ISO FileMaker Magazine

If you need to track changes made in your FileMaker fields, then this video and file has what you need.

Every so often there's a technique you come across which exposes a key FileMaker concept. Ray Cologon's Super Log technique is a great starting point for a very robust audit logging system. I've enhanced Ray's original technique and taken it to the next level.

Given the new features in FileMaker 7 and higher, there's really no reason you shouldn't take the few minutes it takes to implement and maintain full tracking of all field changes.

If you need to go few steps further than what the technique provides, then watching this video will get you on your way!

Details: Released - 5/16/2007 / Size - 24.05 MB / Length - 31 min

by Matt Petrowsky
21 minutes

Article options

• Watch Preview Video
• Watch Full Version
• Download Technique File
• Download Movie File
• BH&A Web Site

After spending more time with the original Layout Properties, sent in by Fabrice Nordmann, I decided to revise his approach. I personally wanted to use a single text field to control how a Layout would render.
My revisions to this method are included in the technique file for this video.
Watch this video if you want to learn a powerful method for controlling how your layouts are rendered. Using a dedicated layout object, you can reduce the total number of steps in many of your scripts. Full window control can be harnessed when using this technique - it's something I would consider core to any solution!

Details: Released - 5/7/2007 / Size - 24.93 MB / Length - 21 min

by Matt Petrowsky
23 minutes

Article options

• Watch Preview Video
• Watch Full Version
• Download Movie File
• Alexander Zueiv's Website
• BH&A Web Site

One of the most powerful features added to FileMaker in version 8.5 was Layout Objects. This one feature alone has spawned, and will spawn, a large number of techniques which extend what you can do within your database solution.
In this video, I present two different uses of layout objects, both from different developers, and how they can be leveraged to create what I'm calling Smart Layouts. This is an approach which allows an individual layout to contain most of the information needed to make sure the layout is presented the way you desire. You may disagree with me, but I find that it minimalizes the amount of code dispersion (all those trips into ScriptMaker) and simplifies your ability to keep your solution clean and easy to understand.
The concept, once understood, can be used to implement a wide array of features. Watch this video to grasp a solid understanding of the basics of how it functions.

Details: Released - 4/30/2007 / Size - 48.54 MB / Length - 23 min

One of my favorite topics is clarity. Not just because it makes things easier to understand, especially in a shorter period of time, but also because it facilitates standards which make everything easier to understand - across solutions and developers. If everyone stuck to a few graph standards, then every time you open Define Database, you'll at least start to feel comfortable a bit faster.

Granted, not everyone's at the same level of development, however, you can always make your own database easier to understand - even if it's just yourself working on the file.

In this video, I talk with fellow developer Stephen Dolenski of FMForums.com. We talk about a technique which Stephen has been using to solve complex graph issues, plus some other tidbits about documentation and making your graph easier to work with.

If you need more information about different graph models then here's an older video where I covered those!

FileMaker has a heritage it simply can't get away from - at least not yet. That heritage is represented by the fact that each FileMaker file used to be its own table prior to version 7. This meant having a window showing, was a guaranteed fact you were looking at a given table. When running scripts, FileMaker knew it would act upon the data of that table. Same file, same table, same data. That was a few versions back.

Enter FileMaker 7 and the ability to have multiple windows, multiple found sets and multiple instances of tables showing. FileMaker had to establish some type of method for acting on the data - they chose context. Running a script on a Customers layout, tied to a customers table, means the script will assume it should take actions based on the context - whether or not it makes sense.

So developers must now anticipate context and script accordingly. There are, however, situations where you need general routines that will function solution wide - regardless of context. This is when you need to use the methodology of "Take it with you".

In this video I'll show you a few of the complex methods I use for passing context based data into a non-context based script. It's a valuable skill that any FileMaker developer should have!

No matter how you go about it, you'll simply have to use a plug-in in order to get email direct from a server into your database. There are methods such as using a client to retrieve the email and then use AppleScript on the Macintosh to pull email from the client into a client copy of FileMaker Pro. I've never even tried VB Script (nor do I want to).

The question, however, is "Why not pull the email right into FileMaker fields?". The answer to that question is "Sure, let's do that!". All you need is a freely available PHP class, the ever powerful PHP plug-in from Scodigo.com, and little bit of know how.

Fortunately, this video is going to provide the know-how. Using the included technique file and a copy of the PHP plug-in, you'll be pulling email right into FileMaker in no time! What you do with it after that is up to you!

Searching for data, is one of those features which is constantly updated and tweaked. Especially as technology gets better. In all the time I've used FileMaker to create solutions, I can't count the number of times I've created a user-friendly search feature.

The goal, as always, is to make the search easy for your users, yet powerful enough that you don't have to create custom search requests each time someone needs something different.

For quick access to information, FileMaker has always provided an easy, but quickly confusing, query-by-form method of searching. This simply means you use the form you're looking at in order to create your search. The problem with this method is the fact that users don't know how to go beyond the first request. Having a user ask why a search for "CA" and "85201" won't return all the records for customers in California and in the zip code within Arizona, is based on knowing FileMaker's AND versus OR.

With some creativity and foresight, this new technique has been created to allow you to quickly implement a single field search on any layout you wish. This technique has just become my most favorite method for searching for data in FileMaker.

While FileMaker lacks an extensive event based user interface, it is possible to trigger scripts based on a variety of situations. If you need to trigger a script based on the creation, deletion or edit of a record, then this is possible.

What you need is a script triggering plug-in. There are a few of them out there. The one I choose to use for most all of my projects is named zippScript. In this video, I'll show you a simple method for triggering a script based on when a user leaves a field. The utility of this feature is as wide as you can imagine. For my purpose, I simply need to execute a search when the user leaves the global search field.

Over the years, there have been more than a few systems for extending the default FileMaker method of layout navigation. This video presents yet another method for automating and enhancing the way your solution provides layout navigation.

However, in this case, I'm quite fond of the combination of both simplicity and complexity. Simple in terms of implementation and complex in terms of what can be accomplished. Using the discussed method, it's possible to navigate to any desired layout based on a multitude of criteria. This makes your navigation system quite flexible - especially as your database grows.

A company that starts out with two employees, which uses this system, will be able to expand to many hundreds of employees with all kinds of different levels of navigation access!