Get ( ApplicationFonts )

[Stuart Taylor]

The list of fonts in the users FileMaker Font list or the browsers available fonts for use in specifying a font and testing to see if a specified font is installed.

[Stuart Taylor]

Please Vote

[Genx]

I voted yes, but on the other hand I don't know... I dump font's in install packages in either case, what would you do if the font wasn't installed?

[fabriceN]

I don't think this is so urgent, as compared to bug fixes.

My wish list would be "fix the huge bugs and make all options dynamic."

As for now, you can already know if a font is installed or not, you can already use a webviewer and this tricky technique http://www.webreference.com/dhtml/column30/

or this one (Macromedia Adobe Flash required) - read this for a clear explanation.

HTH

[Genx]

  Quote

fix the huge bugs and make all options dynamic

Could you expand on what the "huge bugs" are, and which options you wanted dynamic?

[fabriceN]

Well, for example, the fact that in 2007, a line of text can be splitted in the middle between 2 pages sounds quite unbelievable to me (and my clients seem to agree... )

The thing in the GTRR script step is quite one too

Set Next Serial Value without a field set still doesn't work...

As for not dynamic options Sort orders, Go To Field, Set Field, GTRR, Install Menu Set, all PDF/printing options, Custom Dialog buttons and input fields, layout object color and layout formatting, Layout Setup dialog options such as margins, default menu set...

In general : every check box or drop-down menu, as well as the color/font palettes should be next to a "Specify" button.

[Genx]

  Quote

a line of text can be splitted in the middle between 2 pages sounds quite unbelievable to me (and my clients seem to agree...

... don't really understand that, if you mean a word hyphenated, then maybe? You have to remember though that this is a database application.

  Quote

The thing

Apparently it was designed this way... but i agree it is annoying -- but not a "HUGE" issue that requires immediate rectification.

  Quote

Set Next Serial Value without a field set still doesn't work...

Don't get that one...

As for the rest, what i don't necessarily see an immediate need for in terms of dynamics: GTRR, Install Menu Set, Printing -- OS controlled - even word doesn't save print settings... Every Check box or Drop-Down Menu, not sure what you're getting at there.

All in all, i'm not sure all of those qualify as any more "Urgent" than Get(ApplicationFonts) especially seeing as the function would seem to be comparatively quite easy to add given that they already load font's on start up. On a related note, just because you don't see the use for something, doesn't mean some one else doesn't. If you're as creative as Stuart is (I'm not saying you're not creative) you may realize a few applications for font's that I've personally never seen before in relation to affecting layout object colors... but that's something you should talk about him with i f you're interested.

[fabriceN]

  Quote

... don't really understand that,

Well, just type a long text in a field. If the field has to be printed on more than one page (even easier to see with a portal), the last line of first page can be splitted horizontally.

Even DOS word processors could manage page breaks !

  Quote

Don't get that one...

OK, not THAT urgent, but would save many long upgrade scripts. This script step proposes a checkbox to choose a field (just like the Set Field script step), but if you don't check it, it just doesn't work (normal behavior would be to define next serial value of current active field.)

  Quote

As for the rest, what i don't necessarily see an immediate need for in terms of dynamics: GTRR, Install Menu Set, Printing -- OS controlled - even word doesn't save print settings... Every Check box or Drop-Down Menu, not sure what you're getting at there.

Are we talking about a development environment or not ? Word is a word processor.

Don't you find strange that you have to write 2 Export as PDF steps within IF statements if you wish the pdf to open automatically or not.

Now if you want to print Current Record or Records being browsed (not dynamic either) it makes a 4 If statement script... multiply by the number of options...

Find it hard to believe that you're happy with hard-coding every sort !

As for Get ( ApplicationFonts ), I think I answered and gave 2 ways of doing it... without having to wait for next version :B

[Genx]

  Quote

2 Export as PDF steps within IF statements if you wish the pdf to open automatically or not.

Well not really... you either want to open it after export, or not... It's two lines vs 100 in a real programming language. Don't really mind. Though okay, i admit it would probably be useful.

Problem is with the webviewer idea, that script takes a while to load and render... the Webveiwer needs to be shown while it's checking the fonts... so that would be about 10s worth.

I suppose you COULD do it via flash... but you COULD also manipulate printing via applescript and vbscript...

Can you screenshot what you mean re: the line split?

Anyway point is, a lot of things would be nice, all i personally want though is a connection to MySQL which you would probably find useless, and also maybe a progress bar, which again you may find useless. Problem is they can't cater for everyone and keep everything simple at the same time...

For a range of requests... http://www.fmpug.com/filemaker_feature_requests.php

That's 175 requests, as much as i want most of them, i don't realistically expect FMI to integrate event a tenth.

But i've gone way off-topic here.

:offtopic:

[fabriceN]

  Quote

i personally want though is a connection to MySQL which you would probably find useless

Never said so !

Sorry to mention my own work, but being the author of the LayoutProperties and being working at this very moment on another 'big thing' (from my point of view) based on 8.5 features, I don't think I can be suspected of denying new features value.

Despite this, I have to admit that I spend a great part of my days of work doing things I really think a professional development environment should be able do for me.

I sometimes describe FileMaker to newcomers this way I like it and hate it because FileMaker is the only programming tool where, if you throw a coin in the air, you'll have to find a trick for it to fall down.

It is sometimes nice, but also sometimes frustrating.

Edited April 29, 2007 by Guest

[Stuart Taylor]

hmmmmmm

I just want a list of Fonts installed on the machine.

The Javascript examples don't cut it.

I don't care about priorities. I just want a list of fonts.

Giving a user a list of fonts that may not be on the users machines is not particularly professional.

:backtotopic:

[David Jondreau]

  Quote

It's two lines vs 100 in a real programming language.

I'm surprised to hear you imply that FM is not a real programming language.

[Genx]

FM is a development environment just like visual studio is a development environment. The primary difference is that FM is geared towards the development of databases, whilst visual studio is geared towards the creation of programs.

When i say a "real" programming language i'm implying line by line coding of everything in notepad lol i.e. VBScript (though even that is based on the architecture of windows). In FileMaker, while you are programming, the majority of the work is done for you -- It is not a "real" "programming" language in this case. It is however a set of rules and regulations that allow us to manipulate the actions of FileMaker, but doesn't give us a lot of freedom in the actual OS environment.

Though okay, i'll give you that I am contradicting myself with the terms i used. Point i'm trying to get accross is that if the developers were to give us all the freedom we wanted, it would regress into line by line scripting to achieve everything we wanted -- in which case you might as well just code in C, or C++ or Visual Basic.

I know FM has it's faults, but it's ease of use is what appeals to most users... at least at first.

P.S. I am by no means trying to defend FMI, personally, if we're going to be restricted to the extent that we are, I think we need a lot more features.

P.S.S. I mentioned this was off-topic because frankly i'm not feeling very smart of late (argumentatively that is) and i didn't want to get into it (not that it's anyone's fault but mine)

Edited April 30, 2007 by Guest

[fabriceN]

Sorry Stuart for having slipped away from topic, but I'm sure you'll agree that a poll on a wished feature implies the idea of priority, as every new feature is fundamentally something everyone would agree to have.

But, let's go back to topic. Look at the second technique (the Flash based one), it really does what you want.

You could run it at your solution launch and set a global or a global variable with the result.

[comment]

I haven't tried either, but it seems both techniques get the list of available fonts into Javascript. While this may be good for displaying the list in web viewer, I don't see a way of getting it into Filemaker.

[Genx]

Well you can extract the content using a function I can't be bothered looking up now ( something like GetLayoutObjectAttribute( name ; "content" )-- but the point is the whole process really isn't anywhere near instantaneous.

[comment]

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. You can extract the contents of the page source. But if the page was written by Javascript, the "content" is not in the page source.

[Genx]

Really? Hmmm, that's interesting. Write something in PHP then.

Oh right, but then PHP is server side... hmmm.

VBScript? Anywho, i'll leave you guys to work this out :B

Edited April 30, 2007 by Guest

[Stuart Taylor]

Dear FileMaker Inc,

Please could you add the function...

Get ( ApplicationFonts )

:B