What is a control script step?

[Charity]

Ok so I was reading something here about Get(LastError) and so I was looking it up and help said

 

"When you perform a script that uses this function with control script steps, the control script steps do not clear the last error condition reported by FileMaker Pro."

 

so my question is what is a control script step?  I have looked everywhere for a meaning and when I view the script steps, there is no 'control' section for the steps so I do not know what this quote above even means. Can someone explain it please or provide an example?  Thank you.

[comment]

so my question is what is a control script step? 

 

http://www.filemaker.com/help/13/fmp/en/html/scripts_ref1.36.1.html#1100100

 

 

when I view the script steps, there is no 'control' section for the steps

 

Do you not have this:

 

[Charity]

Thank you.  I think FM Help is terrible in searching here is the result I had gotten when trying to find the answer

 

As for that popup, I had never noticed it before.   I appreciate your help and now reading it again and knowing control script steps it makes more sense I think.

[Mark Scott]

Hi Charity,

 

I only infrequently find myself searching Help (just my approach, maybe).  Instead, I keep the main FM Help page bookmarked (which has direct links to Script step, etc. reference sections), as well as keeping more direct bookmarks to reference pages for functions, script steps, triggers, error codes, etc.  Comes in very handy for looking up the expected or returned values for functions I don't use as often, not to mention those all-important error codes!

 

hth,

 

Mark

[Lee Smith]

Hi Mark,

 

That is a nice tip.

 

I’ve been using this method to access the Online Help using the URLs for a few years now, the biggest reason I adopted it was the increase in speed to get to what I was looking for, compared to the built in FileMaker Help. In addition, I hate the that the built in wants to be on top of my work. 

 

I also have 11 and 12 Helps bookmarked too.

 

Lee 

[Charity]

Thanks guys that helps me.  I have now bookmarked your link Mark thank you.  Many times I search help for things that are there but they do not come up.  And google gives me too many results which are irrelevant.  Searching here is not much better than Help sorry to say because I love this website otherwise.

 

Comment, what did you type search to find Control script steps?  I see that "control script" does work but so should "control script step" and it does not.  I am looking for the secret on what works in searching and what does not.  It amazes me how many times searching Help fails only for me to find the exact phrase later by accident.  Can I make search more global so it works better?  Are there any secrets to finding information I need?

[comment]

Comment, what did you type search to find Control script steps?

 

I never search the help, because the built-in help is too slow on my computer and the online help cannot be searched.

 

Well, not easily, anyway. Suppose you enter this into Google's search box:

control script step site:http://www.filemaker.com/help/

I believe this will be your first result:

http://www.filemaker.com/help/12/fmp/html/scripts_ref1.36.1.html

[Charity]

It works perfectly.  

 

This will save me so much heartache in searching help and I will use this all the time.  I have it as a Stickie.  

 

Does anyone know how to delete a Stickie once I create it?  I have a hundred of them now and they all display at once and many of them can be deleted but there is no way to delete them.  This is on my new Mac laptop with Maverick. I select the one I want to delete and go to Edit but the delete is grey.  I have tried everything.

[doughemi]

Just click the Close box in the top left corner,  A dialog will appear asking if you want to save it.  Click "Don't Save".

[Charity]

On control script steps may I ask one more question please

 

If I have the following script, which may not be logical but it helps me understand

 

Set Field [ this field ; a value ]

Loop

Get(LastError)

 

then if error happens in Set Field, the fact that the Loop is there and it is control step does not replace or remove an error if it happened on the Set Field.  Is this what it is meaning?  That control script steps do not produce errors themselves so they do not stop a prior error.  Hard to explain.

 

Here is my fear - that I will depend upon getting a last error and something will interfere.  I still have to test sub scripts because I am afraid they will not act like control steps and they will not pass errors back to main script but I have not test that yet.  Somebody just responded here, I got a message, so I will stop now.

[Charity]

Thank you Doug.  When I hovered top left it just turned into resize bar instead.  I see now that if I ignore the resize indicator and click it asks to delete.  I guess Mac thinks dual purpose is okay but it is not good.  Why not put an x next to it.  

[comment]

If I have the following script, which may not be logical but it helps me understand

 

Set Field [ this field ; a value ]

Loop

Get(LastError)

 

then if error happens in Set Field, the fact that the Loop is there and it is control step does not replace or remove an error if it happened on the Set Field.  Is this what it is meaning?  will not pass errors back to main script but I have not test that yet.  Somebody just responded here, I got a message, so I will stop now.

 

Yes, that's what it means. You could actually test this by calling a script step that's known to produce an error, for example:

Set Field By Name [  ]

followed by:

Loop
 Exit Loop If [ 1 ]
End Loop
Show Custom Dialog [ Get ( LastError ) ]

As opposed to:

Set Field By Name [  ]
Loop
 Select Window [ Current Window ]
 Exit Loop If [ 1 ]
End Loop
Show Custom Dialog [ Get ( LastError ) ]

where the Select Window[] step will overwrite the LastError register.

Here is my fear - that I will depend upon getting a last error and something will interfere.

 

You can always store the last error in a variable for later use.

[Lee Smith]

... the online help cannot be searched.

 

Well, not easily, anyway. 

 

I don’t understand what you mean. I search the “Content” using Safari all of the time and I don’t see a problem.

[Charity]

Brilliant brilliant brilliant.  I want to kiss you.  I can test everything this way now

this message was towards Comment

[comment]

I search the “Content” using Safari all of the time

 

I am afraid I don't follow. Could you elaborate?

[bruceR]

Maybe this?

[Wim Decorte]

Yep, that's what I do too.  Click on "contents" in the top right corner and then just use the browser's search short cut to search on he page.  Very very fast.

[comment]

Click on "contents" in the top right corner and then just use the browser's search short cut to search on he page.

 

 But that only searches the table-of-contents - not the actual contents.

[Lee Smith]

So then you have to click on the topic and it will open it up.

 

PS,  Do you have a way of searching the contents in some other way, or have a FileMaker file with the  help information, where you can search everything?

Edited March 30, 2015 by Lee Smith
Added PS

[comment]

Do you have a way of searching the contents in some other way,

 

The OS X Help Viewer (the application that Filemaker calls to display its built-in help) does that.

[Lee Smith]

Of course, but the speed is so much slower when compared to Safari, and it wants to be on top.

[comment]

but the speed is so much slower when compared to Safari

 

Well, yes - that's what I said from the start. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Though I guess searching the TOC will get you the wanted result 99% of the time.

 

 

 

and it wants to be on top.

 

Now that should be solvable by overwriting the application's defaults, using the terminal.

[Lee Smith]

ROTFLMAO    

 

Now that should be solvable by overwriting the application's defaults, using the terminal.

 

Thanks for making my night.

[comment]

ROTFLMAO   

 

What is so funny in what I said?

 

 

 

Thanks for making my night.

 

That's what she said. Somehow it doesn't sound the same when you say it...

[LaRetta]

[Josh Ormond]

hmmm...the Help on Windows is very fast. Interesting. 

[Fitch]

Yeah, the Windows help is fast.

 

On Mac, I've used this trick for years.
 
Plus I have the online Reference page bookmarked.