One of the most exciting applications of AI-powered chatbots is that they can directly interact with your FileMaker data. Whether you’re in customer service, accounting, operations, or technical support, an AI chatbot can help streamline tasks, reduce errors, and surface information instantly—no more endless clicking through layouts and fields. Includes sample file and video.
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If your team collects field notes, service updates, support comments, or quick entries from mobile devices, you know how inconsistent and unstructured text can be. Misspellings, shorthand, scattered thoughts, and long explanations can make important information hard to understand. With the AI capabilities available in FileMaker 2025, you now can clean up messy notes, generate clear summaries, and translate text into other languages directly inside your solution.
Our AI text manipulation tool turns everyday entries into organized, professional content that your team can actually use. All it takes is a single script, a few prompts, and the built-in FileMaker AI script steps. Once configured, these tools can transform the way you manage written information in your system.
What You Can Do with AI Text Manipulation in FileMaker
Text Summarization
AI can condense long or disorganized notes into short, helpful summaries. This is ideal for technician logs, support tickets, project updates, or any place where information is captured quickly and becomes difficult to review later. Instead of reading through several paragraphs, users get a concise overview that highlights the key points.
Professionalize Text
Field notes are often typed quickly on mobile devices and may contain spelling issues, inconsistent grammar, or incomplete thoughts. AI can rewrite these entries in clear, polished language that is suitable for customers, managers, or reporting. The original intent is preserved, but the message becomes easier to read and understand.
Translate to Other Languages
With a single request, FileMaker can translate text into German, Spanish, or another language of your choice. The system can automatically select a stronger model for translation accuracy when needed. This helps teams communicate more clearly with multilingual customers or international partners.
Custom AI Instructions
If you need something more specific, you can provide your own instruction. You might ask AI to shorten the content, rewrite it in a friendly tone, remove unnecessary details, or create a one-sentence summary. FileMaker passes your instruction directly to the model so you maintain full control over the output.
One Script for All Actions
All text manipulation functions can run from the same script. The script reads a parameter that tells FileMaker whether the user wants summarization, translation, professionalization, or a custom request. This approach makes your solution easy to maintain and allows you to expand your text tools as your needs grow. The script also handles AI account configuration, model selection, streaming behavior, and response parameters.
Try It Yourself
You can experiment with these features using the free unlocked demo file included in the FileMaker Features and Free Resources course at Productive Computing University. Enter your OpenAI API key, choose your text action, and watch the result appear instantly inside FileMaker.
AI text manipulation is one of the simplest and most practical enhancements you can add to your workflow. It improves clarity, reduces errors, and helps your team work more efficiently with the information they already collect.
Get the free demo file FAQs About AI Text Manipulation in FileMaker
What version of FileMaker do I need to use AI text manipulation?
AI text manipulation features require FileMaker 2025 or later. These versions include the built-in script steps needed to send prompts to an AI model and return the results directly into your FileMaker fields.
Do I need an OpenAI account to use these features?
Yes. To run any of the AI text manipulation examples, you need an OpenAI API key. The demo file from Productive Computing University includes a field where you can paste your key so you can test summarization, translation, and text cleanup immediately.
Does FileMaker handle the entire AI process automatically?
Once you configure your AI account and model, FileMaker handles the request, sends the prompt, receives the response, and streams the result back into a field. You can customize parameters like verbosity, reasoning effort, or model selection depending on your needs.
Can this help with mobile or field-collected notes?
Yes. This feature is especially helpful for mobile workflows where notes are entered quickly or inconsistently. AI can clean up typos, improve clarity, and translate content so your team can work more efficiently with the information they already collect.
Other products and services Productive Computing, Inc. offers:
What can PCI do for you? – Overview Video of Productive Computing Services Consulting and Development – services billed by the hour Maintenance and Support – services billed monthly Packaged Services – flat fee for Health Assessment, Server Installation, etc. Plug-ins – tools to integrate with QuickBooks, Outlook, Google, etc. Core CRM Pro – customizable and scalable CRM built on FileMaker Claris and FileMaker Licensing – discounts on new seats and renewals FileMaker and QuickBooks Hosting – options to host your files in the cloud Productive Computing University – free and paid online video training courses for beginner to advanced users and developers

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There’s a perfect irony in traveling thousands of miles to attend a conference about technology that can make travel obsolete. Video calls beam our faces across continents, AI assistants answer questions faster than any human, and collaboration tools that allow seamless handoffs.collaboration tools seamless handoffs. Yet Todd Geist and I boarded actual planes to sit […]
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Whether you're new to developing in FileMaker or have been using it for a while, unless you’re already familiar with standard timestamp formats and have experience working with external systems, there are several important things to understand about using dates, times, and timestamps within FileMaker — especially when integrating with other systems and APIs.
In this part of our series, we’ll explore a helpful suite of custom functions which serves as a solid foundation for nearly anything related to dates and times in FileMaker. By storing these functions within our Launcher tool, we can easily copy and paste them into any other solution we build.
Click the title or link to this article to view the video.
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The Outlook Manipulator plug-in makes it easy to connect your Claris FileMaker solution with Microsoft Outlook and the new Microsoft 365 Outlook (we refer to it as Outlook Remote). Whether you want to centralize contacts, archive emails, manage calendar events, or automate communication, Outlook Manipulator gives you the tools to make Outlook an integrated part of your FileMaker workflow.

Direct Integration with Outlook Remote and Outlook Classic
Outlook Manipulator supports both modern and traditional connection methods. You can connect directly to Microsoft 365’s Outlook Remote using the  Microsoft Graph API or continue using Outlook Classic installed on your desktop. This flexibility lets you choose the integration method that best fits your environment and ensures long-term compatibility as Microsoft continues to evolve its Outlook and Exchange platforms.
With direct access through the Graph API, FileMaker can communicate with Outlook Remote and Exchange data without needing the desktop application. This approach streamlines setup, improves reliability, and future-proofs your FileMaker solution.
 Seamless Data Exchange and Automation
Outlook Manipulator allows you to push and pull data such as emails, contacts, and calendar events between FileMaker and Outlook. You can also automate these processes using FileMaker Server, enabling your system to synchronize data or send communications in the background.
Common uses include:
Archiving Outlook messages in FileMaker for easy searching and reporting Automating email notifications, contact updates, or event scheduling Managing meetings and sending invitations directly from FileMaker Keeping Outlook and FileMaker data updated across an entire team With both client-side and server-side options available, you can deploy Outlook Manipulator for individual users or organization-wide automation.
Streamlined Learning and Ready-to-Use Tools

To help developers and teams get started quickly, Productive Computing University offers the free Connect FileMaker to Outlook course. This hands-on training walks you through every step of setting up and using the plug-in, from installation to advanced use cases such as sending HTML emails and creating an email archive in FileMaker.
The plug-in also includes an unlocked demo file and comes preconfigured in Core CRM Pro, a free FileMaker CRM template, with built-in Outlook Manipulator scripts.
One Unified Plugin for Modern FileMaker Solutions
Outlook Manipulator brings together years of development into a single, unified plug-in that supports both local and cloud-based workflows. With support for Microsoft 365, improved authentication through OAuth, and options for automation via FileMaker Server, it provides the flexibility and reliability developers need to keep their systems current and connected.
How to Get Started
Download the demo file and plug-in, enroll in the free training course, or explore the Core CRM Pro template to see how Outlook Manipulator can transform the way your team manages communication and data.
Get the plug-in! Other products and services Productive Computing, Inc. offers:
What can PCI do for you? – overview of our services Health Assessment – a comprehensive report of your FileMaker system Consulting and Development – services billed by the hour Maintenance and Support – services billed monthly Packaged Services – Security Audit, SSL or Server Installation Plug-ins – tools to integrate with QuickBooks, Outlook, Google, and more Solutions – free customizable and scalable CRM template Claris and FileMaker Licensing – discounts on new seats and renewals FileMaker and QuickBooks Hosting – host your files in the cloud Productive Computing University – online beginner to advanced training courses Certification Programs – expert-led training, hands-on development, and personalized evaluations
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