ISO FileMaker Magazine

This video article is a follow up to the first article about separation of data from interface. If you are working in a situation where many different groups or departments must access the same data, yet will want to design or create their own interface to that data, then this article has the information you need. This is also a great way to deploy a shrink-wrapped solution.

While separation in FileMaker is possible, this article provides some insight about the pros and cons of making the jump to a separation model.

Separation is a popular topic for FileMaker Pro. The reason for this is, FileMaker Pro was never intended to be a "front end" to be used for a database "back end" - at least not in the way it is with SQL. Separation is popular because it allows for different types of front ends to be build for one common back end. One department may want feature set X and another department may want feature set Y. With separation this is possible.

Today, FileMaker 7 does allow a greater degree of separation. Keeping your data clean from ancillary calculation fields is the goal. This video will present the beginnings of how to truly separate your data from your interface.

Folder Trees, as they are commonly known in an interface designer's vocabulary, are one of the more complex techniques to add to a database. You need to have a solid understanding of the Parent > Child relationship between records and understand how one series of inter-related records is different from any other series - all within one table. Oh, and there's that new aspect of FileMaker Pro 7 that allows for recursion within calculations.

This video presents a very powerful technique which teaches you how to create and use an infinite hierarchy of records - well, maybe not infinitely, but a whole bunch!

Search FileMaker help for the word "multi-key" and you'll find one page that includes it. Yet, showing what you want within a portal hinges on knowing about multi-keys. This video will show you two different techniques that use a multi-key to force a portal to reveal what you want.

The first technique uses a portal to show search results of a find. The second uses a portal to page through a large set of records. Managing large datasets within a portal can be a hazardous task in a large database, the network has to transfer the whole dataset to the FileMaker client. But thanks to Script Parameters and the new Let () function we can manage those thousands of records by showing smaller subsets. Watch this free video to learn how it's done!

There are many ways to present information. Some users are comfortable with using Find mode to look for what they want. Other users tend to be a bit more timid and look for selections they can make on screen. This week you'll find a great technique for filtering a portal. It's called Intersecting Groups and it's a great way to narrow down a larger group of records.

Using a Passwords database as an example, you'll learn how to implement and use this technique in your own solutions! You can never know too much about all the ways to filter a portal in FileMaker Pro.

To an experienced FileMaker developer, the process of duplicating a record which may have related records, such as an Invoice order, may seem trivial. The challenge is doing so without any extra fields, relationships or table occurrences. Doing this all within one script and making that script portable, so you can use it in any of your other solutions is the goal - or maybe you just want to learn how to make it happen in the first place.

Watch this video for all the information you need to successfully duplicate a given record and all of its related data.

It's all a matter of who can do what to which records. Field access can be controlled completely with FileMaker 7's new Accounts and Privileges area. But learning how to limit what users can do is only one part to the puzzle. If you really want to know how to control what users can, and cannot do, then it's validation that you need to become familiar with.

This video article, and example file, cover the concept of locking a notes field so only the creator can determine when the field can be modified by other users of the database. If you want a better understanding of accounts and privileges and how to limit who can make changes to which fields then this video has what you need.

We all think we know FileMaker pretty well - well, some of us know there is always more to learn. There's always that little trick that makes developing that much easier. In this video I take a look at my Top 10 tips for doings things better while working in FileMaker Pro.

You'll also have access to a great new tool. My FileMaker Pro calculation tester. The file is a run-time solution so you can run it at the same time as FileMaker Pro. This makes testing your calculations a breeze. Check it out right now, the video is free ready to be watched!

Some FileMaker developers never even touch the instant web publishing feature of FileMaker Pro - I know, I used to be one of them. In the past, IWP wasn't known for its stellar performance and awesome visual translation to the web, but FileMaker 7 is a different story.

If you're one of those developers I speak of, or you've always wanted just the right amount of information to get started with IWP then this video has what you're looking for.

This may not be your power developer technique but the simplicity in IWP is exactly what fits many a situation. Get all the details necessary to start web publishing today!

Yes, you're right! FileMaker can save a predefined search - it does this right inside ScriptMaker. You can even specify the search criteria. But answer this one Smarty Pants. How can your average user perform a search, then save that search for later execution? Do they have access to ScriptMaker? Probably not. Well, they could use this technique to save their search!

This is a power user's technique which allows any user of the database to create a custom search, complex or not, and then re-run that search as many times as they want - all at the click of a button. Watch this video to learn how to store user search values then rebuild the search on demand. This is the power your users are begging for!