(Unofficial) Planet FileMaker

From Dwayne Wright - Certified FileMaker 9 Developer
WEB: www.dwaynewright.com
EMAIL: info@dwaynewright.com
TWITTER: dwaynewright

A READER ASKS

I've made significant enhancements to the bare bone Parish application that I was working on and now have one more question for you.

How do I update the application after distribution?

That is, after the application has been in use for a period of time, how do I replace the application on a machine without killing the data which people have updated. (In the days of exe's I would just bring in a new exe and all would be OK). With FM the data and the application are all rolled into one.

Will I have to do an 'export' table by table, or is there an easier way?

-------
DWAYNE RESPONDS
Well, you have hit upon one of the big hurdles for any FileMaker developer that thinks “I could make my database a product and sell it to a particular vertical market.”

There are a few different directions you can go and (in the end) you will probably need to do a combination of them. The quick list is ...

- Script an import routine that sucks all the data out of the old and puts it into the new
- Implement a separation model to divide data and interface cleanly
- Do a hosted implementation of your solution

ABOUT THE SEPARATION MODEL
In light of the way you phrased your question, your most promising first step could be utilizing a method called the separation model. This is a technique in which you have all your data within one FileMaker file and all your interface elements in another file. You use the ability for FileMaker to have external file references in order to blend the two so it looks like they are one. This isn’t as hard as it seems and that (kinda, sorta, maybe) is going to take you where you want to go. Ideally, you would give your clients a new interface file and it would immediately blend with their current data file and your update is complete.

The reality of the matter is that the data file contains all your data fields and your update is likely going to have some changes in the data field area. You will probably still want to go down that road because it does help you separate the tasks you will need to do. You can give your client a new version of the data file that has all the interface changes and then do your import and other actions in the single data file. So if you have any problems, they are most likely going to be limited to the data file area. That is given that you don’t have any fundamental problems with the interface file as a whole. Then again, you can target those problems and work in that file and simply give it to the customer.

I plan on writing a series of posts on the separation model and that is probably going to start at the end of the summer. I’m wrapping up a series of articles on Anchor/Buoy on my FileMaker Relationships Explored blog and then I will dive into all thing separation.

ABOUT SCRIPTED IMPORTS
This is the most common way to update a client file to a newer version. It does work but it does require the users database to go off line for a period of time and the process really should be supervised by a developer. The idea is that the script would go to a layout for each table in the solution, import the old data, update the serial number fields for the next record and then go to a layout for the next table until the process is complete.

ABOUT HOSTING YOUR SOLUTION
Now this one is a little bit country and a little bit rock n roll. The idea is that you hook up with a database hosting provider or have your own FileMaker Advanced Server(s) that you put your client files upon. So the client doesn’t really have a physical access to the file and everything is done remotely. This means you can implement changes as needed and not disrupt the users. It also means you can insure their files are always backed up and troubleshooting any problems they may have is much easier. It allows you to make any needed tweaks they may want with their files easier. You can even add an “order from the menu” option to users in which they can look at a series of enhancement options and select among them. Using FileMaker Advanced, you can grab huge chunks of core technology to make the “order from the menu” process quite easy.

If you are going to purchase your own servers, the downside is the equipment, software and IT related costs. Hosting providers are great in the aspect that they do all the heavy lifting IT work for you and you don’t have to invest in additional equipment and software. You can concentrate your attention and financial resources to the database development itself. Possible downsides include, if everyone that works at your hosting provider is at the big annual comic book convention when the server goes down, all your clients are down and you might find yourself in a sticky situation.

** I’m joking about that ... kinda, sorta, maybe. ***

OTHER METHODS
There are most likely other techniques out there that are a tribute to something you would see in an episode of Wallace & Gromit. This can include custom functions, plug-ins, web viewer technology, SQL calls and the like. Some of these methods may be great and worthwhile for independent exploration. Others might become the equivalent experience of snow boarding down Mount Everest in your underwear.

At the onset of a new enterprise for you such as this, I highly recommend starting with the most fundamentally sound and proven methods first and after conquering those implementations, build a list of how other alternatives might fill in the gaps.

IN SUMMARY
You might be a bit disappointed that FileMaker themselves have not added technology that would could make the updating and distribution process more streamlined. In many ways, recent updates to FileMaker have made the hosting option possible and that might be the way to go for you. It is a little bit “out of the box” to think about distributing solutions without any physical process of moving files to a client location.

I would at least try the hosted route with your first client and see how it goes. Learning from that experience will help you tailor that experience for your other users .... or ... make a decision it is simply not a viable method for you.

BTW: My friends at thedroolingdog.com offer a free 30 day trial period for FileMaker hosting.
=
More info about the author and FileMaker in general, contact me at info@dwaynewright.com.

© 2008 - Dwayne Wright - dwaynewright.com

The material on this document is offered AS IS. There is NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, expressed or implied, nor does any other contributor to this document. WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT ABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. Consequential and incidental damages are expressly excluded. FileMaker Pro is the registered trademark of FileMaker Inc.


===== UNPAID ADVERTISEMENT FOR A SERVICE I RECOMMEND =====


For more information about the database hosting services from thedroolingdog, please visit http://www.thedroolingdog.com/
===================================================================

type in name of folder and location and the batch file makes it for you. the link for the code is: http://jakashthree.googlepages.com/folderfactory

Author: jakash3
Keywords: folder batch file maker cmd command prompt
Added: July 25, 2008

Author: Court Bowman
Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 5:15 am (GMT -9)
Topic Replies: 1

Lisa,

Thanks for downloading the demo and giving it a try.

As far as filtering the names down, FileMaker's built in find should help you accomplish this. There is a find button at the top of the screen, if you click that you can find for anything you wish, for example, to find people in Ohio, type Ohio (or OH if that is how you store it) in the state field of their address.

A person cannot be part of more than one group. That was a simplification we made as part of the system to keep it easy to use. For what you are tracking, I would use one of the custom fields at the bottom of the screen (you can change their labels on the preferences screen) and place their, let's call it affiliation, there. That will make it easier to search as well.

Again, for birthday, I would use one of the custom fields at the bottom for unique points of data that you collect, that are not part of the system. So after you change it it might look like this:



I hope that helps.

I hope you don't mind, but I've posted this to our forums in case you question could help others.

Court
_________________
Court Bowman, President
Cleveland Consulting, Inc.

http://www.clevelandconsulting.com/

Author: Court Bowman
Subject: Question about custom fields
Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 5:11 am (GMT -9)
Topic Replies: 1

This came in by email from someone trying the demo:

Quote:

I downloaded the single user demo after speaking w/Mr. Bowman yesterday. I believe this program will work for us, but I have a couple of questions. I would like to be able to filter the names for certain mailings--like narrow it down to people in a certain location or ones that have responded to a particular email--how do I do that? Can a person be part of more than one group? Like they are involved in both the women's ministry and homeless meals. Or is "group" not the best way to keep up with that? Also, I would like to add something simple like their birthday and anniversary and be able to pull up the month of July and say, ok, here are all the b-days and annivs this month--what would be the best way to accomplish that? Thanks for your help Lisa

_________________
Court Bowman, President
Cleveland Consulting, Inc.

http://www.clevelandconsulting.com/

Bento, the personal database application for Mac OS X Leopard, "may be one of the most user-friendly relational database applications I have ever encountered," suggests Tom Nelson (about.com). "For a remarkably low price of $49, FileMaker has created a truly easy-to-use database product."

In the lower left corner of the calculation dialog box, you will see a check box next to a label describing the function of the check box as ... Do Not Evaluate If All Referenced Fields Are Empty. This is basically an “all or nothing” approach to calculations that have other fields within them (which is ... like ... always) but has the twist that the calculation concatenates other elements. (like other fields, functions or literal text data).

It only makes a difference when all the data in all the referenced fields are empty.


Here is an example that might illustrate the need to have this field checked. I have a portal in my blog database (that I use to write postings) that keeps track of the number of new crossword questions I’ve created. As I write a posting, I copy and paste some of that content into the crossword portal to create questions on the fly. When I get close to 25 or so questions, I realize it is about time to export that data out and create a new online crossword puzzle.

So I could have a calculation that tell me in plain english that would say, “Hey Dwayne, you have 17 new crossword puzzle questions right now.” The calculation would look something like ...

“Hey Dwayne, you have " & Count(blog_Crosswords__new::Status) & " new crossword puzzle questions right now.”

Now, if I have new crossword questions created, the setting for Do Not Evaluate If All Referenced Fields Are Empty doesn’t matter one way of the other. Once again, it only makes a difference when all the data in all the referenced fields are empty.

Now say I just completed my export and updated all these records as posted, so I now have no new crossword puzzles created. So my calculation of Count(blog_Crosswords__new::Status) is both zero and empty. Kind of weird to say that something is both zero and empty but it can be an important distinction.

In the above case of now new crossword puzzle questions and the Do Not Evaluate If All Referenced Fields Are Empty is checked, my calculation returns nothing. If it is unchecked, I get ...

Hey Dwayne, you have 0 new crossword puzzle questions right now.”

This is because the literal text on both sides of my referenced fields still shows up in the calculation and it looks a little weird. It still returns accurate data but doesn’t conform to an “all or nothing” mindset.



Here are some links to other posts that might be of interest in regards to this topic...
Container Fields
The GetAsText Function
Inserting QuickTime Movies Into Container Fields
The Insert Picture Script Step
Insert File Script Step
A READER ASKS: QuickTime And Container Fields
Embedded Images
Images (working with)


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===================================================================

FileMaker TV ad Japan

Author: pmgart
Keywords: FileMaker TV ad Japan
Added: July 23, 2008

FileMaker japan ad.

Author: pmgart
Keywords: Filemaker ad
Added: July 23, 2008

From Dwayne Wright - Certified FileMaker 9 Developer
WEB: www.dwaynewright.com
EMAIL: info@dwaynewright.com
TWITTER: dwaynewright

So Michael Gaslowitz sent me a nice email about some of this recent blog posts, including a recap of the sessions that had the most impact for him at this years conference. After reading his very well written post, I was hungry for more.

BTW: Here is a link to Michael’s blog site ( http://www.gaslowitz.net/filemaker/blog/ ).

Unfortunately for the FileMaker community at large, FileMaker/Advisor has a business mindset to never share information from the conference to anyone but those attending the conference. In many ways, I feel this is a huge missed opportunity on their part to grow their business by feeding their developer army at large ... but ... you have to acknowledge that some people that attended this years conference wouldn’t have done so, if the information would have been available some other way.

This is a hot topic that has been discussed for many years but it appears that there isn’t any going to be any change in that decision process in the future.

Funny though, the few posts that I’ve seen from people from this years conference have instilled a small regret in my not attending this year. Sure wish there was some sort of middle ground for detailed remote study of FileMaker conference session content (videos/session notes) and still insure that FileMaker/Advisor conference business needs are met at the same time.

Anyway, I thought I’d share with you the links that I’ve found thus far about this years conference and I’m very interested in growing this list. So please do not hesitate to send me any links, pictures, sound files or the like you would like to share.

Michael Gaslowitz from his blog - FileMaker DevCon 2008 Recap
http://www.gaslowitz.net/filemaker/blog/2008/07/filemaker-devcon-2008-recap/

Jason Mundok from his blog - download the AgileSample FM database from his session
http://www.fmagile.com/2008/07/filemaker-devcon-2008.html

adatasol podcasts - a few podcast audio files from this years conference
http://podcast.adatasol.com/

utube - FileMaker DevCon 2008 Music Jam
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gEfSI40ZSOQ

Geoff Coffey (six fried rice) - his submitted video to become a devcon speaker
http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/by-popular-demand/

Todd Geist / Geist Interactive - DevCon 2008 Files and Slides
http://www.geistinteractive.com/node/44

FileMaker Cafe Entry
http://filemakertoday.com/com/showthread.php?t=18636

Oh, by the way, it was announced that the 2009 DevCon will be in San Francisco! Yeah!
=
More info about the author and FileMaker in general, contact me at info@dwaynewright.com.

© 2008 - Dwayne Wright - dwaynewright.com

The material on this document is offered AS IS. There is NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, expressed or implied, nor does any other contributor to this document. WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT ABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. Consequential and incidental damages are expressly excluded. FileMaker Pro is the registered trademark of FileMaker Inc.
====================== ADVERTISEMENT ==============================
To check out the online FileMaker Crosswords, please visit http://www.dwaynewright.com/crossword.html
===================================================================

Author: Pat_rick
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 3:05 am (GMT -9)
Topic Replies: 2

Yup, that will do it, just needed to know what it was and if an actual work around was possible. The locking idea is a good way to prevent users from testing it out.

Devcon is a great opportunity to see what's been recently released in the world of FileMaker and what is coming out. I have to admit to myself, and maybe you will too, that even when I see new press releases, I often don't take the time to investigate - regardless of whether they have information that might help me accomplish things quicker or more efficiently... - (ISO FileMaker Magazine)

Well known FileMaker authors John Mark Osborne and Steven Blackwell are teaching the new FileMaker Training Series for FileMaker Pro 9 in Washington DC. Training is also being offered in San Jose, California. The FileMaker Training Series is the official training curriculum from FileMaker, Inc. It offers a series of 12 training modules that cover a comprehensive set of topics designed to help you master the essentials of FileMaker solution development.. - (Database Pros)

We really enjoyed our time at DevCon this year.  We saw many old friends, and made many new ones. Several people coming by our booth said they were new to FileMaker and did not know much about plug-ins yet. They seemed pretty excited as we told them the many ways that plug-ins can extend the features of FileMaker. We were also excited to see plug-ins in the limelight throughout the conference and even featured in the opening keynote... - (Comm-Unity Networking Systems)

A new article was just posted on the myFMbutler blog, "Drag-and-drop with FileMaker". This week's example shows a simple technique to use drag-and-drop functionality to select a record and drag it to another record to create a link between them. On the myFMbutler blog, you'll find not only background information about myFMbutler products, but also tips about such features as FileMaker 9 Conditional Formatting, Custom Functions, etc.. - (myFMbutler)

You can create an original website from your FileMaker Pro XML file instantly. All you needs are export "FMPXMLRESULT" file and upload. This service does not require FileMaker Server. In other word, you can publish your custom web contents with normal hosting service... - (Los Angeles Majestic, Inc.)

We sometimes get requests from customers to implement drag-and-drop in our solutions, for selecting certain records, e.g. you want to select a nice beer and add it to you order. This week's example shows a simple technique to use drag-and-drop functionality to select a record and drag it to another record to create a link between them.

Drag-n-drop with FileMaker

The first thing you have to do is to give the images in the container the same name as the id for the record. So for record 1 we are going to store a picture with 1.png in the container field, for record 2, 2.png etc ...

Now we can use simple auto enter functions, to get the id from of the name of the container data.

Download the example file here.

customized lists - Reverse list - Not recursive - Submitted by Agnes Barouh

You can use any conversion program; I just like SUPER =) THANKS FOR WATCHING

Author: solvingtime
Keywords: play windows video how to convert mac movie file maker macintosh osx change
Added: July 21, 2008

Author: Court Bowman
Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2008 5:19 pm (GMT -9)
Topic Replies: 2

Patrick,

Sorry for the delay, there is really no way to fix this, as it has a lot to do with the way FIlemaker draws things, not the way the system draws things, which tend to be very different.

What many developers do, if it really bothers you, is lock the feature from end users so it can't look bad to them. Far from an ideal solution, but it would avoid those unsightly mis-alignments...

Not sure that helps...
_________________
Court Bowman, President
Cleveland Consulting, Inc.

http://www.clevelandconsulting.com/

Calling all Readers: Tell us what you think!

Explore new, brilliantly useful features for your FileMaker Web development for the iPhone.

From Dwayne Wright - Certified FileMaker 9 Developer
WEB: www.dwaynewright.com
EMAIL: info@dwaynewright.com
TWITTER: dwaynewright

So many of you probably have a main screen in your solution that allows you to show basic information or controls to your users. Have you every thought about how this can be used as a method to inform users of updates and track update history overall?

I thought I’d share this as a quick tip because I found it quite handy. In my FileMaker CRM product InBizness, I current have 7 tabs in my Main layout. These include ...

THE ABOUT TAB
Tells you a little bit about the program and welcome the first time user.

THE VERSION HISTORY TAB
Allows you to quickly see how the product is evolving and helps you keep abreast of the directions it is going. This is broken down into subtabs to allow the user to see even more information about version history.

THE PREFERENCES TAB
A general area that allows you to set the unique information your company may be using like the default shipping address for purchased products.

THE LICENSE TAB
The agreement on how InBizness SOHO can be used and distributed.

THE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TAB
One big advantage in creating databases with FileMaker Pro is the community of developers and how they openly share tools to make better databases. This is an area where I try to acknowledge those that helped make each update of InBizness SOHO possible.

THE INBIZNESS BLOG TAB
Uses the web viewer to see what is happening in the InBizness product line via its associated blog.

THE DWAYNEWRIGHT.COM TAB
To see the company web site (again using the web viewer) within FileMaker / InBizness. No need to hunt for that URL again.

Click the picture to see in a larger view.

If you use something like this for your users, I’d be interested in hearing on how you use tabs in your main screen and what those tabs do.
=
More info about the author and FileMaker in general, contact me at info@dwaynewright.com.

© 2008 - Dwayne Wright - dwaynewright.com

The material on this document is offered AS IS. There is NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, expressed or implied, nor does any other contributor to this document. WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT ABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. Consequential and incidental damages are expressly excluded. FileMaker Pro is the registered trademark of FileMaker Inc.

From Dwayne Wright - Certified FileMaker 9 Developer
WEB: www.dwaynewright.com
EMAIL: info@dwaynewright.com
TWITTER: dwaynewright

A READER ASKS
I am just starting using FileMaker and I already have few problems. I have found your site by searching through google. It is great, but have not found the solution for my problems, yet.

I have two questions:

1.) In a portal I have different items with their descriptions, tax rates, prices, tax prices. The problem is, that I need to sum all the tax prices for one tax rate, separately from other. For example: I want to sum tax prices for all the items with 10% tax in one field and all tax for items with 20% in the other. Can this be done? How? I can send you a file where I need to sum this, but I probably need to translate it...

2.) Every record needs some kind of a comment (or agreement terms). Sometimes they are the same, sometimes just similar (and they just need to be corrected). And they are quite long. I would love to use the option of a custom dialog, but would also like, that when program asks you what you want to be written, it already contains most common text(only one variable). This probably could not be done in this way? Another option that I found is to use editable field, which has chosen the auto-entry function. I cannot use data option, because the text contains too much characters. But I can use From last record function, or I could split the text in more fields.

Is there any other way to do this? I would really like to have something similar as the custom dialog option.

-------
DWAYNE RESPONDS
Thanks for the kind words on my FileMaker blogs. In regards to your questions ...

1) Well, I assume you have a tax percent field in the line items themselves. I do this myself in my InBizness product because some products may have different tax rates. You can go in (at least) one of two possible directions here.

Option 1: Create two calculation fields in the line items table. One will only calculate the tax if the tax percent value is 10% or below. The second field calculates only is the tax percent value if it is greater than 10%. Then your two fields use the Sum function to the line item calculation that is relevant to it.

Option 2: I wouldn’t do it this way but you could setup a relationship link for both situations for the two fields to calculate accordingly. One relationship only calculates the values at or below 10% and the other relationship above 10%. In a case like this, your relationship is a filter for your calculation results.

The difference is ... do you want two additional fields in your line items table or do you want two additional relationships in your graph.

2) This is commonly referred to as a template table. For example, this table can contain many common responses to a question and show them in a portal. Clicking a button in the table takes that value and places it within the text. This is how I do my own advertisements in my FileMaker blog posts. All the types of ads that I want to use are in their own table. I click a portal row and it imbeds the advertising html information in the footer of my post.

You could also try setting up a trigger field, instead of a portal. The trigger field would show a value list of “template” options. When you add a value to the trigger field, an auto enter takes place in the comments field.

If you would want to cover this in more, I could show you via a virtual one on one session.
=
More info about the author and FileMaker in general, contact me at info@dwaynewright.com.

© 2008 - Dwayne Wright - dwaynewright.com

The material on this document is offered AS IS. There is NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, expressed or implied, nor does any other contributor to this document. WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT ABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. Consequential and incidental damages are expressly excluded. FileMaker Pro is the registered trademark of FileMaker Inc.
====================== ADVERTISEMENT ==============================
For more information on the Virtual One On One Training, please visit http://www.dwaynewright.com/training.html
===================================================================

[r0x] Clan Vbs file maker made by [r0x] G!nG3 thank to SilverMagics to the save code

Author: sambest654
Keywords: SilverMagics [r0x] Clan Vbs file maker
Added: July 19, 2008

My previous post led me to YouTube, which reminded me of a few screen casts I did for O’Reilly when FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual was released. I could only find two on line, but I thought I’d link them here in case anyone finds them useful.

Many of you may not know that in order to be accepted as a speaker at the FileMaker Developers Conference, you have to submit a “speaker demo,” which is a short self-made video of yourself presenting some topic.

I had to do this for the first time last year, and my demo video was a bit of a hit among my Phoenix FileMaker friends. I wasn’t accepted as a speaker in 2007, so maybe the powers that be didn’t think I had exactly the right idea.

Author: Pat_rick
Subject: Zooming alters layout look
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:26 am (GMT -9)
Topic Replies: 2

Just a quick question concerning FileMaker:

Is there any way to set up FileMaker so as to avoid distortions between the 100% (normal) view and the zoomed in or out views?

Because as it stands, my objects line up correctly when I view my project at 100% but as soon as I zoom in or out, the alignment screws up and some of my objects start overlapping until I return to the normal view.

I read that this was caused because zoomed in or out views use anti-aliasing whereas the normal view doesn't. Do you know any way to fix FileMaker to avoid these discrepancies between views or is it just a flaw in FileMaker's design?

thx

SHpartners just received a "FileMaker Excellence Award for FBA Business Partner of the Year" at DevCon.

Obviously we are very proud

Transforms a list of values into a tabular text array. - Submitted by Michael Horak

If you ever need a country letter code... - Submitted by Edward Souza

More than 1,200 developers from around the world gather this week for our annual FileMaker Developer Conference, in Phoenix, AZ. At DevCon, many FileMaker development firms are announcing new tools, solutions and services for every type of FileMaker user, developer and workgroup.

If you’re participating in FileMaker Developer Conference this week, or just want a taste of the excitement, check out our live Internet radio from DevCon. You can listen to live conversation with DevCon speakers and FileMaker experts, and even phone in and join the conversation. Click on the headline for DevCon live internet radio dates and times, and call-in phone numbers.

Dan talks to the Ernest Koe, Stephen Ritchie and Mike Lee regarding the company and their new product, fmSpark.

Matt talks to Geoff about their DevCon announcements, including a new version of their Business Tracker solution.

Find out what you can do with the free Google Chart API.

Dan arrives in Phoenix and talks to various attendees including Steven Knight and Michael Petrov of FM WebSchool who have a new app for the iphone - "fm touch".

Dan talks to Jesse about new versions of SuperContainer and ScriptMaster being released at DevCon.

Here are the files from all of my DevCon presentations. I will have lots more to say about this in a later post. But I promised I would get the files up ASAP. So here they are.

Transactions

Web Viewer

Have fun. Thanks for coming to my sessions :>)

Matt talks to people arriving in Phoenix and preparing for the start of the conference.

Transposes a tabular text array. Requires the GetColumn () custom function. - Submitted by Michael Horak

Returns a list of values from the requested column in text. - Submitted by Michael Horak

7 myFMbutler 'butlers' will attend FileMaker DevCon in Phoenix, AZ this year.

As in previous years, myFMbutler will have a booth were we will be showcasing our products. Be sure to stop by our booth and ask us about the special DevCon promotions.

In the FileMaker Pro developer community there is a general lack of clear understanding about the need for the correct type of security in FileMaker Pro solutions.

There is too much focus on passwords and not enough focus on the protection of assets and the mitigation of adverse impacts of breaches. There is also too much focus on the creation of “custom” “security” systems and not enough focus on identifying threats and the risks of their occurring. There is too much complaining about how “hard” it is to have good security and not enough appreciation about the adverse impact of having the wrong type of security.

As a result of all this, at the upcoming FileMaker Developer Conference in Phoenix I will be conducting a special session:

Assets, Vulnerabilities, Threats, and Risks:
What Type Security Is Right For You?
Tuesday, July 15th 2008
11:15 AM to 12:30 PM
Sonoran Ballroom H

This session will feature a discussion of how to determine the right type of security for your solution. It is based on a set of circumstances specific to your individual solution, but common to all FileMaker Pro solutions.

All assets are subject to threats that can exploit vulnerabilities that, in turn, can breach their Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. The level of adverse impact of such a breach varies situation by situation as do the risks of those threats’ occurring and the prevalence of threat agents that can trigger the exploits.

Security then must focus on closing vulnerabilities, on blocking threat agents, and on mitigating adverse impact of breaches. And a great many FileMaker Pro solutions take no cognizance whatsoever of this key requirement.

So, if you are at the Develop Conference, feel free to stop by to listen, to contribute, or to debate this very important subject.

—–
Steven H. Blackwell
Platinum Member, FileMaker Business Alliance
Partner Member, FileMaker Solutions Alliance (1997-2007)
FileMaker 9 Certified Developer
FileMaker 8 Certified Developer
FileMaker 7 Certified Developer
FileMaker Authorized Trainer

We just released a public beta of Clip Manager 3.0, our popular tool that lets you take control of the FileMaker clipboard. It allows you to store FileMaker fields, tables, scripts, script steps, custom functions and layout objects in an easy-to-use library.

What's new in version 3.0?

Rewritten from scratch as a cross-platform application

Completely redesigned interface

Smart folders for Clip history

Added Syntax Coloring to clip contents

Added clip analysis to show more information about a clip

Greatly improved Clips browser

Clip Manager 3.0 will be available later this year for EUR 49,- or about USD 75,- for a cross-platform license that allows simultaneous use of the product on a Mac and a Windows machine, and EUR 179,- or about USD 279,- for a site license.
The upgrade will be available for EUR 20,- or about USD 30,- for a single user license.
All licenses purchased after June 1st, 2008 are entitled to a free upgrade.

Download the public beta here:

Mac version
Windows version

Our customers tell us that Bento, the stylish personal database for Mac, is fantastic for organizing everything from their clients and business contacts to jazz collections and goat herd details! And we want to hear your Bento story. Tell us briefly how and why you use Bento and you’ll get a chance to win an Apple iPhone 3G.

I have a client for whom I recently installed FileMaker 9 Server Advanced on a brand new dedicated Windows 2003-based server. It is running fine -- I was even able to easily work around the usual installation problem where the FMS installer cannot see IIS. All was good... This morning, I attempted to install an open source PHP/MySQL-based bulletin board application called Simple Machines Forum (

It’s almost here: the one essential FileMaker event of the year. FileMaker Developer Conference is July 13-17 in Phoenix, AZ. Whether you’re new to FileMaker or have been developing advanced solutions for years, you need to be there. You’ll learn about new technologies, bridge the gaps in your solution development skill set and discover what’s on the horizon with future versions of FileMaker software. Choose from more than 80 sessions and workshops and network with over 1,000 other FileMaker developers. Don't miss out!

Wrote an whitepaper on how to implement hierarchical structures in FileMaker 8 or above. Here's the PDF and a sample FileMaker file. Does anyone know how to suggest whitepapers to FileMaker, Inc.?

We just released AutoSender 2.5, a new version of our innovative tool that runs on FileMaker Server, and allows you to automatically send mail messages from your FileMaker solutions.

What's new in version 2.5 ?

support for multi-part mixed mail messages that contain both an HTML version and a plain text alternative

support for embedded enclosures in an HTML e-mail, using the cid: (Content-ID) URL scheme

added a preference to automatically clear cached attachments

a status indicator in the Preferences now shows whether the daemon / service is running or not

added a preference to automatically load AutoSender at startup or to start it manually

added timestamp to SMTP log

added support for XML over SSL

complete code clean-up and optimization

AutoSender 2.5 still requires either FileMaker Server 9 (XML) or FileMaker Server Advanced 7/8/9 (JDBC).

AutoSender 2.5 is a free upgrade for users of 2.0.

Download AutoSender 2.5 here.
More information is available on the AutoSender product page.

Let users add and remove pop-ups on-the-fly (and learn a little JavaScript along the way).

I've been using the ESS feature in FileMaker 9 for awhile now. I've used it to develop several FileMaker-based, mission critical solutions that integrate very well with SQL-based systems. I'm living proof that FileMaker can be integrated with SQL databases, and it can be done securely and efficiently. One of the most common complaints that I hear from SQL DBAs with regards to ESS is that they

This is our attempt to document the complete list of FileMaker features and in which version they were introduced.

We use this list in BaseElements 2 to determine the minimum version of FileMaker that your solution will run. To that end, this list doesn't include things like the updated New Database dialog, or the addition to the menu of functions such as Export to PDF or Send Link. If anyone would like, these others could be added in.

If you find anything missing or incomplete, please contact us, or post something in the comments.

Thanks to Ray Cologon for the use of his list of function references.

Version 9 - Released July 10, 2007

New Functions

• Acos
• Asin
• Get ( HostApplicationVersion )
• Get ( TemporaryPath )
• Self

New Layout Features

• AutoResize of Layout Objects
• Conditional Formatting
• Extra Web Viewer Options
• Field Level Control of Visual Spell Checking
• Tab Width Options

New Script Options

• Save Records As PDF (Append to existing option)
• Script Groups

Other New Features

• External SQL Sources
• PHP Extended Privileges

Version 8.5 - Released July 10, 2006

New Functions

• Get ( ActiveLayoutObjectName )
• GetAsURLEncoded
• GetLayoutObjectAttribute
• LayoutObjectNames
• List

New Layout Features

• Object Names
• WebViewer Control

New Script Steps

• Go To Object
• Set Web Viewer

Version 8 - Released August 29 2005

New Functions

• Get ( AllowToolbarState )
• Get ( CustomMenuSetName )
• Get ( DesktopPath )
• Get ( DocumentsPath )
• Get ( FileMakerPath )
• Get ( HostIPAddress )
• Get ( PreferencesPath )
• Get ( RecordOpenCount )
• Get ( RecordOpenState )
• Get ( RequestOmitState )
• Get ( ScriptResult )
• Get ( SystemDrive )
• Get ( TextRulerVisible )
• Get ( UseSystemFormatsState )
• Get ( WindowZoomLevel )
• GetAsBoolean
• GetNthRecord
• GetValue
• TextColorRemove
• TextFontRemove
• TextFormatRemove
• TextSizeRemove

New Layout Features

• Auto Complete from Dropdowns
• Drop Down Calendar format
• Tab Panels
• Tooltips
• Value Lists using show only second value
• Visual Spell Checker

New Script Steps

• Save Records As Excel
• Save Records As PDF
• Set Variable

New Script Options

• Auto Open or Email of export Files
• Disabled Script Steps
• Go To Related Record ( using found set )
• Select Window ( Current File Only )
• Send Mail ( Options )
• Set Field - Calculated Repetition value

Other New Features

• Use Variables in File Paths
• Custom Menus

Version 7 - Released March 9, 2004

This is incomplete at this stage - I'm hunting for more details at this point. If you have any documentation from that period, let me know.

New Functions

• Binomial
• Ceiling
• Div
• Evaluate
• Factorial
• Filter
• Floor
• Get ( AccountName )
• Get ( ExtendedPrivileges )
• GetAsDate
• GetAsNumber
• GetAsText
• GetAsTime
• HostTimestamp,
• LeftValues
• Let
• Lg
• Lookup
• MiddleValues
• RightValues
• SystemIpAddress
• SystemNICAddress
• TextColor
• TextFont
• TextSize
• TextStyleAdd
• TextStyleRemove
• TableIDs
• TableNames
• ValueCount

New Layout Features

• ...

New Script Steps

• Add Account
• Change Password
• Close Window
• Delete Account
• Else-If
• Enable Account
• Move/Resize Window
• New Window
• Re-Login
• Rename Window
• Reset Account Password
• Constrain Found Set
• Extend Found Set
• Select Window

Other New Features

• Calculation Commments
• Custom Functions
• Nested Substitute
• Run with Full Access Scripts
• Script Parameters
• [] notation for Repetitions

Alright, so nobody solved this brain teaser. I’m sure this had nothing to do with people having clients and lives, and everything to do with the original post getting hosed and the challenge being too darn hard anyway
So here, at long last, is the solution:

mebeliLet (
[
NewSubSummary =( GetNthRecord ( MyTable::MyKeyField ; Get(RecordNumber)-1) <> MyTable::MyKeyFieldкомпютри втора употреба ); //Test if record is the start of a new subsummary. MyKeyField is the sort field for my subsummary part.

$on = $val; // $on will always be whatever $val was last
$val = If (NewSubSummary; If ( $val = 1;"" ; 1) ) // switch the value of val
];
$on // if $on=1, then apply the conditional format

)

[edit:] Or, in much simpler terms:

Let (
[
$b = If ($b ;"" ;1 )
];
$b
)

To me, the interesting thing here is the way that these variable expressions are handled by FileMaker. First of all, the conditional formatting seems to get evaluated, as one might expect, from top to bottom of the page, allowing you to use variables to keep track of formatting decisions that were made earlier on the page, or even on previous pages. It seems there should be some much cooler implications of this, like multiple title headers and pseudo-headers (don’t know what I mean by that? Neither do I…). The other interesting thing is that the variables here are local variables, but they’re kept active while the whole page is rendered by preview mode, which is what allows me to make reference to the last evaluation of $val and produce the alternating effect (yeah, I know I could just as easily use global variables, but it’s handy to know I don’t have to)

The reason that this gave me a checkerboard on the first try:

was because I had placed the formula on a repeating field, meaning that each conditional format formula was evaluated for each repetition, left-to-right. Once I placed the calc on a regular field, the checkerboard was gone and I had nice alternating rows.

I think I've found a bug in FileMaker Pro 9's ESS function, specifically with regards to how it deals with SQL views as datasources. Here's the story... I was working on a FileMaker / SQL Server integration project, and run into a problem. I was trying to include a view in the relationship graph. I selected the datasource, selected the view, and was prompted to select a column to use as the

I presented my Atomic Context slides today in L.A. for the mother of all FileMaker developer groups, FMDiSC.

You can get the presentation as a PDF file (2MB), PowerPoint slide show (2MB), or QuickTime Movie with narration (appx 30 minutes and 140MB).

(I made the video a downloadable MOV file, rather than a Google Video or YouTube video, because it needs high resolution to be able to read the slides.)

- Submitted by Ralph Nusser