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Automating Data Capture of PDF & Images
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It's always interesting to measure the metrics of how long something takes. Adding automation to a process not only saves time, but makes it less mentally taxing. This increases the sense of accomplishment and can make the process itself more gratifying.

I remember being at an amusement park and showing my kids how to measure the amount of time they might be in line by counting the amount of time it took between each time a roller coaster pulled in and how many people it accommodated. By then counting how many people were in line before them, they would know approximately how long they would be waiting.

This same type of thought process can be applied to any routine task within FileMaker. With the knowledge of the tools available, you can likely automate that task such that you reduce the total time it takes. That's the bulk of what we're doing when we're making software - simply reducing the amount of time it takes to do things.

In this video, I walk through the process of automating text capture from either a PDF or image files. FileMaker has built-in features on the Macintosh and it can certainly be accomplished within Windows as well. If there's anytime you're working with a PDF, PNG or JPG, then let's learn about the tools we have for automating the capture of data.

Global Utility Fields
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Global fields in FileMaker Pro are a staple of how you define what your user interface can do. Without global fields, your ability to present variable scenarios of data is almost impossible - or - at least, unrealistic. You would be limited to using calculated fields and/or extra data fields, and this can make things really slow, REALLY quick.

Global fields are the linchpin to makings things work well, as desired and efficiently within your FileMaker UI. Without knowing how to take advantage of global fields, your UI/UX abilities suffer.

In this video, we take a look at some of the most critical uses for global fields for common core functionality. From creating related records, to showing whatever data you need to present, it's critical you take advantage of global fields. There are also situations where your current data model simply won't allow you to present the data you want to show. However, using global fields you can create "temporary" relationships to the data you need to present to the user. This video and technique file will deliver some of the critical know-how.

MBS JavaScript Power
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Living the 100% FileMaker native life is certainly possible, but can be seriously limiting when it comes to all the things possible with various other technologies. JavaScript, as one of the predominant languages used across the Internet and beyond, is quickly becoming a must-know for every serious FileMaker developer.

In this video I showcase using the MBS plug-in in order to take advantage of the VERY WIDE world of JavaScript libraries and doing it without the Web Viewer. FileMaker's Web Viewer, while providing a full runtime WebKit engine, is a bit of a liability in certain situations. Because of the Web Viewer's caching, especially if your script does any moving around between records and/or layouts, you have to be extra cautious about how you implement the use of a Web Viewer for running JavaScript. If you're not careful, you won't get the reliable results you might expect as opposed to simply executing plain old JavaScript.

The solution to finicky Web Viewer execution is to take advantage of the JavaScript offered by a plug-in. The most comprehensive plug-in regarding JavaScript is the MBS plug-in. If you've never used its raw JavaScript power, then you're in for a great surprise of how easy it can be and this video will guide you towards taking full advantage of what it has to offer!

JSON Parameter Passing
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Thank goodness JSON was implemented within FileMaker. Without it, we would still be using a variety of other methods for handling multiple parameters within a FileMaker script. Using JSON, we now get the double-sided benefit of 1) having an efficient serialization of key/value pairs as inbound parameters and 2) it just happens to be the standard which most of the rest of world is using for a large chunk of how things interoperate.

In this video, and the technique file, I'll showcase a few examples of how you can receive and work with inbound parameters when using JSON as the method for handling them. We discuss script results, clean-reading code and the final example provides a very useful custom function for the auto-instantiation of JSON-based script parameters into their FileMaker scripting counterparts.

Using the provided JSONVariables custom function is a great alternative to individually parsing all of the inbound parameters. It doesn't replace the need to initially declare your variables, but it does provide the opportunity to have cleaner reading self-documenting code. If you've not used JSON for handling your parameters before, then you should start right now and use this video and file as guidance!

10 Killer Utility Scripts
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Once you've repeated the same thing within FileMaker more than a dozen times, you often realize you should really be using a Utility script. A utility script is something which allows you to focus more on the unique solution and less on the routine things you end up doing over and over again.

In this video we take a look at 10 killer utility scripts. These vary from a simple copy field routine to a very useful related record creation routine. Do you find yourself often needing to toggle values within number and text fields? Probably, and there are utility scripts for that!

Easy Mapping Using MapKit
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When it comes to using mapping technologies within FileMaker, you've most likely heard about using Google Maps API within a web viewer. Maybe you even know about Bing Maps, Mapbox or even the popular OpenStreetMap.org. The biggest issue with all of these mapping APIs is you'll have to first understand the API in order to achieve your desired result, and then you'll have to jump through the hurdles of authentication as well. It's not as easy as a simple plug-n-play solution.

While authentication isn't really that big of a deal, it's not as simple as pointing to a layout object, then having a map instantly appear on screen where you can immediately start interacting with it and collection data. With the MBS plug-in, you can achieve near instant results because all of the hard work has been taken care of for you.

If you're using FileMaker on a Macintosh, or you're willing to invest in creating an iOS SDK app, then MapKit may very well be the instantly invaluable tool for your mapping solutions. In this video I cover how I'm using MapKit features of the MBS plug-in and how useful they can truly be. If you need to quickly add mapping to any solution which will be used on the Macintosh side of things, then the MBS plug-in and MapKit is an absolute no brainer.

JSON Manipulation using JSONata
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Having created recent videos about accessing APIs via REST, and extracting the free JSON data as well, it would be a glaring omission if I didn't address our need to manipulate the JSON FileMaker provides us with. Yes, the work to put your FileMaker data into structured JSON has already been done. But, the JSON you need for your designated API is always going to be different than that.

Fortunately, we have access to the amazingly powerful and fast JavaScript engine built into each and every Web Viewer. What we need to capitalize on are the free open source libraries which help us get the results we need.

JSONata is a long standing powerhouse when it comes to manipulating JSON within JavaScript. Updates as recently as two years ago, to the eight year old library, moved it from a more linear synchronous model to an async model. This means we need to learn a bit about JavaScript promises and how we can use JSONata's own tools to easily manipulate our FileMaker JSON into what's needed. This video and the associated technique file will provide you with the tools which will help accomplish the integrations you're trying to solve.

Server Side Scripts: Get & Restore Context
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Traditionally, performance in computing has revolved around the optimization of bits and bytes — how many can be saved and how efficiently a task can be accomplished. This principle dates back to the era of computers with only a handful of kilobytes of memory, where maximizing efficiency was critical. Fast forward to today, and the same principle holds true. Despite various ways of achieving the same outcome, the ultimate question end-users continue to ask is: 'Can you make it go faster?'

Enter Perform Script on Server (PSOS), a realm where speed becomes almost a certainty. Here, actions occur where the data is stored, eliminating unnecessary back-and-forth between client and server, with the resulting communication involving updating the client's user interface. PSOS becomes particularly advantageous when a client, perhaps viewing a single record, triggers an action which impacts a significant number of records — say, 20,000. In such cases, leveraging PSOS is imperative.

The challenge with PSOS lies in its somewhat invisible nature, requiring troubleshooting and debugging skills to fully grasp. Equally critical is the task of restoring the current client's context, comprising two essential components: the layout (base table and pertinent relationships) and the found set of records. Thankfully, FileMaker offers a built-in mechanism to handle context restoration.

This video, accompanied by a supporting technique file, equips you with two invaluable scripts — one for obtaining and the other for restoring server-side context. Let's learn how to harness the power of PSOS efficiently and restore some context!

The "One" REST Script
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When it comes to programming, there's always more to learn and share. If you've worked with REST APIs in the past, then you may have already devised your perfect system. If not, then this video will showcase a freely available script which you might want to consider first before trying to solve the problem yourself.

In our ever expanding world of coding to standards and systems, many of which have existed for decades, it's always prudent to see if you can beg, borrow and... Ok, don't steal... code which already does the trick. When it comes to HTTP's REST implementation we've already got all the code necessary.

Thanks to a great community contribution by Todd Geist, you really don't need to fumble through all the variations and possibilities of HTTP's REST methods used by FileMaker's cURL features found within the Insert from URL step. Todd and company did the heavy lifting and made an open source file available to everyone.

In this video I showcase my own personal enhancements to the script and provide some insight into some of the ways I code and why I do the things the way I do.

Data Separation - How-To
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FileMaker solutions don't really care where your data comes from. They've long had the ability to reach out into ODBC & SQL sources of data. So long as the connection is fast and stable, users really don't know, or care, where the data is hosted.

With the addition of Claris Studio, data can even be hosted within a NoSQL database such as MongoDB - although we can't, as of yet, structure any of the data other than through the Claris Studio interface.

This also means you can use the same External Data Sources feature to split up your single solution into as many files as desired. It's a perfect tool for segmenting out complex systems such that smaller sub-systems are both accessible but separate. This allows you to plan for more variety in the use of your technology and apply better security protocols.

Even when you get to the level of simply separating a single FileMaker solution into two files of UI and Data, you'll find some benefits. If your data file is a separately hosted file, then your UI file can also be hosted or optionally local to the device the user is using. This video provides a How-To of converting a single FileMaker file into the Data Separation model. While there are few gotchas with a simple solution, it's beneficial to know how to troubleshoot a more complex conversion. Of course, starting out with a Data Separation mindset can be beneficial as well.

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