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Our Library of Videos

839 videos found.
Mastering Field Indexing 05/02/2023 - 1:53pm

When starting out with FileMaker, there's rarely the situation where you receive any "before you get started" advice. This is because working in FileMaker is like picking up a blank canvas and having someone say "Go for it! Paint something."

Essentially, you need to know what the tools are, how you use them, what can be accomplished and how certain decisions might affect you. So, when it comes to field indexing, you might not know the default settings could potentially cause your solution to become bigger than it should - without any benefit to performance.

While searching an indexed field vs. an unindexed one becomes somewhat obvious - the search may be slower than expected - it's the fact that every field, by default, can optionally enable its index that makes things interesting with regards to file size and, to a certain degree, some efficiency.

In this video I break down exactly how you can see what is going on with each specific field index and what the true difference is between a value index and a word index. You may even find out that your primary key fields are actually able to index more than they really should!

Claris FileMaker 2023 v20 Release 04/25/2023 - 10:00am

Claris International, Inc. released Claris FileMaker 2023 (version 20) of the FileMaker platform on Tue. April 25th 2023. This release, like all previous dot releases, saw just a few major features and some new branding via a new icon.

In my opinion, there are primarily three major features in FMP 20 and a VERY large number of both fixes and minor features. I'm calling this one the "move towards enterprise" release. It improves upon its level of support for robust technologies such as ARM support, furthered Linux support and integrates features which will help any organization with more easily tracking critical data.

I've created a somewhat lengthy video which provides insight to the major new 20 features and also recaps the other features which have been released over the previous 3 years.

Give yourself 30-60 minutes to catch up with what's been released in the FileMaker platform over the previous years up until today's release.

Variable Field Portal Sorting 04/12/2023 - 8:42am

With many native features in Claris/FileMaker, you may end up hitting what you "think" is a brick wall. In this case, I'm referring to the ability of sorting portals. You've only got one checkbox per portal with the options for specifying a selection of fields to sort by. True, you can choose a number of fields to sort by, but, you can't change their order dynamically or allow a user to make any changes to which fields are used.

That is, of course, unless you combine a variety of native features which will allow you to accomplish your desired results for sorting portals. In this video, we take a look at a wonderfully great technique for being able to sort any given portal on any number of fields in either direction and being the masters of our own portal sorting destiny. Need to allow end users to sort portals for maximum effect? Go no further than watching this video and using the provided technique file.

Mobile Transitions & Effects 03/31/2023 - 2:53pm

While you won't have access to as many visual effects as if you had created a native iOS application, there are still some things you can do and take advantage of with native transitions within FileMaker Go. One of my own recent experiences led to making a dedicated script which enhances the visual appeal of performing a find within a single layout.

In order to gain the advantage of FileMaker Go's native layout transitions, you can use a dedicated layout and script to accomplish some really nice transition effects. It's also a good idea to be familiar with how you can use the Set Layout Object Animation script step in conjunction with Popovers and Sliders.

This video will show you a few solutions to making your FileMaker Go/iOS SDK solution a bit more visually appealing by taking advantage of the native transitions provided by the environment.

Balanced Button Bars 03/21/2023 - 10:41am

Sometimes, it's the little things you learn that make working with Claris/FileMaker so enjoyable. Things like making a Button Bar balanced when hiding segments and not having to use any scripts or extra code (unless desired) to do it.

This video presents a great little technique of how you can use a Hide calculation on your button bar segments yet still maintain the same relative button size. With this little bit of know-how, you can easily stack various button bars and provide all kinds of progressive disclosure of various solution features.

Add this simple trick to your arsenal of great UI tricks for Claris/FileMaker.

Fast Filtering Portals 03/07/2023 - 11:33am

When you first develop your FileMaker solution you're typically dealing with sample and/or test data. Everything works great. It's fast and efficient and you're guessing users will just love using it. Until you hear feedback like "It takes forever to simply see a list of people to pick from."

As you scratch your head wondering why things got slow, it's likely because you didn't think about what's happening on every record of that simple little portal. Your once wonderful complex filter, which was working just fine on the 1,000 records, now chokes to death on the 10,000 records in the real world.

You ask yourself "Is there something I can do to make this faster?" and you find this video about Fast Filtering Portals. Yes, is the answer. You can optimize that portal filter such that the fewest number of CPU cycles are required in order to show a user's desired results. The trick is knowing how to make it happen with the tools we have available within FileMaker. Need to make your portal filters faster? This video will likely have the answer.

Additional Script Triggers in Claris/FileMaker 02/21/2023 - 12:47pm

Learning everything you can do with Claris/FileMaker scripts is such a wonderful journey. When you first start using the available script triggers, it often becomes a bit of an issue if you aren't fully aware of all the impacts. This video is an update to older videos which didn't have the insights presented in this video.

If you've been using Script Triggers within Claris/FileMaker for some time, then you might want to give this video a watch to see if you're missing any of the latest and greatest know-how dealing with Script Triggers.

Virtual List JSON Portal Filtering 02/10/2023 - 11:58am

Developing software in FileMaker can be such a joy when you're able to solve so many problems so quickly. There is, however, a point where you start to solve so many problems that your solution starts to slow down and you find yourself wondering why.

Most commonly, it's the result of cumulative features compounding to make your solution slower and slower. Without careful consideration of the user interface, and how features are presented, it's easy to create a solution which starts to lag over time.

In this video, I show how portal filters really work and how to address the issue of a portal used for a very simple selection process. In most cases, your portal is only going to show a fraction of the number of fields found in its table. To this end, you must learn how to replicate the native portal filtering feature. Filtering with JavaScript/JSON is one of the most powerful ways to present data in both an efficient and faster way.

Finding your FileMaker solution is feeling slower as time goes by? You need the content covered in this video!

Optimized Object Inspector Usage 01/26/2023 - 10:32am

As any FileMaker developer will tell you, working with a complex layout can be a bit of a hassle. That is, of course, unless you know how to take full advantage of the Object Inspector palette!

Did you know, it's possible to edit the calculation of a button bar segment without ever double-clicking on the object itself within the layout? Yes, it's not only possible with Button Bars but with most any layout object. And, the best part is this can be done within a few clicks - saving a lot of time from having to select and move heavily layered layouts.

This video will provide you with the insight into how you can not only take maximum advantage of the Object Inspector, but how to save a ton of time by doing so. Whether you're new to FileMaker development or you've been with the platform for decades, there's no excuse for not making it easy on yourself when working with complex layouts.

Incredibly Easy Menus 01/02/2023 - 2:39pm

One of the biggest downsides of any complex FileMaker solution is the growing number of layouts and layout elements you'll have to manage. If your number of navigation (or general menu) items is both static and large, then you're going to have issues with keeping the solution well updated. Aside from this, you could have additional complexity when it comes to controlling which menu items show under certain circumstances.

While there are number of ways to make menu management easier, the best solution for most any code is to maintain it within a singular location. Allowing that code, and singular layouts, to serve your whole solution, and be flexible enough to vary when necessary, is ideal. This is exactly what this video and technique file are all about. Not only is this solution one of the most easy-to-manage solutions for a menu system, but, it's also one of the most incredibly easy menu systems I've ever created. Once you see the simplicity of management it's hard to think of going back to anything more complex.

Here's a hint about how it works. If you've used and love the flexibility of managing script steps within a script, then you'll fall in love with using Incredibly Easy Menus!

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