ISO FileMaker Magazine

FileMaker developers who use editors like VS Code, IntelliJ IDEA, BBEdit, or even VIM are very familiar with the modern conveniences expected from a code editor: linters, code completion, formatting, syntax highlighting, and more. In FileMaker, however, we've been stuck in the 90s for quite a while.

One of my favorite tools is Typinator, which offers extensive text manipulation capabilities. Recently, a new tool for Mac developers was released that addresses the lack of a full-fledged editor. FMIndent, released by the well-respected Debi Fuchs from Aptworks, is a winner!

Adapting Perl code Debi created 20 years prior, we now have access to an OS-level tool that can format our code anywhere in FileMaker — or anywhere else on your computer for that matter.

With the power of Apple's Shortcuts app and the new FMIndent, you can absolutely format your code exactly as desired. If you like taking control over your code, give this video a watch. With the ability to post-process what FMIndent provides, there's little you can't do.

Special note about permissions: You may need to assign various levels of access to Shortcuts and the clipboard. As well as Allow Running Scripts within the Advanced area of Shortcut's settings.

While Claris International has made little to no changes to the FileMaker code editor (also known as the calculation dialog) in over two decades, there is no need for you to remain stuck in the past. Fortunately, for those of us using a Macintosh for solution development, the MBS (Monkeybread Software) plug-in offers modifications and enhancements to the code editor, which we often spend countless hours working in.

This video focuses on utilizing syntax highlighting within FileMaker to provide the best possible coding experience. While I've long installed the MBS plug-in within FileMaker, I rarely took advantage of the full feature set possible with its syntax highlight capabilities. Typically, I just went with the defaults. However, in recent years, there has been a growing desire for a more modern and capable code editor when working with Claris/FileMaker. Thankfully, this is achievable with MBS and some other coding tools. The only drawback is that it can be somewhat "mystifying" to achieve the exact appearance and understand how everything works. Often, you just want it to be "ready-made" for you, allowing you to choose a theme. In this video, we will explore how to make code editing within FileMaker as enjoyable as possible.