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Our Library of Videos
Field labels are the quintessential indicator of where data should be input. Without the good 'ole field lable users are entering data blind. A great goal to shoot for with field labels is something consistent, a bit understated, something that doesn't get in the way yet informs the data entry person about what to enter.
The problem with labels on a layout is they take up space. Often times, a lot of space. They can also detract from the presentation of the data itself.
In recent years, a popular trend has been showing field labels within the field itself. For example, on iOS, this is often a chosen default method.
When it comes to FileMaker, you'll find a variety of opinions and approaches regarding labels. This video presents a solution which uses the data within fields as the labels for what should be entered.
The benefit to this method is the user knows what goes where and it also serves the purpose of acting as a data entry validator. This is a big benefit to the database where data should be consistent and clean. If you're looking for a clean, compact way of providing field labels then I can't think of a more sublime way.
A "d-a-t-a-b-a-s-e" (say it slowly with me) is for storing data right? Sure it is. But it also provides an "i-n-t-e-r-f-a-c-e" and allows users to work with that data.
So why not provide a little bit of customization and allow users to change the color of things.
The problem FileMaker has is providing the tools for developers to do this very thing. For some odd reason, FileMaker does not natively provide support for accessing the OS level color picker. That familiar tool which is evident in most every other application known to mankind.
So, we have to resort to things like AppleScript and custom .exe files for providing a color picker. It turns out, however, that we can actually provide a very simple, and very easy color selection method using nothing but 100% FileMaker. Interested to know more... then watch this video.
The last time I covered the topic of dealing with duplicates was 2009. This was pre FileMaker 12.
The methods covered in that video still apply to today's solutions in terms of usability. However, the newer content within this video is optimized for the updated ways of doing things in FileMaker 12.
You're always able to use FileMaker's own internal logic to flag existing duplicates within a solution. This is what was being done in the previous method. Looking through a relationship and using "match criteria" was how we established all duplicates beyond the the first original record. We then used validation to cause user notification.
In this newer method of preventing duplicates, we can stop the record from ever being added. It's a very simple system.
Of course, you can always design a system which uses global fields within a dedicated table to "preempt" your actual write to the database. But this method, as well as the earlier method, requires more "cruft" being added to the Relationship Graph.
This newer method requires only a single script and some well placed script triggers.
In today's multi-device world, people no longer simply use a single "main" computer and log in, then log out for a day's worth of work. These days we're on-the-go. We're mobile. We're on our desktops, then on our laptops, and back to the iPad or iPhone, constantly moving from device to device.
What this means is our login systems now need to track and manage a bit more each time we log into a given database. It's not just about the user, it's about the device they're using as well.
FileMaker 12 has provided us with the tools to implement such systems, and we only need to take advantage of them.
This video showcases a login/logout system which focuses on session-based logging of users based on the devices they use. If you've never implemented such a system, then this video will walk you through each and every step. If you've added such a system to your own FileMaker database then this video may have some tips and insights into how you can improve your own.
One of today's fundamental ways of being notified about something is via email. Of course, we also have new services like Twitter and the wonderful SMS features via our smartphones. Yet, even those services like Twitter send out email about the status of new tweets. It all comes back to email.
So, obviously, you'll want to take advantage of using email within your FileMaker solution. The question ends up related to how far you need to go in creating an email notification system within your solution.
The answer, surprisingly, can be SUPER simple. Even, when you need to take things beyond sending one email to a few targeted addresses. You can implement email notification to many people all at once as well.
This video highlights a very easy-to-implement method of integrating email notifications into your own FileMaker database. Need to notify an admin? Need to notify a user? Need to notify a whole group of people? They're all possible in a very short amount of time.
Sometimes, the most simple things can become so complex. When all you really want is to center a window, you don't want to think about all the dividing of width and height and stuff - at least not beyond the first time.
In 2010 I released a video article titled "Window Centering The Easy Way". This video is an extension of that article and includes updated custom functions and more information about how to take advantage of these useful functions - especially in today's ever expanding world of devices.
This video and the technique file can easily be copied into your own solution for a drop-dead simple implementation of window centering. Once you've got the basics of how it works, you'll wonder why you've coded without it.
FileMaker provides a wonderfully easy interface for adding values to a value list. You simply type in values to be presented within your Pop-up, Drop-down, Radio or Checkbox field. Set the field to use the value list and you're good to go.
The problem, however, is being stuck with those values and then scripting an entire solution around them. If you know for 100% sure - of course, who's ever 100% sure - they will never change, and you're only EVER going to work in that one database within that one single language, then you'll need little of what this video presents. Of course, you'll miss out on some great tips.
If, however, you relish in flexibility and control, this video will present some of the most useful information you may discover about value lists. The video will show you how to account for user specific values and how to centralize your control over these values and how they are presented.
You'll even learn how to precisely control the presentational order of the values within the user interface. We're talking about centralized, multi-lingual, permissions-based, full developer sorting controlled value lists.
The native display method for related data in FileMaker has always been the good ol' built-in portal. This flexible tool has been used for its intended purpose as well as for unintended - such as for hiding and showing a button.
With FileMaker 12's new ExecuteSQL() function you can now dip into the data bucket of any given table, or tables, and pull out exactly what you need.
ExecuteSQL is useful for dynamic charting and filtering portals based on desired key values. It's a very flexible tool for sure.
There are, however, some not so obvious "secrets" to making FileMaker's SQL implementation jump through the types of hoops that will allow you to generate some really cool stuff such as HTML.
When you combine this knowledge with understanding how networking and performance may apply, you can accomplish some really useful things with ExecuteSQL() and Web Viewers.
That's what this video is all about. It's an implementation of HTML based comments and provides you with some of those "hidden" tricks to making ExecuteSQL sing like song bird!
Many FileMaker solutions ultimately end up adding some form of an audit trail. An audit trail is a great solution when you need to rigorously track what has been done to pretty much any field within the database.
Of course, you can always selectively choose what to track and that's where you start to distinguish between content revisions and audit trails. In the case of a content revision, you know there is a specific piece or chunk of information in which you want to see the history of evolution for that information.
In my case, this comes in the form of a comment being left about a particular FileMaker technique. Wanting to know if it has been edited and what specifically the changes were. For you it may be comments, notes (same thing essentially) or full blown document revisions.
While there are solutions out there which provide comprehensive external document tracking, there are certainly times when you want to manage and track revisions to just one or a few fields.
This video shows you what you need to know in order to take advantage of FileMaker's own default tools in order to facilitate content revisions.
It's those seemingly simple little techniques which seem like they should "just be in there". Something as simple as dragging and dropping an image to make FileMaker do things is what I'm talking about.
Actually, there are so many moving parts to make this happen, that you wouldn't want FileMaker to do it for you. You really do want the control. You just need to know how to make it happen.
While some may wish to drag into a dropwell, some may wish to drag into the last portal row which FileMaker provides. Regardless of how you wish to implement, it's the fundamentals you need to know.
That's what this video is all about. How to work with images when using them for UI manipulation. How to create related records in a way that makes things easy. How to optimize for network performance. How to easily remove records from the join table.
Wait a minute! That sounds like a whole slew of different techniques. Turns out, you get them all within this one video - plus the drag and drop. Enjoy!