Development Standards

My company is looking into replacing the server hardware we currently have in place. The IT department wants me to create a process that will test the hardware/networking/OS/Filemaker components. So we figured an approximate 15 minute process that will create/modify/delete records, create files, etc... will be a good testing platform. Has anyone created a similar process before? I don't have a problem creating a/the process, but what exactly would be good to test is something I need help with.

This is question for all the FM gurus on design theory. I'm sure this has been addressed elsewhere before but here goes. Lets say you have a simple table of contacts. In that table you have three fields for phone numbers: 1. Home Phone 2. Work Phone 3. Mobile Phone Right now I know a bunch of you are diving for your keyboards about to write that there should be a related table with two fields; one for the number and one for the type. Yeah I know but lets just put that idea on the back burner because this is just an example, not reality. As a good FM developer you want to provide your users with an easy way of searching for a phone number. The ge…

Hi -- Is it wise to leave your data in its own file and use another file for the GUI? Is it wise to do this right from the get-go. Is there any advice about this? Is this called separation model? Does splitting out your data down the road cause some inherent problems. This seems to be a little of a pain when developing. Also it seems there are certain things you can no longer do ... for example ... I have a field that uses a Lookup List which wants to go against a TO ... well my TO is specified in my other file; ?inaccessible? to this file. Regards, Rich

I'd appreciate the FMPro's community input on this because it could be a deal breaker if I cannot come up with a solution to overcome a user limitation. I'm beginning a health-care related project that looks like it will expand beyond the 999 user limit of FileMaker Pro Server. Though it is not likely that I'll reach that limit within the next year. I have to plan that it will occur and how we can deal with it and keep the solution on FileMaker Pro. Has anyone dealt with this issue, in theory or practice, and what ways are there to deal with it?

Hello, I have a unique situation that I thought could require some outside help. I'm developing a database for a small appliances business and here is my situation: I currently have 2 inventory tables: Inventory Inventorysold When items come in they are entered into the inventory table, when people checkout, new records are created in the inventorysold table, and every item has a serial number, so I tell filemaker to compare Inventory:serial number to the inventorysold:Serial number to determine if an item has been sold. Yet, this is a really messy setup and I'm sure there must be a better way to do this. Yet, here is the kicker. We have some items that come in t…

Folks, I'm getting ready to work on a process to get data out of a FileMaker Pro 9 database. The goal is to set up a process to export selected records in an XML standard for image metadata (in my case VRA Core). I'm wondering what people have done in the past with generating XML from FM 9. I was thinking of using FM 9's PHP API to make the process web based. The other option is to build the process into the FM Pro database using the FM ScriptMaker features, but I'm not sure how robust this would be for linking tables grabbing different fields for use in exporting as XML. Any thoughts on the best way to do custom XML exporting would be appreciated. FYI, I've not…

Hi, I was wandering if my method was a good practice to audit record modification and creation. In most of my tables, I have 5 basic fields. pkTableNameID (usually number)<-- primary key creator (text) <-- Account name of the record creator concatenated with SystemNICAddress (eg : Nick;001D09891122) modifier (text) <-- Account name of the record modifier concatenated with SystemNICAddress (eg Math;001D098211F2) timestampCreation <-- Obvious timestampModification <-- Obvious Is that a good approach or there are better ways? Thanks for your opinion

I've been reading bits and pieces (both here on FMForums and elsewhere on the web) about how to best handle the notions of "preferences" in a FM solution. The way I'm thinking about it, there are two different uses of the word "preferences" within a solution: 1. solution-wide preferences: User-modifiable preferences which are carried over to all users (in a multi-user environment). If any user changes one of these preference values, all users should immediately see this change. 2. user preferences: User-modifiable preferences which are specific to a single user (in a multi-user environment). A user can change one of their user preferences and it should pers…

Hi Hope I put this in the correct forum, if not please excuse. A while back someone told me you can design and save a solution with FM embedded invisibly behind the scenes so that your client wouldn't have to have FM installed on thier computer. It would be a stand alone application. Any truth to this? And if so how is this done? Thanks.

I have really been thinking about how to develop "any" given system - all tables in 1 file; multi-files with 1 table in each; multifiles with multitables; interface file with separate data file(s); etc. The ramifications of me understanding the different aspects or thoughts about it will go a long way in helping me make a choice for myself. Imagine a pretty large "System" (say, 500 tables) that is comprised of "Subsystems", that are comprised of "Modules", that are comprised of "Components". A Component is 1 Table; A Module more than 1 Component; A Subsystem more than 1 Module; A System is more than 1 Subsystem. COMPONENT examples: People Component …

I was having a discussion the other day with another in house developer over the context of lookups. Here is the scenario: tables: Customers, Contacts. Relationships Customers::Customer_ID(Base Table) = Contacts::Customer_ID(Table Occurrance) If there is a lookup that we need to do in Contacts(say, a default value for a toll free phone number) Is the correct way to do it: A) In the lookup dialog set the "Starting with table:" option to the Table Occurrance of contacts, looking back to Customers. OR Create a new relationship Contacts::Customer_ID(Base Table) = Customers::Customer_ID(Table Occurrance). then make the "Starting wit…

I stumbled along something that may or may not be a good thing in terms of developing a solution. It started with my attempt to streamline the creation and maintenance of scripts. I explored parameters and now I think they are awesome. But when parameterizing those scripts I realized, all of those buttons had to be hard-coded repeatedly in the script parameter dialog wherever the button was to do the same function. If a layout changed, I would have to change the script once, but all the button parameters would have to be updated one-by-one. A lot of work. Furthermore, I looked at the solution and realized there were quite a few instances where the parameter valu…

I use only Mac OSX. My solution exports txt files for syncing data between different databases. Other routines export xsl files to format exports for import to a different application. These processes create 'trash' txt and xsl and *ml files which never need to be seen by the user. Where is the best place to create these files? I have been using ~/Libray/Cache but the files are retained across logins & reboots. Looks like /tmp is the best bet. What is best practice? Thanks, ft.

Can anyone help with a suggestion of how I might be able to set up the ability for users to "chat" across the FM Network on Windows XP? Seems like it should be possible, but I can't see it documented anywhere? Thanks.

I'm trying to change the way users interact with data in a multi-user environment. Is it feasible to set a designated field to a locked status when entering a field to show that it is in use? Something like "RecordLock 1". With this field set, I could then check for it with navigation logic and redirect to a read-only field accordingly. Also, It would have to be reset to "0" when exiting the record. Is this the right direction or am I missing something? Thanks for all help.

Hi All We publish our naming standards / conventions on our web site. If anyone is interested please feel free to use, adapt or even send us any comments. You can find them at Linear Blue Standards Cheers Paul

I recently responded to a post and added the comment, "it's just best practice." Well, of course, the followup was, "where do I find a list of best practices." Hmm. Is there one? I've read FM's Dev Conventions, the WhitePaper for Novices, but where is there a best practices list? Nothing found on Google. Should we attempt to write one together via the forum?

I have seen a lot of discussions about naming conventions over the last year or so. I devised a hybrid from the FM whitepaper and converted 1 of my 35+ files to it a few weeks ago. My smallest table, mind you, but it took quite a while. This does seem to be quite an undertaking. Has anyone made the leap? My oldest legacy table(the one I converted) had some real naming problems. Mostly punctuation in the field names and old fields no longer used, the usual. Let me know your opinion. Tim

I've got a design question here. I'm tracking donations, which can come from either Individuals or Groups. A donation consists simply of a date and a dollar amount (and maybe check number). I think that Individuals and Groups belong in separate tables, but that Donations are donations, whether from an individual or a group, and thus should be in a single table. A Donation should link back to the entity that gave it, either Indiv or Group. The relationship from both Individual and Group to Donation is one-to-many (although any single Donation has exactly one donor). I want the user interface for entering donations to be as simple as possible, hiding from …

Hi, are there any naming conventions that should be adhered to in filemaker? thanks

Hi there, I need to learn about standard practices for creating system and user documentation for my FileMaker applications. Are there any books you would recommend I read, and/or are there any templates out there anyone would be able to point me to ? One thing I don't have the luxury of is a ton of time to devote to documentation. I realize how terribly important it is, but I am hoping to learn how to document in the most efficient, fluff-free way. Any suggestions/advice anyone can offer would be appreciated. thanks.

Ok my brain is having one of its many moments again... Once there was a thread posted on here regarding the speed of storing data in global fields verses creating a cartesian join to a preferences tables from each table. It mentioned the way it came over the network and that it may be faster to have the preferences table because it would be stored on the computer rather than having to come over the network each time with globals. I cant for the life of me remember where it was...

Hi, I have a layout with a portal and need to know when and who was the last one to update any of the fields of the layout - including those in the portal. I'm using a technique that consists on creating a third relationship (self-join with the child table) and a calculation based on it (please have a loot at the attached file, yellow highlighted field in 1st layout). This seems to work but I would appreciate some feedback or suggestions in case there is some other techinque that is more recommendable. Many thanks! Update.fp7.zip

I am writing an application that generates a report. Essentiall their is a parent database and several children. The child db's comprise the major chapters / sections. Subsections within each chapter are handled through concatenated portals, based on the primary key from the parent, and whatever subsection id I assign. For example: 1|2 means the primary key "1" from the parent and the second subsection. In this way, the major sections or chapters in the book can change in size as needed. My question is this: Can you limit a subordinate database in a portal to only one record? and if so, what is the most efficient / professional way to do so? Thanks in advance!…

What programs do you guys mostly use to draw up your ERDs? Normally, I just use paper, but this job requires a soft copy presentation as well. I looked at MS Visio, but I dont really like it too much. Anything else you guys recommend taking a look at?

I have the wonderful position of remaking our entire database from scratch. Previously we had 7 databases with different departments in each database. All related together, all changes/new features were done on the production databases. This was horrible, and had lots of organization problems. I'm reorganizing and rebuilding the databases, separating data from layouts. We have a contact database for storing all data about customers and prospects. There is a field called ContactID that is a calculated field - Joining Company Name and Contact Name. This field is used by other layouts as a dropdown list to select the contact. Currently our databases perform a …

Hi, I was not sure where to post this. I would like some help with the name of one of my tables. I have a stock database that stores the data relating to an item being loaned / consigned or purchased and the moved around, possibly consigned to others and eventually sold or returned to the original supplier if unsold for an extended period of time. Until now it has been fine to store this data on the record of the stock item, but i now have to create a secondary database to store this information as the sold items have begun to be re-purchased and sold on again. (I now have a 1 to many relationship between item and this information) I just can not …

This topic doesnt really belong anywhere so I guess I will post it here. I wanted some feedback on what some of you guys use for versioning, version control, change control, or whatever you wanna call it. I am going to look into some products and I was thinking about possibly open source. Have you gusys had any experience with some of these products? Plus/Minuses? On the unix side, we used to use sccs but I am not sure what would be the best for FileMaker files. We are in the midst of hiring multiple developers so I do not want my team members to overwrite each other'w work; thus the need for versioning.

First post in quite a while, so I hope this is the right place for my question. Around Y2K we started planning an online license renewal system that would tie in to our FMP databases. At that time, the tools we were looking at were Lasso/Dreamweaver, eAuthorize, etc. We didn't get beyond the initial planning stage. Now that Mac OS X is well proven, and FileMaker's advanced (!), I'm thinking the tools of choice may have changed, and I'm not sure what the state of the art is today. I'm a Mac guy, so I'd prefer to stick with what I know. We'll probably hire out the development, but I need something that I can maintain, and something that can scale into greater…

Hi there. I have been working as a custom developer for the past year and have just taken a position as an in-house developer for a small top medium sized company. I just wanted to get some views and advice from anyone else out there that has or is working in-house on the best practise for developing an in-house system. Is it best to have a testing system running parallel to the live system? Or is working on the live system the best option? Any other words of wisdom would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance. Orlando

(moderator -- not sure if this is the right forum, so please move it if it belongs elsewhere) Does anyone know any standards for handling address fields for a USA-centric database? I'm migrating a FM6 database to FM7, and just recently went through a third-party NCOA (national change of address) and DSF (delivery sequence file/ address standardization) process, and came up with some questions. # of address fields: It appears that the USPS uses 2 address fields only, and can't handle more than 2. Is there ever a reason to keep 3? Foreign States & Zip Codes : our data is 99%+ USA addresses, but we have a few foreign ones (mexico and canada mainly)…

I have just discovered FileMaker's new document "Development Conventions" http://www.filemaker.com/downloads/pdf/FMDev_ConvNov05.pdf I am reading it and trying to decide what will work for us. I was surprised that no one had yet posted comments here. Anyone has feedback on how well it applies to your environment?

Hi all. Is there a "best practice" on how (and where) to document the global variables used in a solution? Thanks!

Hey! I'm not qiute sure where to post this one but will try it out here In many applications and also on many respected homepages, you can often see windows XP icons being used "freely". That has made me wonder if it's legal to use these icons. I send an e-mail to a company (certified filemaker developers) and they said that they had asked microsoft for permition to use the icons. Is that thay way it works? Are any of you out there using these icons (or any others belonging to another company) and if so, did you get a permition for it, and how did you do it?

While developing I take external backups every day (or more often if I reach a significant point) If at some point if I wish to just try something out which might significantly change the structure I throw the file icon into a folder on my desktop called mini backups so I can easily revert to the last known good point. My question is do I have to close the file before I do this or can I do it with the file open? TIA Phil ps Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place. I could not spot where else to put it.

Does anyone have any thoughts on how to manage a project where there are more than one Developer working on a project at the same time, from different locations? Regards, Russell Cox [email protected]

Hello, There has been a defacto standard for naming FileMaker fields for quite a while and now with the release of version 8 I wonder if this shouldn't be revisited. It has always bothered me that the established standards recommended field naming conventions to benefit the database developer rather than the user. For instance "txtFirstName" for or "numInvoiceTotal" rather than the more natural "First Name" and "Invoice Total". These sometimes cryptic field names didn't matter much in the old days because the typical user didn't necessarily encounter the actual field name unless they did a manual export. Now with version 8 having the ability to directly p…

Will using a period in the name of a field (ex."Contact.ID"), have any negative repercussions during future development? Thank You, Mariusz

I'm beginning to write a users guide to a solution that I created but I'm looking for some help. I've read that the terminology I use should be easy for none FileMaker developers to understand. I am stumbling over what to call buttons that will switch a user between tables and ones that switch them to a different layouts like a (list view or a table view) of the same table. Also sometimes I have buttons to show different related data in portals. (Portals there

One of my priorities in naming tables, fields, and relationships is to keep the names very short, as this lets me work faster and see at a glance what things do. In the past, I have developed my own method for naming relationships on the tables involved, with the order of the table names determining the direction of the relationship. Now with automatic bidirectional relationships, things are more complicated. How are folks handling this?

When a newly created solution is populated with just few records every operation is performed very quickly. When the database grows in size, bad design could cause performances to drop. What are the MAIN RULES to follow in order to build today a database that will run fast tomorrow too? What are the FM's limits (apart nr. of connected users and nr. of hosted files) assuming good db design ? Thank in advance. Paolo.

Since this question has come up a few times, I thought I would post the Applescript solution to this problem here in the FAQ forum. If you are using a Mac with OS 8.6 or later, the following will allow you to select a desktop printer on the fly from a Filemaker script: 1. Create a Filemaker script. 2. Add a Perform AppleScript step. Click the "Specify..." button. 3. Select "Script Text", and paste the following code into into the text box: code: set RequestedPtr to "MyMainPrinter" tell application "Desktop Printer Manager" set CurrentPrtr to name of default printer end tell --See if the default printer is the one we want if CurrentPrtr is…

Hi, I'm a newbie to FM and just getting around in it. I have a database with a couple thousand fields that I've been asked to clean up. Is there any way to list or print which fields are not being used by any layout, and if there are any that are duplicate formulas/definitions of other fields. Thanks for any help!!!

Hi, I have been hired to build a database. I use to build them all the time, but I haven't done it in years. I have a few questions that I hope someone can help me out with and get me started in the right direction. First, the client has an office with 5 workers. One person will be entering the info into the database and the others want to stay current and only have the relavent info uploaded to their palm pilots. The problems are each person might need different info to be uploaded to their Palm. So for example the entertainment attorney might just need the entainment clients all sent to his palm and the defense attorney might only need the criminal clients in…

So, almost every serious FileMaker developer had some sort of standard for naming fields, relationships, etc. I personally started using CoreSolutions standards (http://coresolutions.ca/Resources/standards.lasso). I found that CoreSolutions' standards very helpful in my projects. Now with FileMaker 7, most of these standards are out the door. We need to come up with some standards for the new era. I've started on my own, primary standards to get the ball rolling. I'm hoping many of you will have some input on this subject. Relationship naming: -- New syntax could be something like this table name 1-[match field 1]#(table name 2)-[field name 2]|…

I'm learning to create profesional solutions and so have adopted these standads. But there are loads of the document I dont understand. If anyone can point me towards links/examples/answers I would be enlightened. 1) why are there two key id's? zc_record serial & zk_keyID_p? 2) How does the whole 'mark record' , 'save found set' process work with the zc_markRecord_u, zc_mark_gt & zc_currentRecNo_gn fields? 3) What is field modification tracing and when do you use it? i.e. zl_log 4) What is a floating 'palette' file for previewed reports? 5) It recommends haveing start scripts that checks that the 'main'fp5' is open and maximized. Is this d…

I Found this interesting article today.. PDF (36 PAGES) full of Information Writer: Wim Decorte I Call this article not an article but a serious Job for MA in a University fm_access_comparison.pdf

Hi List, I'm not sure which forum to post this question to, so I'll start here, and if I need to be redirected please let me know. When developing stand alone run time solutions I really HATE (yes, hate) the graphic that FMP displays upon closing the solution "created with FileMaker Pro" I don't mind giving Filemaker their well deserved Kudos, but it is not the last thing I want on my customers minds as they close one of my solutions. Is there a way to delete this? I have looked through the documentation exentsively and it either isn't there or I have missed it. I have a set of custom developed DB's that I distribute unique versions of to many customers a…

I am not sure if this is the right forum to be posting into, so please re-direct me if need be... I am creating a set of multiple databases as a custom solution for my company. I was hoping you could all share any tips and tricks you've found useful as your databases have grown in size (things you wish you had known or done earlier), thanks in advance to everyone that shares. Cheers! Version: v5.x Platform: Windows 2000

Lets face it, the Comment function is FileMaker just doesn't cut it. What sort of systems for documentin has any of you come up with, as far a making a large system transferable to another developer? I usually make ERD (OmniGraffle http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/) , with some notes (on paper) for development, and a Word manual for the users (going to switch to HTML I think). As well I follow the CoreSolutions Development Guildlines (http://www.coresolutions.ca/Resources/standards.lasso), which helps much. Without spending money on other software, what other methods are out there?

I am exploring options for user documentation formats for solutions created using FileMaker Pro. Specifically, whether our documentation should be in a PDF file, a set of HTML pages, or presented using some kind of help viewer as is common on both Macintosh and Windows operating systems. The idea of using a help viewer is particularly appealing for its consistency with the user experience of other applications on these platforms. However, glancing over developer documentation on how to use these help viewers it seems that you must call certain APIs within your application to implement them. Since we have a "FileMaker Solution" and not an actual application, therei…

This one has come up a couple of times in the last couple of weeks, so I figured it deserved a FAQ entry. The question is, given a database with a portal into a related file, how can you duplicate a record in the parent file and bring the data over from the portal. Simply duplicating the record doesn't do the trick. The only thing you need to add to your system is a global field in the child file which I'll call gNew_Parent_ID. In my example scripts below, Parent_ID is a field in both files that the relationship is based on and Child is the name of the relationship in the Parent file. In the child file, create the following script: Unsort Go to Record/Request/Page…

Hi ! Any ideas how to make a log file for FMP ? I would need to track users activities like "Create new record", "Delete record" etc. Arttu

Over the years I have put this db together for things I needed to keep track of. Now, I really need it to store lots of info and don't know what the best layout would be. I own an English School in Japan. And we are growing very big very fast. I started with a studentlist file just to keep track of what the students buy. Ie, books, videos, ect... then I expanded to a report card file that the teachers would fill out quartly. Then I portaled that to the student list. You can click on the report card ID# and go to that report. Then, our students pay a montly fee for class. And I wanted to see if a student had paid for a month, or if we had to adjust something. So, that has …

Hey all, I have been working with FMP for a long time now and have gotten alot of satisfaction from the development standards posted here, especially the one from CoreSolutions (thanks guys) Now my world has turned to the web in a major way. I am doing lots of codingin in CDML/HTML/Javascript etc. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on standard work habits that would keep me in line? Any genneral suggestions would be appreciated. Jerry

I'd love to start a thread to gather everyone's advice on the best system for implementing version updates of Filemaker solutions. There are a lot of great minds here, and I'd love to know what the best ideas are. I'm particularly concerned with implementing a version update in these conditions: a) Users are using the system all day - I have to develop in clones and then import the data into them There is always a concern that the data may have become corrupt - if I automate the export/import, how do i be sure I capture all the records. I've automated this for the past 1 1/2 years, but occasionally I lose records on the import! Very frustrating...makes me not tru…

A question that comes up regularly is: How can I select the printer's paper tray from a Filemaker script? The solution that I have found on Macintosh platforms is to use modified PPD files for the printer. The PPD file is modified so that it overrides the default tray selection that is normally chosen in the print dialog. So, you would create a special PPD file for tray 1, a special PPD file for tray 2, and a special PPD file for the manual feed slot. Then, using applescript, you set the appropriate PPD file for the pages that you will print. First, some information on PPD files. You can think of a PPD file as an instruction manual that is used by the generic posts…

In our organisation we have an older database containing about 4000 project records dating from 1997 to 2001. One of the users accesses this database on average about once per fortnight to check details about past projects. We mainly use the "current" Project database which contains about 1000 projects. I am considering consolidating all the records into ONE project database. I feel it would be simpler and neater to have all the records in one database, but is there really any point? Most of the older records are never accessed. Maybe I should just leave the older records in this "Archived" Project Database. Has anyone been in a similar situation and/or …

I would like to have your opinions on a design that we just did. We have made a big commercial solution that is for sale today and some of the points we get from users are about the graphics on the layout. Since this was a point for us then we did the solution we decided to change to new graphics. We have around 35 db a couple of hundred layout so its kind of labor intense to change the graphics. One of us come up with this brilliant id

I am looking for advise/suggestions on the documentation that should be created for a project. I have never developed a database before, have no formal training and was just thrown into this project a few months ago. It, like many projects, began as just a small project to track some general information. It has now grown to over 15 tables with over 500 fields. Before it get's even larger, I want to document what I have already worked on. Does anyone has any suggestions on how to tackle this, format it, how much detail should be documented, etc.? As a side note, most of my computer experience has been as a network administrator/engineer. Because this is a new, sm…

Hi, Is there a way to see if a database has crashed? If not...please tell me:) thnx & greetz Jeff

London, ON -- January 24, 2003

This is a re-post with additional info and is made with blessing of forum administration. My original posting was in the Relationships forum; responses offered sound advice if earlier versions of FMP were being used. But I am interested to know if use of relative addressing allows old rules to be broken. Here's the deal: I have a FMP 5.5 solution using related DBs that I want the user to be able to easily duplicate and to run as independent solutions on the same PC. Ideally, this will be as simple as duplicating the folder containing the dbs and giving the folder a meaningful name. It was suggested (prior to forum postings) that this would work if I use relati…

I'm using an invoicing/line items scenario. There is also another file for booking of equipment, which may or may not turn into an invoice later on. It's line items file is virtually identical to the invoicing line items file. So the question is, can't i just use the same line items file for two master files? There would be a few redundant fields in each record, depending on which master file was used to create the child record, but that shouldn't be a problem. The relational key should be enough to keep these records separate, shouldn't it? Seems to me that it would make importing easier and one less file to manage.

hope this is the right category... i'm trying to develop a multilingual solution. my plan is to have an extra file which holds the various translations. there would be a global field with a current language ID. proper alert boxes with the ShowMessage command can be displayed by checking for the ID. field labels and buttons are a bit trickier. i was thinking of having one record per item, with one field per language, plus an additional global field. during an initialization script, the global fields get stuffed with the proper language items, so they can be displayed in the other files. my worries are that this will lead to severe slowdown on a network or even a loca…

I wish i found this a month ago, before I spent it making something like this! http://www.filemaker.com/support/solutions_tools.html Go to it! Don't let this happen to you!

I've started adhering to the standards available through Core Solutions. I like most of the concepts and since I don't intend to live forever, I want my solutions to be easily deciferable by another developer. One thing that continues to plague me is the logic behind the naming of relationships. In the past I named them something logical - like "PatientZipCode". Instead, the Core Solutions standards would suggest I name this one: "zipCodes_#patientHomeZip#zip#patientDemographics" The problem I run into is that sometimes I can't remember what the hell the relationship was generated for, especially those that serve some obscure function and may be based on calc…

I've seen several references lately to R2D2, a FM database that is designed for documenting relationships? Can anyone tell me where I can download this db? I'm a tool junkie... And thanks!

To hide the complexity of most of my systems. I try to make the line items (that is, a standard one-to-many database) where they will not be stumbled opon by the users. Since most of the time they are not ment to me viewed by the users. The best way i have found is to: -Put the line item is another folder in the same directory as the master file. -In the startup script for it, and have a Toggle Window [Hide] What other methods do people use?

I'm looking to take my DB a step furthur and would like it to interact directly with ebay's API setup. Anyone have experience doing this? THanks -j

I want to develop a training CD for a solution. Lotus Screen Cam is supposed to capture the screen image with the mouse clicks and button pushes to a file, along with narration. You then can string up to 20 of these training session together, burn them to a CD and distribute them with the Screen Cam Player for no charge. Sounds good? The product seems to be pretty much unsupported, and was designed for Windows 95 (yup, you read it right). I get the infamous blue screen evrytime I try to run it on Win 98 SE. Does anybody know of another product that has similar funtionality?

In light of my recent tragedy, I have been re-thinking my backup method. Right now, I have a script that runs at closing to save a copy of the file to a backup folder. The thing is that this folder is only cleaned out by users arbitrarily, and it can become quite large if they have not cleaned it out for a while. I am sure that you guys have dealt with this and have much more experience at backing up solutions. Your methods and thoughts are greatly appreciated and should benefit everyone, including me. Ken

Can anyone offer advice on building large database systems with FileMaker? By large, I'm talking about over 100,000 records to begin, climbing to a million over the next few years. The largest system I've built before this was about 30,000 records, and I'm wondering what issues are going to come up with this extra level of magnitude. Any advice or tips would be appreciated, such as pros and cons of archiving, speed issues, replacing data vs. looping data, etc. Thanks, Chuck

A few people have posted questions to FMforums about how to use multiple buttons to trigger a single script and then have that script take different actions according to which button was clicked. Currently, there is no Status(CurrentButtonName) function to determine which button triggered the script, but here is another possibility. You can use the following concept to create a dynamic vertical tool bar on your layouts. It's based on the idea of putting buttons in a portal. It's simple. Create a related file with a key field, a button name field and/or a button icon field, other parameter fields, etc. Create a relationship in your main file to the dynamic button file bas…

Hello all! I was wondering if there was any rules regarding what a product is named. For example, I was thinking of a name for a solution I made, but I don't know if that name is already out there, or if it even matters. Thanks in advance for replies. Ken

I am developing a client administration tool in FMpro5 macintosh, and I am exploring the web to find out what a runtime solution can do and can't. First a dumb question, but perhaps not dumb after all (you know, dumb questions don't exist, only dumb answers..though forum administrators may have another opinion..) Can a Macintosh create a runtime solution that can be used on Windows? As for the limitations, I know this: (from filemaker.com) Database design features are not accessible in the runtime application But this puts up some questions too. Does it mean Lay-out mode is out of the question? As I am developing mail-merge functions (sending custom mad…

Hello! I was wondering if anyone has ever been able to implement something to prevent a solution from being operated on two different machines. For example, if you have a license for only one PC/user, preventing that same solution from working on another computer. Perhaps some little trick with scriptmaker or something. Thanks in advance. Ken

Hello. I created a stand alone runtime soln using FMP Dev 5.5. When closing the runtime, there is a little window that pops up and says "Made with FileMaker Pro 5.5..." Is there a way to get rid of this? Thanks, Ken

Over the past year, I've been honing my FMP skills creating a solution that tracks the individual components of educational product under development for my employer. The solution tracks as Master Item (the complete, built product as sold) and Component (everything that makes up said Master Item), with components relating back to the master via a generated serial number. The real "tracking" happens on the component level, with the master item acting as a way for all related info to be able to be changed at one time when needed. Works great, with no problems. In fact, I've done such a wonderful job with it, the Powers That Be want to be able to start tracking other ar…

This one more reason to use calculated values instead of serail auto enters: I'm employed full time doing misc FileMaker projets. I have one that is a invoicing system for a mail order dept. It has the basic invoice with lineitem database. Every week or so i have to do an update to fix-and-add :. In both the mentioned databases I use auto-entered serial numbers for the IDs. The way I do my work is to have my own copy of the databases on my computer, and another running on the server. I work on the copies on my computer and then import the current records from the active databases and put that copy on the server. Even though I have the ID set to be un…

I've seen it talked about in a negative way, like you really shoudn't do it unless necissary. Why is it considered bad to use?

Can someone tell me if FM has a database size limitation? Other database programs say they do, I didn't know if FM does too. Thanks in advance! Mish

opinion: ebussness solutions, enabling solutions, custom solutions.... Is it me or does that word mean "I dont really know whats going on so I'll call it a solution" of course its just my opinion, i could be wrong...

Hi... Kinda' new here and also using FM. I've had found this software very easy to use and manipulate... Our company is currently dealing with FM to create a database management software for educational institutions. However, I would like to know if there is any way to hide the menu bar. I found the scripts to toggle the tools, etc. but I can't find anything about hiding the bar that contains FILE, EDIT, etc. I was hoping to give our soft a more professional look by using FM but as a platform and not visible to users. Is there anyone out there that knows how to?

I would be very interested to hear how experienced FM developers deal with maintenance and upgrades of installed programs. Without a distinct "Routines Library" I guess this means exporting data from the old version and reimporting to the new. Do people use a script for this? Reference has been made in these posts to designing the database such that data and routines are separate though I didn't understand this. Thanks Simon Bowler In_Gj.zip

I am new at software designing and I have developed a software program with Filemaker Developer, but I don't know how to do an install program. Is there any software out there thats not to expensive that a novice could use to make a program automaticaly install from a CD-R to the hard drive and put it into archive at the same time without knowing any code?

Dealing with FM Server hosted files for many years, I have developed a trick that I do before turning a hosted file "on" - especially production files. I add several "extra" fields. I add these fields to a file just before hosting the file: ExtraText1 = text ExtraText2 = text ExtraText3 = text ExtraText4 = text ExtraText5 = text ExtraNum1 = Number ExtraNum2 = Number ExtraNum3 = Number ExtraNum4 = Number ExtraNum5 = Number ExtraGlobalText1 = Global Text ExtraGlobalText2 = Global Text ExtraGlobalText3 = Global Text ExtraGlobalText4 = Global Text ExtraGlobalText5 = Global Text ExtraGlobalNum1 = Global Number ExtraGlobalNum2 = Global Number Ext…

Since I am continually explaining this concept, I thought that I might post a FAQ on how to create a unique*, non-sequential**, non-random*** automatically entered record ID for you to use as the Primary key in your files for a relational database system. I give all of my files a PrimaryID_key, which is an auto-entered calculation into a text**** field. The calculation is the concatenation of the Filemaker internal RecordID, plus the current Date and the current Time. The calc is: Right( "000000" & Status(CurrentRecordID), 6 ) & "-" & Right( "000000" & Status(CurrentTime), 6 ) & "-" & Right( "000000" & Status(Current…

I'm about to complete my first project in FMP5.5 for a client. I'm converting a system from Access to FileMaker. Since it will be a multi-user system (1 NT server w/ 7 Win98 workstations; I currently have FMP 5.5 installed on a development laptop; and purchased but not installed FMP Dev 5.5). I think I will need to purchase FMP Server and a VLA 10-pack, and install that software on-site. There should be a way to install the clients such that they cannot create new FMP files, they may only use the server solution. I want to know how to make the interface layouts look as professional as possible. Any tips, suggestions, and hints would be greatly appreciated. Should the FM…

So simple it seems a stupid question, but nowhere have I found a true answer as yet. Here is the scenario... Computer 1 has fm5 installed with 4 relational db's. It is networked to computer 2 which has fm5.5 installed and acessing c1 via tcp/ip. C1 is where the all the fm files reside. C1 is directly connected to a printer and has a cd-rw for backups. C2 is in constant use with all fm files open. C1 is used intermittantly for data input and other programs. We need to take c1 out of service for intervals while repairs etc. are done. Can we install the same fm files on c2 as well as c1??.That is, have the same files residing on both computers. What will happen if…

Does anyone know of a good tool for creating ERD's (Entity Relationship Diagrams) for FMP db's? I would prefer it to be on Win, bit MAC is OK as long as I can have a tool to do this. Visio can do it for SQL, I believe, and Access has this feature built in. Appreciated.

This subject seems to arise frequently and can, indeed, be frustrating. It was suggested that I Post this in this area - so here it is for what it's worth. I realize that it has been a number of days since this topic was fist posted. However, for what it's worth, here is how I take care of the problem. I have several solutions that have been developed cross platform and all are placed on one CD for distribution. First: I suggest the purchase of a good "Installation" software package. I use "VISE" and find it to be excellent. It is a little pricey, so you might want to look around at little. Once you have the "installation" software installed and "mastered",(that can t…

When you have a multi-page layout for one record, the biggest problem that you will likely encounter is having the page break part way through a line of text, leaving a thin slice at the bottom of one page, and thin slice at the top of the next page. This is because FileMaker does NOT check to see if there is sufficient room on the page to print the next line. So, it could get cut off anywhere. The things that you need to do to prevent this are not immediately obvious. So, I will try to explain them here. Suppose that you want to create a print layout for a business letter which could be several pages long. For this discussion, we will assume that the body text of the l…

I've just tested the demo version of Analyzer 3.0, the analysis tool from Waves in motion. I must say that I am very impressed with what they have achieved! This is miles better than the "simple" DDR Report you can generate from FMP D.E. 5.5. It seems that you can get most information that you would like to know out of this tool! But I've heard that there has been problems with versions other than English of FM related to Analyzer. Waves in motion does not guarantee functionality for any other language than English, but they state that it "should work". According to my testing, most things seem to work fine when the DDR Report is exported from a Swedish version of FMP D…

Greetings all, After a few years of creating single-user standalone solutions and a couple of FileMaker-driven web sites I'm being asked to create multi-user network solutions for a couple of clients. I've adopted the standard of creating "opener" files to bypass FileMaker's Open... dialog, but I'm not really sure if I'm really taking the right approach. I'd love to hear from some more experienced developers out there. What my question boils down to is this: should the opener file do nothing but open databases hosted elsewhere on the network and then disappear, or is it good practice to include other functionality as well? So far, my opener files act as Main Menus for…

Back in the Stone Age when I built databases in the 1980s, different clients had different standards by which they wanted their programs/databases documented. I'm talking about System documentation, not User documentation. The standards were often part of the overall development methodology adopted by the team. I am currently freelancing rather than working for consulting companies and need to know what you young chickens are using for doc standards, if anything? I must have lost all my references back in the flood. Am I talking Ancient Arabic? Anyone follow any standards these days? Thanks ever so much, Kay.

I have the title of Database Administrator. I administer about 20 FileMaker databases across a network. I designed them for various individuals and their needs, and I do all the trouble shooting. Anybody out there have a written job description for a such a position? I can write my own, but if a model exists, it will be helpful. Thanks.

Ya know the trick where you put a single field on a layout then in a script do a "Copy All Records" then paste that in a global then goto related records? You can save a layout and the copy & pasting, by setting up a relationship to the file you are in locally. To first find all like data. Then set a global field using the design function. ValueListItems("FileName.fp5", "ValueListItem") Make sure the global is a text. It will result in a return seperated list.

It has been called by other things but this is the most considered term. A constant is a stored calculation field. Result is "1". This field can be used by a relationship where the constant from File A = the constant in File B by this approach you can pass data to global fields in File B. I have addopted the standard that each file I create gets a field which I call... iOne.

Question: How do I validate that a calculation field, such as a full name field, is unique? Answer: Here's the situation. You have two fields: First_Name and Last_Name, both of which are text fields. You also have a field Full_Name which is a calculation text field, set to First_Name & " " & Last_Name, that you want to ensure is unique. Unlike text, number, date and time fields, calculation fields don't offer any sort of validation. Here's at least how to validate that the calculation produces a unique value. First, you file must have a field the uniquely identifies each record. You should have this anyway, but if not, create a field called something lik…