We would like to display data from multiple tables in the form of charts on a single layout. Filemaker does not allow this, so I am seeking a work-a-round that is not going to significantly add to the overhead.

 

I have a solution that works.  It involves container fields and a script that runs at start up.  Unfortunately, this script dramatically slows the start of the database, especially if the database is accessed via VPN while away from work.

 

We are using FMP12 clients on Macs running OSX 10.8 or 10.9, and our database is hosted on a server running FMP12 Server.  Any ideas would be much appreciated.

I would probably use a 'robot' machine that runs on a schedule for this...

 

Create a starter file on a spare computer that runs the script described above, and then set the file to be run every x amount of time and then close down after.

I have a solution that works.  It involves container fields and a script that runs at start up.  Unfortunately, this script dramatically slows the start of the database

 

Have you determined if the slow-down is due to the time required to produce the charts (i.e. the time required to produce a report of the charted data) or due to the time required by your (undisclosed) solution to move the resulting chart/s to another layout?

Thanks for the 'robot' machine idea and the note about the cause of the slow operation.  I believe the slowness is because it takes time for the script to generate the various charts, not due to moving them about.  For this reason, the robot approach makes sense.  I am assuming that one can run the script in the robot file on a schedule from the server admin console so that the script runs after hours, say once a day?

I haven't tried running a script in one file that manipulates data in a second file, so this should be a great learning opportunity!  Thanks again for the help.