ISO FileMaker Magazine: FileMaker Video Tutorials, Templates, Help & More

by Matt Petrowsky

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Little by little, newer versions of FileMaker have been making it easier to accomplish tasks which typically required "workarounds" to provide certain features.

When it comes to filtering portals, the previous method was to use a dedicated relationship in order to filter out related data - which is still valid in a variety of situations. However, with the release of FileMaker 11, the new filter portal option, presented as a check box on the portal settings dialog, offers a much easier method for filtering portals.

Initially, there were some harsh critics, as the filter was a "display only" feature and did not adjust calculations which used the same relationship. Enter a few pieces of critical know-how and you get the exact feature you were expecting with all the bells and whistles.

This video showcases how to fully leverage the new filtered portal option within FileMaker 11. The example shown is one of the most common, where filtering is done on both a first and last name where either part contains a sequence of characters. If you're seeking that ultimate degree of filtered portal polish, then look no further than this video!

by Matt Petrowsky

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It's time again for one of those articles about the "pretty" software. You know, where I talk about how people like to use things because they look good. Really, who wants to drive an ugly car when they can drive a pretty one that other people want to drive as well. Don't envy the pretty software, emulate it and join the in-crowd (no correlation to high school here).

Your database interface is no different than that car, and, while FileMaker doesn't currently have the state-of-the-art in user interface elements, there's no reason to not make your solution look as attractive as possible.

This video provides five different tips about how to approach the design of your user interface. It's one of my most favorite topics to cover, and there's always some little tidbit of knowledge which helps make your solution that much more usable!

by Matt Petrowsky

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No matter what FileMaker solution you're working on, you probably won't be leaving full admin access on the file. You don't want just anyone doing anything they want in the database - especially hacking up your beautifully crafted scripts.

So you'll be going through a process of re-logging into the database while both developing and testing. This can be accomplished using an easy or hard way. The harder way is to do what might come naturally, simply double-click the file after closing it down.

The problem is, any frequency of this activity and you'll quickly wish there was a better way. Fortunately, you can script most anything possible within FileMaker. This means you need a solid way of making this happen without making your solution insecure - which will certainly happen if you include vital credentials within the file itself.

You can always store a username/password combination in the file, while developing, and then remove them when you deploy, but this becomes an issue when you need to log in to make small fixes when the file is live - if you tend to do that type of thing.

The solution is to simply create an efficient method for switching accounts on the fly. That's exactly what this video has to offer!

by Matt Petrowsky

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FileMaker 11 came with a fancy new feature called Snapshot Links. These small XML-based files store all the necessary information in order to recall a "last known view" of a given data set.

Imagine, if you will, a user is working on a "donor call list". They are presented with a list view of a larger subset of data - the people they must call. The user has made it half way through the list and it's quitin' time for today.

The courteous thing to do would possibly be asking "Would you like to save your place for tomorrow?" and simply doing so upon an "Ok" confirmation and closing the window.

The next day the user comes in to work, the database is opened to a dashboard layout with a portal displaying a task list. There at the top of the portal is an item titled "Finish donor call list". Clicking that portal row simply opens a new window taking the user back to the exact location they were at when they left the previous day.

Normally, this type of feature would require many different scripts and a good amount of time to implement. Now, what would you say if this could be done in two simple scripts? Well, if you're interested, then watching this video will answer your questions about Snapshot Links.

by Matt Petrowsky

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The world we live in, compared to the one I experienced growing up, is simply amazing. I'm personally looking forward to the inevitable questions of "What's a phone book Daddy?" and "How did a card catalog work?" - if only to feel like an idiot for not realizing that cell phones have always existed and I should've known that "fact".

When it comes to using a map, I'm wondering when they'll stop printing them on paper. Seriously, the ability to know where you're at using GPS and real-time digital maps, to see where you're going and enjoy street level views of other countries without having ever stepped in that country is, well, just awesome.

Which means there's no reason not to integrate these features into your FileMaker solutions.

At the most basic level, we often have the need to perform easy lookups for address verifications. This can be done manually, or at the point the address is captured. The trick with these types of wiz-bang features is that you need the data to perform the lookup against.

Having created many solutions which use geo location based data, I've created a video which highlights both a resource for comprehensive GeoLocation data, including lat/long, postal/province codes and other valuable information, along with information about using and updating this type of valuable resource. If your database adventures ever bring you to the point of needing to interact with Geo Location Data then this video will surely delight you.

by Matt Petrowsky

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FileMaker has slowly added new features to its formerly nonexistent event model. We now have a wide variety of script triggers and this is immensely helpful for making solutions much more interactive.

What FileMaker does lack are things like 'mouse overs' and other "niceties" such as animation events.

Fortunately, we have access to anything the web browser can do. While some developers tend to shy away from using web viewers my big question is "Why?". It's there, it's stable, it's standard and you can do a lot of cool stuff with them.

If you're looking to add that attention getting dialog into your FileMaker solution then this video will certainly have what you're looking for!

by Matt Petrowsky

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FileMaker's Layout mode is pretty robust in terms of what you can design and present in your user interface (if you overlook the lack of native gradients and native OS widgets). When working with portals, in particular, all you have to do is throw your buttons and icons on the first row and magically, they all appear and function on any other row - respective of the row they are on. Very helpful indeed.

So what about those times when you REALLY need to exercise control over what will display on a given row and the times when one row needs to know what's on the next row or previous row.

Well, there are some hidden little tricks you can use to really take advantage of this powerful portal formatting. Watching this video will provide you with the insight necessary to exercise this control!

by Matt Petrowsky

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"Can FileMaker automatically apply formatting to my fields?", this is not just a common question, it's been a critical complaint as well. What many other desktop database solutions have offered was an easy way to apply masking. Often as easy as setting the mask into the properties of the field itself - a super simple solution - yet, not so simple in FileMaker.

Well, the day has come and you can now do the type of masking you're actually thinking about. Not just post-field-entry masking or using one field to overlay on top of another field, what we're talking about is as-you-type field masking.

It's easily accomplished with an OnObjectKeystroke trigger, the not-so-easy part is managing all the different possibilities of what can be happening when a user is typing content.

Hopefully, by using this file, and the included video content, you'll realize that the automatic field formatting you've always dreamed of, is actually here. Add any of your tips or suggestions to the bottom of this article.

by Matt Petrowsky

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Wow, that whole iPad thing sure has taken off. Drag this here, drag that there, you know, it's a whole lot of dragging goin' on.

Why not do the same in your FileMaker database. Nope, there's no iPad native version of FileMaker (yet?), but this shouldn't stop you. There are a lot of things you can do in your interface when you consider drag-n-drop as an option.

Watch this video to see a very effective method for performing data manipulation within your interface. Import a few images, create a few portals and start to drag away. If you didn't know FileMaker could do this, then you'll certainly enjoy what you'll find in this video.

Adding a clean and efficient visual interface to your FileMaker solution will certainly give it that 21st century Web 2.0 look and feel!

by Matt Petrowsky

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It seems that over time, you can always make a nice technique even better. As you code more and more in FileMaker, you start to make your code more modular.

That's what this video is about - along with a nice enhancement to your standard web viewer being used to show navigational progress.

Included in the file, and the video, is information which will help you break your scripts and calculation code into smaller bits of reusable code. You'll also end up with a very functional progress indicator for use with record navigation.

The big lesson here is there's a multitude of ways to break down a solution to a problem. Personally, I like using custom functions for the primary reason of being able to code something once and be able to affect global changes - however, some times you don't need this, and keeping things localized to a small scope is a great way to go too.

Either way, if you're looking for a method to use for displaying navigational status and you find that web viewers are great for this task, then this video has what you need!