Leveraging HTML Frameworks
I think I may be right in assuming one of the most under utilized features of FileMaker is the web viewer. Not because it's hard. Rather, because it's a hassle.
When you're using a web viewer for the display of data, you must to be comfortable with knowing a bit of HTML, as well as CSS, in order to achieve the desired look.
Unlike native FileMaker, it's not like selecting a piece of text in Layout mode and simply making it bold and changing the font and color.
The big advantage, however, is the degree of control and interactivity you can exercise within a web viewer.
Not surprisingly, a good percentage of native iOS apps are compiled from the web viewer familiar features of HTML and CSS. If taking advantage of the web viewer is something you've been avoiding, then bypass the hassle of hand crafting your own CSS and go for an existing framework.
Using Twitter's Bootstrap, I show you how easy it is to integrate a very attractive kind of output using web viewers. You can easily integrate into your own FileMaker files in record time!
Comments
Brilliant episode!
This is a great technique. I love that you can add your own Filemaker fields and globals to the html to make this a dynamic front page for any record.
Bootstraptastic!
This is really spectacular. You are always pushing way beyond the boundaries of Filemaker. The Twitter Bootstrap framework is great. We use it in our free CMS, http://www.mukurtu.org (the site is running the software, and the whole page is built using Bootstrap), and people love it because they can do powerful thematic changes without knowing a lot of code.
But you have taking things to a new level with this solution. Awesome.
Re: loading images, pdfs from temp file, are you referring to the technique you discuss in the "Solution Wide User Avatar Images"?
Some more clues on how to implement this would be great.
Do you plan on releasing the Certification guide, or will it be available somewhere. That would be doubly awesome.
Thank you, truly amazing.
Thanks
I rejoined Filemaker Magazine just to take a look at this solution. I have to say, you really think out of the box to come up with these solutions and I appreciate that. On the other side, though, I am always somewhat disappointed with Filemaker itself. I always feel like we are trying to do work around solutions. I have gotten into some other kinds of programming (such as Ruby on Rails, Coldfusion) just becaus of this. But there is also something that brings me back when I'm looking for a solution to come up with quickly. I hope they embrace some sort of way to integrate HTML 5 technologies in a more direct way. Just as you said with bootstrap "the hard work has already been done for you" If they could some how make the presentation level to be html based, just think of all of the possibilities. This would really make filemaker into a solution that is fast and easy to delvelop modern design solutions.