Developer 5 manual/bible

[Pierson1253]

I have pretty much learned how to build a good

database with FileMaker Pro 5.0. Now my boss

wants me to bind it into a standalone executable

application. Something I've never done before.

I have the Developer's Guide that came with the

software, but it's not very good. I need some-

thing more comprehensive. I've looked and only

come across the manual once on a website; and it

said the book was not available at this time.

Does anyone know where I can find/buy this book,

new or used?

[SteveB]

Unfortunately, niether that book or any of the books I've looked at talk about building standalone apps. The Filemaker documention and this web site are probably your best tools. The actual binding is no big deal. A bigger issue is how to handle the user interface eg. do you provide all of the user's navigation? do you use any of FM's menus? How do you handle errors like recovering a file?

[Pierson1253]

I didn't design the databases that are to be bound. The person who did that phase isn't here anymore. I've been teaching myself FileMaker as I am now the database manager. One of my bigger problems is that the things you asked me about are out there, but he had a way of saving things all over creation. And there are a lot of redundant copies of the same files everywhere.

Navigation: He provided all of the users' navigation with buttons that duplicate across each and ever screen. Most of the options on FM's menus are unavailable to the user. I recall seeing a file called "file recovery" somewhere in the mess, so I'm sure it's included in there somewhere.

FileMaker Developer 5 (Developer Tool) utility application "creates a stand-alone runtime database solution that does not require the FM Pro application". I am now reading the Guide for this 'tool' for the 3rd time. It's rather circular in nature, and hard to follow.

Yes, I'm dazed and confused in Sacramento.

[danjacoby]

Once you have a solution, you can create a stand-alone version with FMP Developer. The best way to learn it (I think) is to open it and follow the steps, then see what went wrong and try again.

There are a few things you need to do if you are distributing the bound (i.e. standalone) solution -- layouts for license agreement, "About" (with contact numbers for tech support that you must provide), etc. -- but if it's just for in-house use, you should be fine.

One more caveat: You can only bind solutions for Windows on a Windows machine, and solutions bound for Macs on a Mac; there are different subsidiary files required for each platform.

Meanwhile, there are the bulletin boards here to help you along. Mazel tov.