FMPug Newsletter - Edition 6 (June)

[andygaunt]

You really should check this out in HTML on the website at http://www.fmpug.com/newsletters/2006/june2006.html (Even if it is to check out the "theme" for the month!)

Hi Reader,

In this issue of the newsletter:

* DEVCON 2006 SPECIAL (a worldwide offer)

* MEETINGS AT DEVCON

* GRAPHIC SPOTLIGHT

* WHAT'S NEW AT FMPUG.COM

* GUEST SPEAKERS & NEW CHAPTERS

* FEATURE REQUESTS NOW OPEN

* BUSINESS DIRECTORY UPDATED

* NEW DISCOUNTS

* WHAT'S NEW MOVIE FOR JUNE

* FileMaker Professional Training Special

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A NOTE FROM THE PUG!

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Welcome to our June newsletter. Wow, can you believe we are into June already?! Seems like it was only last month I was shedding my winter coat (all over the house). This is an exciting time of the year for all of us FileMaker peeps, what with the annual developer conference just around the corner ...exciting stuff!

If this is your first newsletter, I welcome you. These newsletters are designed to give you a quick overview of the goings-on at FMPug and maybe sway some of you off the fence of to join. If you've been contemplating joining our family...come on down! It's really is good on this side and I promise not to bite!

Membership is available to anyone, anywhere

(local group not required). Join at http://www.fmpug.com/join.php

Kismet

FMPug Editor

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DevCon 2006 Special - Save $100 with FMPug

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Go ahead pinch yourself — you're not dreaming!

FMPug has secured an unprecedented discount with Advisor for the 2006 DevCon. ALL FMPug members can save $100 on the registration fee at this year's FileMaker Developer Conference.

All members, old or new, near or far are welcome to take advantage of this discount.

The DEVCON registration fee is $1095 before June 30th and $1295 after June 30th.

PUG members pay $995 before June 30th, and pay $1195 after June 30th.

Please note: The registration codes are tied to your FMPug account and will be checked by Advisor Media against those already processed. If a duplicate is received we will be notified to confirm validity of the claim.

(If you were viewing the HTML version right now you would see an animated advertisement here!)

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Meetings at DevCon

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We are very proud to announce that FMPug has agreed to host the User Group meeting at the Developer Conference this year. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday 18th August at 10am.

This meeting is designed for ALL who run or attend user groups, or those who are thinking about beginning their own group. It is important to emphasize this meeting is for everyone who has more than a passing interest in "devellopuser" groups, bottom line -- the more, the merrier! We have yet to hammer-out all the details and we welcome any/all input at this juncture. So, if you have yet to book your outbound flight, we hope you'll stay an additional day and hang out with us. Who knows what we will have up our sleeves!

If you are planning on attending DevCon, have you checked out the other Pre & Post sessions? Arrive early for some "Scripting Fundamentals" with Doug Gardner followed by a little "Entrepreneurship 101" with Douglas Rawson followed up with "Creating an Invoice Solution" by John Mark Osborne.

As my Gram used to say......

There is NO better way to start and end a good developer's conference than with a wee bit of FileMaker.

Okay, so my Gram didn't specifically ever mention FileMaker, but that shouldn't stop you from perusing the list of pre & post sessions. Go on... there might be something you just might like.

Check out the conference in more detail today. Just don't forget your $100 coupon code when signing up.

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GRAPHIC SPOTLIGHT

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FMPug is a union of so many different FileMaker Pro users and developers that we decided to represent this in our new look. Each of the individual silhouettes seen above represent a user/developer from a different background and we plan on showcasing one of them in each issue.

This month: The Vertical Market Developer

Our fourth silhouette represents the vertical market developer and we are pleased to welcome Matt Navarre as our interviewee this month. Matt is Chief Technology Officer of Pre1 Software. Pre1 Software is the developer of SmartPublisher, a suite of cross-platform, powerful yet easy to use tools designed to increase revenues while saving time and money.

Designed by people from the publishing industry, SmartPublisher puts all the information needed for ultimate efficiency and productivity at your fingertips. SmartPublisher strikes a careful balance by being full-featured without fluff; intuitively simple yet powerful; solid but remarkably flexible.

You can check out the Pre1 Software site at http://www.pre1.com

Q: Why did you join FMPUG?

I joined FMPug to start a chapter for our Portland user group, and also to get my business info in the directory.

Q: What benefits do you get from your membership?

Many new developers have found out about our user group through the site, which has helped increase attendance at meetings. Also, I've used the VTC web training, taken advantage of discounts to DevCon and bought a discounted a copy of Inspector. In the end, membership has saved more than it cost.

Q. Any last comments to our readers who are not yet members?

If you're going to DevCon, FMPug membership is a must, for the savings alone. If you're a consultant who wants to network with clients and other developers in your area, you need to be in the business directory. The site is also the perfect place to bring users who are skeptical about FileMaker web technology. It beautifully demonstrates what can be accomplished with a web site driven by FileMaker Server 8 Advanced and PHP

Thanks to Matt Navarre of Pre1 for taking the time to be our featured silhouette.

Next month our focus will be on the shrink-wrap developer.

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WHAT'S NEW AT FMPUG

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Want to know what we've been up to at FMPug 'Quarters? This is a great place to start.

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Guest Speakers & New Chapters.

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For all our regular readers, you know we enjoy placing the spotlight on new chapters and also highlighting guest speakers making an appearance. This month is no exception.....

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Orange County, CA - June 9th, 11am

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John Mark Osborne presents: How to build a calendar in FileMaker Pro 8

Most calendars out there use page long calculations and tons of relationships. John Mark is going to build a calendar solution with a monthly, weekly and daily view using only a few relationships. This is going to be built from the ground-up as to illustrate the individual steps. There will be copies of his calendar article present to use as reference material.

He will also be giving away a copy of his Calendar, Invoicing and FileMaker Reference solutions to attendees. RSVP early for this event.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: This meeting will be held at a special time and location. The meeting will begin at 11:00am, in lieu of the normal 9:00am start time. The Meeting will be held in the auditorium of the Newport Beach Police Department, 870 Santa Barbara Dr, Newport Beach, 92660. Directions will be included in your RSVP confirmation.

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Welcome Seattle to FMPug. - June 10th, 10am

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I would like to take a moment to welcome our newest chapter to FMPug. Laura Bowyer of Solution Makers, Inc. is the coordinator and host for this new chapter.

Laura writes: "We are excited to announce that we have opened a new FMPug chapter for the greater Seattle area. We're currently reviewing options for meeting dates, times and places. If you're interested in joining our chapter, please contact me directly (email is preferred) and let me know your preferences. We're considering alternating locations every other month between Seattle and Snohomish County as well."

You can RSVP for any of the FMPug meetings at http://www.fmpug.com/rsvp.php

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Feature Requests now open - http://www.fmpug.com/feature_requests.php

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We are constantly racking our collective brains trying to think of new ways to improve the services offered by FMPug. Then we got to thinking (it hurt but we took a hit for the team)....who knows what the members want more than members?! (We thought it was a stroke of genius as well.) And to that end, feature requests was born.

Add a feature - All members and visitors are now able to submit feature requests. In fact, you can add bug, update and new feature requests. So, if there is something you think needs a bit of tweaking to make FMPug a stronger, faster and more feature-filled site, this is the place to let us know.

Place your vote - FMPug members can also give a "Thumb's Up" or "Thumb's Down" to any feature in the list. (We thought about using paws, but we noticed neither of the dogs were sporting opposable thumbs - so we decided to go with our backup.) This will help us determine the interest in particular requests and focus our development time.

Current Feature requests include:

* Tips & Tricks (including layout, scripts, custom functions, php, javascript)

* SMS My Cell (for business cards listed in the business directory)

* More search options for the Business Directory

So, if you have an idea on how to improve FMPug, let us know via the Feature Request page

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Business Directory Updated - http://www.fmpug.com/member_directory.php

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Since we were already donning our thinking caps, we thought we'd knock out another feature or two before all this thinking simply addled our brains. We had reached a point where the business directory was suffering from growing pains. We needed to devise a plan as to how we would accommodate the growing numbers, simply, easily and with a bit of panache. Not to toot anyone's horn (least of all our horn) but we think you might be pleased with the results thus far.

At first glance you'll notice the 3 mile long list has been replaced by a scrollable table. (Yes, we recognized the ten minutes of scrolling was a bit much!) This makes for a more concise page and allows you to select the details pertinent to you.

So, you can still filter by category, but in addition you now have the ability to do a "spotlight" style search on any piece of information on the card. This IS sensitive to the category as well, so if you search for "FileMaker 8 Certified Developers" and then add CA (for California) you will only see those certified developers in CA.

visit http://www.fmpug.com/member_directory.php to see it in action.

But I liked the business card!

Have no fear, you can still see those cards. Now you simply click on any line in the table and, voila, their card will instantly populate below the table. Oh, did we mention you never lose focus on your search either? This makes it a piece of cake when browsing the member profiles.

From the detailed profile you will not only see the card but also a short profile about the member. While you are here, if you need to grab the persons contact info, why not click the vCard link? All their details are brought into your local address book, including the overview.

But wait, what is this Personal directory thingy?

I am glad you noticed. This is a brand new feature for the business directory where as a member, you can place any number of listings in your Personal Directory. So, if you need a certified 8 developer from Australia, you could add Ray Cologon or David Heads cards to your immediate directory. This way if you need their information quickly, it's right there.

But couldn't I just put their information in my own address book?

Indeed you can. However, the Personal Directory has another trick up its sleeve too. Once you add a contact to your address book it monitors any changes in their details. If their details have been updated since you added their listing, their record will be highlighted to indicate new/updated information is available.

Now, you can check out Ray's new information, download it via vCard if necessary and then just click the icon to reset the last date you updated their information.

So from now on, you'll always be up-to-date and on top of your game.

(C' mon, be honest it's pretty sweet huh? Yeah, we thought it's definitely the dog's bollocks too! Yeah, definitely the dog's bollocks.)

visit http://www.fmpug.com/member_directory.php to see it in action.

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New Discounts & Specials

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To help you keep abreast of the current offerings, we thought we would list a few of our favorite "Discounts & Specials" that are out there for the taking. It's just one more perk of membership with FMPug (you are a member aren't you?)

Save $100 on DevCon 2006 registration

FMPug has secured an unprecedented discount with Advisor for the 2006 DevCon. ALL FMPug members can save $100 on the registration fee at this year's FileMaker Developer Conference.

All members, old or new, near or far are welcome to take advantage of this discount.

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Omni Group Products: 40 Percent Off

The Omni Group offers productivity applications exclusively for Mac OS X including:

OmniWeb, OmniOutliner and OmniGraffle.

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MacTech Magazine: Now For All Mac Geeks, 60 Percent Off

Normally $47.00 per year (US), user group members can receive 8 issues of MacTech Magazine for only $19.95 (US). International: $49.95 (US),

Canadian: $29.95 (US).

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Webstractor: Beyond Browsing at 25 Percent Discount

Webstractor lets users capture and edit web-based content. Way beyond a browser, it captures pages in two ways, turning them into offline-readable and quickly-searchable documents. Apart from capturing pages as they are browsed, the new "Radar" feature pings pages the user designates, automatically capturing changed pages or changed pages containing specific keywords.

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Wiley Books: Save up to 40 Percent

Wiley is offering special discount pricing on their technology books.

Choose from hundreds of invaluable resources in best selling series such as For Dummies, Visual, Sybex and Wrox. Whether you are looking for a title on Mac OS X, Xcode programming, digital cameras or Photoshop, Wiley has a how-to reference just for you.

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Save 10% off the new Grokit Palette tool

FMPug has secured a 10% discount coupon for the new tool that will be indispensable for FileMaker developers.

Check out the Discounts & Specials from your FMPug member homepage today.

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WHAT'S NEW MOVIE FOR JUNE

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The "What's New" movie for June will make its debut June 5th. So, grab a soda, some popcorn and let us show you "What's New" in the world of FileMaker.

Keep in mind, content for the movie includes FileMaker Inc, 3rd party products and services as well as goings-on at FMPug.com. If you'd like to be featured in the What's New movie for June drop us an email.

Well, that just about wraps-up this newsletter for another month.

Don't forget to stop by the web site. And if you are not yet an official "pugger" what are you waiting for? Stop letting others get all the benefits of membership and start taking some of them for yourself. Join today and get in the mix.

Cheers!

FMPug Quarters team

[email protected]

http://www.fmpug.com