Runtime Exiting Splash Screen. Any way to off it?

[TFM]

This is my first post but I've done a few searches and didn't see anything on this so...

I just purchased FMP 6 Dev for a project I have been roped into.

The last time I'd used FMP was V4. Back then you had an option to turn off the exit splash screen. But it's gone in the v6 RunTime creator.

Is there any hidden feature to disable this exit screen? So far my first client has been rather testy about this screen. Claims it's annoying and takes too long to display. This is not the kind of feedback you want to hear. :-(

So if anyone has any tips or tricks to remove it, even less then proper ones, I'm all ears.

Thanks

[Lee Smith]

Nope. Was changed in version 5, and we are stuck with it.

[danjacoby]

It's actually illegal to disable that screen; this is the price you pay for an inexpensive method of distributing multiple, royalty-free copies of your solution. It's a small price. Tell the client that there are more expensive methods of getting rid of it (such as buying his/her own copy of Filemaker Pro so you don't have to create a runtime).

[BertBoye]

OK, if it is illegal to disable the screen let us hide the screen with a new

[Lee Smith]

Sorry Bert

You would have to use something like Resedit, which would be a violation of your license agreement.

Lee

[BertBoye]

How can it be illegal to start a new program? One second after or so that filemaker closes I start a new program that hides the screen, is this illegal?

[Lee Smith]

Sorry Bert, I missed read your post. I thought you meant replacing the splash with a custom splash screen. I'm not sure how or why you would startup a second standalone file to cover this up? Wouldn't you eventually have to see the splash screen?

Lee

[BertBoye]

Lee,

This is how we have done it on all our runtimes. We have made a small program in C++ that starts from a script in FMP with a pause x seconds depending on how many files has to be closed and this program only do one thin hides filemaker screen, simple!!

[Lee Smith]

Very creative. I would love to see this in action.

Lee

[BertBoye]

What operating system?

[danjacoby]

If I understand Bert's C++ program, the screen effectively freezes during the time when the splash screen would be showing. At least, that's what the user sees.

Personally, I would find that much more annoying than seeing the splash screen, not to mention that it's ILLEGAL.

[Fitch]

I agree with Dan about the annoyance factor. However, although this method surely violates the spirit of the license agreement, does it really violate the terms?

[BertBoye]

Ok let me try to explain this and please tell me what is ILLIGAL about starting programs.

I have a small program with an information screen telling the user that the db is closing and so on. This program has nothing to do with Filemaker it just an information from us the developer about our solution. We do not change any dll

[Lee Smith]

Hi Bert,

OS 9.1

Hi Dan,

It may be annoying, I like to judge these things for myself. IMHO, FileMaker's closing Screen is more than annoying, It's a stupid way to advertise their application, and it's a subliminal attempt to take credit for the developers efforts.

I can't fathom how this would violate their agreement, since you are not altering their application, you're merely having it close behind another applications. Provided of course that I read Bert's post correctly.

Lee

[danjacoby]

You're covering the splash screen. This splash screen is the (very minor) price you pay for being able to sell unlimited copies of your solution royalty-free. Remember, you're not really creating software; you're creating a solution within another company's software package. They deserve some of the credit too.

In older versions, you were (theoretically) not allowed to distribute unlimited copies of your solution. Filemaker realized that there was no way to enforce this restriction, so they came up with the splash screen instead.

As far as the annoyance factor goes, you still have to wait for it to close, and as Gertrude Stein never quite said, "A wait is a wait is a wait."

[Lee Smith]

[cjaeger]

how nice of Filemaker, Inc. that thy do not require you to show the Filemaker logo on every webpage created with CDML.

As far as the closing screen goes:

It is annoying. It is a good thing they require you to provide an "About ..." Layout. Maybe they could also require you to include a Filemaker logo on the "About ..." layout. But then leave it at that.

They should not copy every bad habit of Macromedia (director).

On the Mac, you can try to cover the Exit Window with a simple show dialog() applet.