MANY NOVICE DEVELOPERS struggle setting up Paths to files in scripts. Mike Duncan of Soliant sheds some light: When importing data, it is useful to use variables to reference the file you are importing instead of using a full path that needs to be maintained. This allows you to better maintain your solution, and also […]
A SIMPLE GLOBAL NAVIGATION system from Michael Rocharde, using global repeating fields for layout storage. It’s a short (2:39) video and worth the watch. Global Navigation.
THE PROPER USE of position functions makes is possible to do all kinds of neat tricks. FileMakerHacks developed an inverse type of function to allow something not natively available in FileMaker: But what if we want to go the other way? Can we perform inverse operations for the above examples? In other words, if we […]
FITCH AND FITCH on a portal sorting method using value lists to set up the sorting: The great thing about this technique is that all the logic and control is script-driven, which makes it easy to set up and to make changes down the road. You will not be incurring technical debt. This technique can […]
MATT PETROWSKI’S take on FileMaker deployment models. Published on Feb 14, 2014 Brought to you by http://www.filemakermagazine.com Here’s a tutorial video about various possible deployment models using FileMaker Pro. Watch the whole thing.
CHANGE TEXT to a valid date format with this custom function. Very handy when data imput is manual or when importing from spreadsheets. TextToDate ( Anytext )
ANALYZE, document and troubleshoot your database with BaseElements: FileMaker tools developer Goya has announced BaseElements 4.5.0, an update to their developer tool. With the tool, developers can analyze and document FileMaker solutions. BaseElements provides a cross reference of every element in a solution and helps developers find and fix errors, track issues, document changes, and […]
LOCKING A RECORD – OR FIELDS ON A RECORD – is something you will run across in your development career. Douglas Alder offers a solid method for each in this blog post: 1) Lock the entire record from deletion and editing by employing a customized privilege set and a field for tagging the records to […]
NATIVE BARCODE GENERATION for FileMaker 13 (or FM 12 with the BaseElements Plugin.) The sample file generates 14 different types of barcodes quickly and easily using scripting and the Base64Decode function – no plugins, no fonts, no fuss. The pricing is reasonable, as well.
ONE MAJOR LEAGUE graphic at the link along with: Diagrammix, Rant for pragmatics, Radioshack ad from the 90s, To combine or not Filemaker Success Tips : 284_FM_Success_Tips.
YET ANOTHER interesting use for a popover. This very simple technique allows you to embed context sensitive video tutorials that your users can watch without ever leaving the screen they are on via ▶ Embedded Video Tutorials in a Popover – YouTube.
FILEMAKER SECURITY is the boring topic not often addressed. Failure to properly address is will lead to disaster. Data protection is top of mind and a priority for business of all sizes. In 2012, the Wall Street Journal sited this alarming statistic, “Firms with 11 to 100 employees are attacked more than ten times as […]
THERE IS CONFUSION about FileMaker’s new concurrent connections policy and when it applies: The FileMaker platform allows you and others to access custom business solutions in different ways – be it from a desktop or laptop computer, from an iPhone or iPad, or using a web browser. No matter where you are, you can always […]
I STILL HAVE clients using Instant Web Publishing (IWP) extensively – the interface has major shortcomings but the price ($0) is right: I’m sure we can think of some examples of where the deployment of Instant Web Publishing [IWP] for a solution has been successful and served to meet purpose for the end user. There […]