code (not already entered as most cities have multi zips). The States table contains the state name and abvr. I also included a example layout called "Example" which shows you how to make your fields auto-populate the state and zip code when you just type in the city. Hope this help a lot…

Well, I do not know much, but all I do know is that my FM7 app will no longer open on my G5 running the latest Tiger update...as well any program based on FM (like all my leson plans and resources) will not open for me...and as i am a teacher this is a quandry...I do not know very much about macs...always trusted them until now when things are all of sudden happening to my programs...Would someone be able to help me? Thanks much Tom

Is it possible to add a script (button) to the label of a Tab panel?

I'm thinking of getting Filemaker Pro 8 to replace Access and want to run 3 simultaneous instances over a network. Will purchasing one version allow me to run it on three local machines? Thanks!

I have a simple FM project--only about 15 records in one main table with small amounts of text. But when I make the runtime (I'm on a Mac), the .app file it creates is HUGE. Like 40 MB! Is this normal? Makes copying files back and forth for testing purposes a pain. (I've tried the Tools - File Maintenance - Compact & Optimize...) Thanks.

I got the following message. "The access privileges in this file have been damaged or possibly tampered with...." I tried to recover the file but got the same message. The file is not shared and is only on my hard drive. I didn't touch the permissions and no one else has had any accesss to it. Any suggestions, or am I just out of luck????

Filemaker, why not make a client application with network capabilities that could add, delete and edit records that's all. Basically a filemaker without the programming and design functions for a very low price (below 50.00$) or even free, it could be called the Filemaker reader! Let's face it people who need design and programming functions will buy the advanced version. In the end, more people would use filemaker, they would sell more advanced & server versions. Actually with that version they could skip entirely the FileMaker pro version. What do you guys think?

hello All It is possible to piut constraints on found sets in a table that is part of a database. I never found any help files or indications how to constrain a table to let it contain only one field, no less and no more. In a project I am working on using FMP 8 Adv this is an option that would come in handy. Any help out there?? TIA Rob

I got my MacBook yesterday... Filemaker Advanced 8 seems to run just fine in Rosetta. No significant performance difference from my old Powerbook. Just though you might like to know. Andrew

I've noticed that when some FM7 solutions are converted to FM8, an FM8A Database Design report yeilds some interesting results: In the script section of the design report, under the heading "Fields used in this script", it often lists "" as an itemized entry, despite there being no missing field within the script itself. I would guess that somewhere along the line, when removing actual missing fields, there is some remnant left behind that FM8 is picking up on. Has anyone else experienced this? Any idea how one might go about cleaning up such files? Thanks! :P

I am trying to change the font for one of my fields in layout mode on a layout page...and for some reason it won't let me. It gives me an error message once telling me that the font I am trying to choose doesn't correspond with the data in that field or something, and that I can hold down CTRL + ALT while selecting a font to override this. But when I hold down CTRL + ALT, and select font, still doesn't work, and then the error message never comes back. I have read some about trying to remove font styles from fields, etc...but I need something fast to make this work. I am producing an alumni directory on CD for a Fraternity, and need for the fraternity greek codes to s…

hello all, i am not sure if this is the right place for this question, but it is my best guess. when i develop a filemaker solution anything bigger or more complicated then to print a few labels or something, i ONLY develop on my PowerBook G4. I have it cleanly installed, always updated to the latest patches. Other then filemaker, excel and maybe a graphic program i do not have any other software on that mac. also, as my own rule i would never copy the file over a network to a different system, develop a little, then later copy it back. especially i would never copy my document to another operating system because it contains a different filesystem... now th…

Hi Forum I have a FMP 8 Database containing 6.7 million records, about 46 GB of space using MAC OS X (10.4.5). I recently had a power failure while I was importing records from an external source. Normally due to the size I replace the fault/corrupted database by its latest back-up and redo the action, leaving me with the least influence in lost records and so on. This time I chose to let it "look for unused space" It went through without needing to recover the database (nearly impossible on the size and failure is nearly guaranteed). After completion it started up again yet to my amasement in stead of the 6.7 million records I found out the process deleted…

Hello Forum, What tools are available for direct replication of FMP databases that are up and running. Are they record-based or table-based. I haven't looked them up since I had no need for them in the past, yet now it is getting more important for me to have a replicated copy of the total multiuser database on a seperate location. Can anyone give me a hint or advice? thanks in advance regards Rob

Are there recommendations for the use of anti-virus software on systems with (open) FileMaker databases? I recall reading a warning (sorry, don't have the reference) that scanning a FM server volume that has FM databases open and in use could potentially cause corruption due to file locking (while the file is scanned). My initial concern is the use of Virex 7.7 with Mac OS X (10.4.5) client with FM8 (with no server involved). The main Virex modes are: Scan local volumes when mounted; Background virus detection; Active Virus Detection. Thanks. Bob

Hi All, I have a client who need an applications developed that can run on either Windows or Mac. I am trying to decide between FM8 Advanced or RealBasic. Am I correct in assuming FM8 Adv will be able to create a Win and Mac executable? Also, if I used a MySQL db, would I be able to connect via ODBC (on Win), what could I use on the Mac side? Thanks. Chris

filemaker or 4th dimension? which one is better for a large governmental corporation with 400 simultaneous users and Host up to 70 database files simultaneously to store massive amounts of data on the desktop and webbased network? filemaker or 4th dimension?

Hi, We are considering a FMP solution for our company. For my research, I am trying to gain some insight and understanding into how things would work. For the server portion of things: if we did this, we would be looking at 3-5 locations, each with 2-5 Macs, connecting to a central location with a G5 XServe. The central location would be independant of the others, and would also be connecting an additional 5-15 Macs to the Server via a LAN. Looking at roughly 20-30 Macs total. We would also want to go with FMP 8 full circle (and we plan on never introducing a PC of any sort if that needs any consideration). Here is where I am looking for some insight…

Is there anyway without the aid of a plugin, that I can trigger the mod_time field (Time field with Modification selected in autoenter) in the parent record, when I alter a child record. At present its a stored value, and thats the way I would like to keep it, hence avoiding creating an unstored calculated field which looks at the mod_time in the child record. Many Thanks

Just a simple one I hope In Privileges what do I do to apply limited editing to a Priviledge Set? I want to limit editing only to the records that a particular Account Name has created I am a relative beginner and presumably I have to "specify a Calculation" in the dialog box that comes up when I click on Custom Record Privileges - Edit - limited I just have no idea what the "calculation" should be - can anyone tell me what to type in the box Cheers

We have upgraded to Filemaker 8 and we are running on Windows XP. We used to be able to access a font we purchased called Myriad Pro. But now it is no longer available in the Filemaker Format Font menu. It is avialable in the Word font menu still and in other programmes. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

How do I set up a text field to make sure that it is always automatically formatted correctly for LastName, FirstName. I want to make sure that there is always a comma and "1" space following each last name and I want this to occur in one field called Pt. Name. Is it possible?

I have a file I've been working on in FM8 that auto-enters the modification time for a record exactly 12 hours off the correct time. I've tried checking all the time formatting for the field in layout mode, double checked my system clock, etc., to no avail. I've even created a garbage file to test the auto-enter function, and it gives the correct time in this file, but I still can't find the problem in the original file. Any insight anyone has would be appreciated, as this is driving me nuts, not to mention wasting a huge amount of time!

Hello Everyone, I'm using a small database that produces Friday dates. It worked fine in v6, but after converting to v8, it returns 0/00/000 in every instance. I can't figure out why. Anyone care to take a stab? It's attached. Thanks. Issue_Dates_.zip

I have a project that will be cross platform, it will have graphics and sounds and will be available to 200 different people. Can I do this will Filemaker Pro 8? What about runtime? Does it cost for each machine it is on? I need to know before I go ahead and purchase the lastest version of Filemaker. Is there Anyone out there that can help me?

I am trying to set a script variable to save a pdf file automatically. Here is the variable: $filename = Get(desktoppatth)& "Filename.pdf" The first problem I have is that instead of c:... all the are /. So, I created a field to substitute the / with . This seems to work. However, get the following error on my windows xp machine. "Documents and SettingsslmaccheDesktopFilename.pdf" could not be created on this disk.Use a different name, etc.... I believe it is taking the $filname and feeding it with the quotes, but I'm not sure. I put in a show dialog to show what the variable is passing, and it is passing the correct C:Documents and Settingsslma…

Hi everyone, I have a rather large solution in one file. 30 layouts and lot's of data ca 5000 records. Right now only approx. 5 clients access it but I wan't to know if it is possible to have approx. 80 clients accesing it and working everyday in it. This ofcourse has to be a FileMaker server-solution. But will it work? Anyone that has any experience of large solutions like this? What should i do to optimize my file for this? And what kind of hardware do you suggest, mac or pc adn what kind of server? All the clients accessing won't be in the same LAN or even same city Thankfull for any input at all.

I am using a FMP file created on a German Mac OS with my Win XP. I could change the number and date format, but not the content of a field. Example: calculation = MonthName(Date). The result is still in German. Did anybody ran across a problem like this? Thanks everybody for advice!

This one is a strange one to me. I have a budget file with several tables in it. These tables are related in various ways. One of these tables is the lineitems table. Recently, my records started to disappear. At least, I thought they were disappearing. I look in the lineitems tables and I can see records that have been entered after 1/16/06. However, if I perform a find on those records, it says "no records match the criteria". This affects portals, everything. So, I recovered the file thinking that would help. It did for a couple of days. Now, it is doing the same thing. I create a new record, go to the related portal which contains the line items. I type i…

Hi, Will I have any trouble installing FM8 on Windows 98 system (P4 3.0Ghz, 512MBram). I can't change 98 since I run a prop. program that will only run on 98. Thank you.

I really tried to figure this out but I need to go to the pro's. I am building a yes/no survey with 25 questions for 4 stores. There will be 12 responses per store I would like to sub summarize by store and total for each Q. Thus far I have one layout with fields for each question and a checkbox value list for yes. I appreciate any help in advance.

Something strange has happened when I switched from FM4 to FM7 and MacOs 9.2 to 10.4.3 : Copy & paste doesn't work from an external document or application into FM7 - but it works within FM, as well as between all other applications, it's only FM7 which bugs when I want to import data from a Word page etc, as if there were a protection somewhere. Any ideas ??

Installed Filemaker and my program on a differant computer and it works great. It won't open a second time. I discovered that it's not closing Filemaker on exit. If you use Task Manager to stop process and close Filemaker, it will work again. Larry

This my first post in the forum. I had a DB built last year. We upgraded a couple months ago to FMP 8 mainly for the autocomplete function. Last week we archived some of our data from last year. We kept the data from 2 of the db's. Nothing else changed. Now autocomplete is not functioning properly. It will autocomplete the field but not completely. The entries begin with "A" but will only pull up through "L" or "F" depending which field you are in. It does not appear to be related to the number of entries in the DB. Any ideas? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Tammy

Please help Just Received fm pro 8 and trying very hard to set in up buti just can't get on with it. Does the programme need an expert to set it up?? I am trying to set up a data base for contact details. please help

In the labels we print using merged fields (often calculated), the first line does not wrapped properly. It will often wrapped somewhere outside the textbox, obscuring several words. This behavior seems to be a bug in the program since the wrap can appear perfect when we come upon a record, then suddenly change to an improper wrap before our eyes or when we click on the layout somewhere. The file has been through several conversion since we started out in Filemaker 3. Is there any way to see if Filemaker sees this behavior as a bug to be fixed. The recent update does not correct the problem. Roman word wrap is checked. Recreating the layout in 8 does not so…

We have a FM8 application that we are trying to deploy on PC and Mac hardware. We have stored a custom error sound (a Quicktime file) in a global container field and focus on the field with a script step to play it. This works fine on the Mac – however on the PC…. When the file tried to play it sometimes actually plays the proper sound, and sometimes nothing happened – however, regardless of whether the file plays, FM8 (Advanced, 8.0v2) then crashes to the desktop. The Event Viewer displays the following error message: --- Faulting application FileMaker Pro Advanced.exe, version 8.0.2.321, faulting module QuickTime.qts, version 7.0.4.80, fault address 0…

Well now we have intel based macs and a whole new potential can o' worms to deal with. Anyone have any idea when/if FMI is going to put out a universal binary version of FM8 products for the mac? I'm sooo very tempted by the new MacBook Pro, but leary of running/developing via Rosetta translation. Thanks, --Perren

I'm curious about the implication of Apple Imacs switching to Intel chips. Will this create any hardware/software compatiblility issues with Filemaker 8, or Filemaker Server? If anybody can explain this I would be grateful. Thanks, Jarvis

I've looked at a similar thread (172736) pointing out the change in FileMaker 8.0v2 where searches are now performed from the local cache, rather than from the host. The time it now takes to perform the search in the unstored fields is noticeably slower. The field being searched is a calculation (therefore unstored) of a number of fields that make up the Company + Clients records. Searching this calculation field allows users to enter a text string and search any of the 20 related fields. I've attached a small sample to show how my file is constructed. I want to be able to index this search field, to speed up the searches, but at the same …

Hi, Last year I purchased 2 copies of Filemaker 7 from eBay. They only cam in paper CD slips with their serial numbers printed on a label. I put the CD's into plastic cases and wrote down both of the numbers onto the case. I think I might have used the paper slips for something else but I no longer have them. Problem is, I needed to reinstall Filemaker onto 2 machines to network (thats why I have 2 copies). Turns out I left a digit out of the first block of 4 characters of the serial number. I tried the other serial number which was complete and it worked, but it conflicted with the installation on the other computer. The serial number I wrote down was: 3…

Hi, I have been working on building an application in FM8 on a Mac. Changes work fine. Next day I open the file and all the changes have gone? This has happened to me twice. Also now when I save the file it saves it as a copy of the original even though I have made no changes? Can you Help? Guy

Hi everyone, forum newbie here, hoping you can help. I have recently converted a set of v5 files to v8 via v7. The v7 route was a temporary one, awaiting client's approval to purchase v8. Anyway, the problem I am having is with text wrapping in browse fields. Specifically, text input in data fields defined as a pop-up list. What happens is the text end s up doing thi s a lot and when you get to the en d of a line it doesn't justify/hyphenate properly. I've checked all options related to the field - text format/field definition/behaviours - everything. I've tried using different fonts, adjusting the box dimensions, etc. I give up. Curiously,…

Hi Can anyone suggest the best way to display records in columns on the same layout. For example: I may have a database that list activities for individuals on certain dates. So for a single date I may have 3 individuals with information that I would like to display on a single layout in columns. I have achieved this using a related tables but that is restricted to the number I create manually. Thank you for any help. Eddie

is alpha five better than filemaker? for a very large governmental business such as a city police department which one is better alpha five or filemaker?

Has anyone used Alpha Five? How do you compare it to FM Pro? What are the + and the - of FM compared to Alpha Five. Thanks PS: Alpha Five is a product similar to FM Pro. Their site is www.alphasoftware.com

Hello all, I have been asked to make some modifications to an existing system. I have run into a problem with one of the requested changes. I hope I can explain what I am attempting to do. I have a form that is to be used in browse mode being viewed as a list. I have the header set up with the column headings, etc. I have a field that is set up as a drop down box for the size - small, medium, large. Those are the only choices. What I would like to do is place 3 fields into the header section that will keep track of the number of each size that has been selected. I would like the totals to update when the sizes are changed/selected. Do any of the gurus …

I have a database in FM6 that I'm attempting to convert to FM7. When I opened/converted the database in FM7, the embedded images (container fields) did not come across. I tried several more times, but with no luck. Any ideas?

Hi All: I could really use some help here. I have a set up of four databases for my business. One is customers, one is orders, one is estimates and one is other documents. The order database is pretty large. The customer database is 9000 records. The Documents database is 175 records. It takes like 10 times as long to sort the 175 records as it does the 9000. It doesn't seem to make any difference what field I sort on and whether it is indexed or not. Some of the fields in the database do contain paragraphs of information, but none of these fields are indexed. Overall there are 132 fields in the database (which is not a huge number, right?). The dat…

Hello FileMackers, I have a problem with storing specified printers in a "Print" script option's step (Specify Print Option & Perform Without Dialog) on MacOSX. FileMaker Inc. commented this problem only for Windows, but I think it is the same on the MacOSX too. Could somebody confirm me this issue, please? - FileMaker Pro 7v3 - MacOSX 10.3.9 (MacOSX 10.4.2) Daniel

Hi all, Is it good practice to set global script variables to store preferences (or business rules) that will need to be called by scripts at some point during file use? As an example, I need to globally store the values of the time that the user's business opens, the time it closes and its lunchtime start-and-finish times. I've used global fields that are set by script at startup to predefined values. Should I just set global script variables instead to these values? Why or why not? Thanks in advance for your help! :B

I stopped using Filemaker Pro 7 about 8-9 months ago - but had been using it for about 9 months to develop a database (good thing I remembered the user name and password from my old job!). I've now been asked to set up a database for a friend using Filemaker Pro. Given that what I used to use (and know about) is the old version, should I recommend he buy FMP 7 or 8? I guess I need to know just how easy will it be for me to work out the basics for FMP 8 and upgrade/redesign the FMP 7 file I want to base the database on?

Has FMP8's picture field image rendering slowed down? My FMP6 db has 1200 records with picture fields containing paths to 1-MB .jpeg's. For a layout displaying 10 images per screen, I can scroll from screen to screen with little noticeable delay. But when I created a test FMP8 db with only the picture field and referencing the same images, the same layout scrolled so slowly (15-20 seconds between screens) as to be useless. Is this characteristic of FMP8?

I'm a Mac user (OS X 10.2.8 / OS 9.1) G4 Cube with Mac Office Excel 2004. Here my problem. Recently purchased Pro 7 but Excel won't let me transfer my FM files. Read "Read Me" and it tells me Excel 2004 reads FM 5.0, 5.5 and 6.0. I think I have the latest update to Office 2004 (11.2.1). Can't find anyone to tell me if Office 2004 Excel doesn't support Pro 7? Is only recourse to purchase Pro 6, or Mac Office 2005 and hope it supports Pro 7? Someone please help! Thanks, Ragialni

I'm perplexed. I wrote a simple program to put on a computer in our library for students to use. I had one version in FMP 7 and one in FMP 8 (each computer had the requisite version software on it). I field tested it one my Dell computer at home (fyi I'm a Mac person) with Windows XP and the programs worked fine. They do not work on the computers at school. The fields don't show, they can't enter data, etc. Does anyone have any ideas of what could be happening? I know our university has serious security on those computers, but I didn't think that would be an issue. Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks!

Hey people, I just discovered a flaw in my db where when I try to perform maintenance on fmp8a, it says "file is damaged" and shuts down. If I try to recover, it crashes. I do have backups, but is there any quick way to detect bad data (like error logs) or something? I want to isolate the problem so it doesnt happen again. I have checked for dupes in my unique id's and fixed that, but the file will not compact or clear empty blocks. BTW I use SysDek, troi file, and dacons email plugins if that makes a difference. Hope this is not too scatterbrained, i've been killing myself all night trying to find an answer. Thanks blah

What is the experience of everyone regarding FMP8 runtimes? On OS X....does the user HAVE to have 10.3.9 for it to work (runtime, not advanced) and does Windows HAVE to have SP2 to work? These are both major hurdles for distribution for my solutions if it proves to be true..... Thanks Greg

Have two macs (iMac G4 and G5 tower) both using FM 8.0v1. One was sharing and other was a client to the database over the net. Upgraded both to FM 8.0v2. Performance dropped to unuseable it was so slow in the following way. With the client FM computer running a script that did a find on 4,669 records from the sharing computer, it finally completed in 5 minutes. Other times i gave up and cancelled. I tried compressed clone and a repair on the database and the problem was still there. I decided to go back to 8.0v1 on the sharing computer and the problem persisted. Only after also going back to 8.0v1 on the client did the find on 4,669 records go back to a…

I have some fonts that show up on the screen, but not when I print. How can I fix this. Can I change the font type? I really need this to work. Thank you, Jason

This used to work in v8.01, but not in the updater: I used a repeating field with Tabbed layouts to return to the last layout. Repetition 1 on Layout #1, etc. Then do a GoTo Field(repetition #). This causes a transfer to the wrong tab. The solution is to define separate fields and not use a repetition. I reported this to FMI. Steve

Computer A running FMPro7 solution recently has the mysterious issue of not displaying some small graphics that are on a few buttons, but not all. Computer A is sharing solution on LAN and Computer B running FMPro 7 connects to the shared solution from Computer A but Computer B does NOT have the problem and all the graphics on the buttons show just fine. If quit FM on both computers, copy over solution from A to B and open it on B, the graphics also show fine on the buttons. I have deleted and resinstalled FMPro 7v3 on A with the problem remaining. I have archive installed system on Computer A and the problem remains. Computer A is 10.3.9 updated to latest stu…

Hi all, Does anyone know of any issues related to copying and pasting groups of fields from one layout to another? Case in point.. I implemented an audit log in a table by using an auto-enter calculation for the log itself, and a calculation field for the content of the fields I wish to track for changes. The audit log works, no problem...the problem comes in when I select both fields in the Design Database dialog, copy and then past those fields in the Design Database dialog of a different table. They don't work! If I create a new auto-enter calc from scratch and paste the formula from the auto-enter that doesn't work, (and modify it for the new field name)…

Does anyone have a list and or DB of the error codes for FM8? i have a list from 7 but wanted to know if there were any new or updated errors for version 8. Ive found a list online but im lazy and dont want to add it to a DB. However if no one posts to this by then end of the day ill do the work and add it back up for all. thanks!

Who can suggetst me what version choose between 8 or 7. Is there mistakes in version 8. How mutch is version 7. In Filemaker.com i find the cost of version 8, but not find the cost of V7?

Allow User Abort[Off] Set Field[PRS_AddRecords::PortalRowcounter;1] If[Count(EF_PRSAddRecords::FunctionTitle) < 0] Commit Records/Requests[] Go To Layout['some layout '] Perform Script["Script Name"] Else New Record/Request Go To Portal Roe[select;first] Loop set field[----] -- --/* Field Names added....*/ --- Set Field [PRS_AddRecords::PortalRowcounter;PRS_AddRecords::PortalRowcounter + 1] Exit loop If[PRS_AddRecords::PortalRowcounter>Count(EF_PRSAddRecords::FunctionTitle)] New Record/Request Go to Portal Row[select;No Dialog;PRS_AddRecords::PortalRowcounter] End Loop Commit Records/Request[] Go To Layout["homepage"] Perfor…

Hi, In earlier versions of FM, I used to define global field to facilitate search on a specific layout. For example if I have a database I wanted users to search customer name, I will create a global field for customer name and on the search layout, I will place this global field and after data is entered on the global field, user will click a button to search and in my script I will go to find mode and set customer name to this global field. How could I do something similar in FM 8. I understand that there are script variable but is there any way I can place them on layout? Thanks in advance

FMI has just released an updater for version 8. I tried to install it on Win XP SP2, but it can't find a qualifying product (Not true), and it doesn't give me an option to locate an existing install. Anybody else run into this? Steve

We have develope a project on Filemaker pro 7 , and the project is working fine but when we used Filemaker pro 8 we are having some issues like if a form has to show say 20 records it shows only one . Can any one let us know why this is happening . Please help.Is there any changes or rules to be followed when we upgarde from Filemarker pro 7 to Filemaker pro 8?.

I need a layout to act as a spread sheet for data that would be imported into a form. if that doesn't make sense let me try to break it down. at my work we have these incident reports we have to fill out when there is an injury to a customer. every week those reports get tabulated and put into a report. what i would like to do is have the incident report in file maker along with a spread sheet that would keep a running total of what injuries are seen. so let's say that we have 3 wrist injuries, 2 upper leg injuries, and a neck injury; each injury would get its own report but then there would be a main page that would tabulate how many injuries we saw that week. i ho…

We are planning to develop a specialized/expanded version of Biz Tracker for our business. It will run on our all-Mac network. However, our programmer wants to develop on his Windows PC. How would be transfer his work, and ours, back & forth during development? This is not clearly addressed in the FM Docs or Help files, although much is made of the "cross-platform" capabilities. Information on this would be greatly appreciated!

Is it possible from within a script to show a calendar type entry and let the user select the date from it and then use that date variable for a report. And continue the script of course... Merry Xmas

Help my Filemaker 8 files are getting to huge file size wise. Example I have a picture database with images imported as small little 156 kb file images jpg.. But the database file is now at 200 megs with only 78 images in it. Even if I make a copy of the file and delete all records and close the file and check the filer size it still retains the file size with zero records.... Soooo, how can I either clean up the file. Or make a duplicate with no records and data in it just the interface and databases ....