ISO FileMaker Magazine

This video will teach you how to use and create Determinate Value Lists. What are they? It's the situation where choosing a product means you have different qualities specific to the product selected. Think about a T-Shirt. You have a style, size and color. All three qualities determine the price. The size and color are qualifiers that determine which shirt, and ultimately what price, should be used. However, showing only those options that apply to a given style is what you need to provide. Related value lists is how to do it.

You'll also learn how to use FileMaker 7's text coloring functions and how to get around number formatting limitations. If you've wondered how to make related value lists work in FileMaker 7 then this video is something you want to watch!

Document management - you've likely come across the need multiple times. But then there's that frustration of trying to make this seemingly simple solution work in FileMaker Pro. You hear that FileMaker 7 allows you to put whole documents within container fields. You ask the question, "Can I export the document with a dynamic name and can I have the target application open it?"

"Drats" you exclaim, as you find out that you're foiled by FileMaker, Inc's determination to make FileMaker a less capable "User Database" system. Well, no fear, with a bit of developer knowledge behind you, this is something that is possible. Watch this video for a comprehensive understanding of files, paths and everything in between.

Your database may feel plain and unattractive. Have you heard about the FileMaker Swan program? Ok, so it's not a beauty contest for your interface, but it is some tips and techniques for how to make your interface better looking.

This week's video offers a streamlined look at how to optimize the data presentation in your user interface. You'll also find some great insider tips on the various ways you can format your portals. Watch this week's video and become a better designer.

Place a field in the Header area of a list layout and use Preview mode. You'll see the first record from the list view. Place the field in the footer and you'll see the last record. So you have the first value (text or number) in the header and last value in the footer. What happens when you want both?

It's just like a phone book, it's Beauty thru Burglar or 90210 thru 92556. Showing the range isn't as easy as you'd think. First you need to know the Mod() function. This video teaches you how to make it happen. Plus, you get to learn how to make alternating rows in list views different colors. Watch now!

It's one of the most annoying aspects of using a portal for navigation. It's called Portal Pop by developers, and it's what happens when you click outside of a portal row. The portal pops right back to the first row of all its displayed records. Would you like to solve this problem? With FileMaker Pro 7 you now can!

In this video, I cover a number of features found in FileMaker Pro 7. Learn how to use the Let function. Learn how to pass multiple parameters to a script. Learn how to stop the portal pop from messing up your user interface. It's all inside this one video! Note: If you're still using FileMaker Pro 6 there is also an included Version 6 technique file!

You may have seen this problem before. You want to provide a popup list and you also want to normalize your data. You make the jump to using a join file and numerical ID key values. Then you run across the big disappointment where your value list displays as

3 Cat
1 Dog
2 Lizard

Users don't make choices based on the numbers, but FileMaker insists on using them with normalized data. You just want to show Cat, Dog and Lizard without the numbers in the value list. Well, fix what FileMaker should have done properly in the first place. With this powerful FileMaker 7 technique you'll quickly know how!

You know how to merge customer information into a letter. Working with text is easy. But what about graphics? How do you integrate a graphic with printed text? The answer to this question can be found in this week's video and example files.

Learn how to integrate a graphic image (example files use a signature graphic) into a form letter that is printed. Mastering this technique will allow you to position graphics within the content of a text field in any location you wish.

Files can be converted and used in Version 7

Searching a database for information is probably the most common task performed. When it comes to searching, not everyone reads the special tips or advanced search techniques. This means when users want to search for a single piece of criteria, across many fields, they may not know about creating multiple requests. Well, now you can provide one global field for the criteria and the rest is handled by a ScriptMaker script.

This week's video show you how to use Single Field Searching in your solutions and also provides additional information about how this technique translates to FileMaker Pro 7. Learn about some of the new functions with this instructional video and files.

Following up on the previous week's video about getting started with FileMaker Pro 7, this week brings you information about the overhauled security in the new version. I also cover learning about file references and how they promote a degree of separation between data and interface. To wrap it all up you'll find information about the major changes in ScriptMaker.

If you've been wondering what's new in FileMaker Pro 7, then this video article is for you. Discover the dramatic changes in this powerful end-user database system. Not only has it moved from a structure of many files to a single file with multiple tables, but it now boasts a new relational graph that allows you to build your solution visually.

Check out this free video to find out more about this powerful upgrade.