ISO FileMaker Magazine

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Being more productive when developing in FileMaker is something that will always pay off. You’ll create solutions faster and feel better about how quickly you can solve problems.

Due to the unique environment in which we write code, there are concepts other developers have access to that we don’t. We’re not using a standard text editor with modules and plug-ins to extend its functionality. In FileMaker, we rely on a few third-party plug-ins and tools to enhance the development experience.

In this video, I’ve invited Robert Naud and Josh Halpern to demonstrate Typinator from Ergonis Software. It’s a powerful tool that can handle all sorts of tasks involving the OS clipboard and FileMaker. Since FileMaker uses a dedicated clipboard format, which is primarily XML, you need to translate that XML into the normal text you work with. Typinator makes this possible. You can automatically inject script steps, layout objects, custom functions, and almost anything transferable via the clipboard. By combining AppleScript and/or JavaScript with a few command line tools, you can work in FileMaker with auto-expansions that make your job much easier!

Our world of software development is changing rapidly! With AI influencing the way we develop, it becomes increasingly important for developers to become informed about the tools which help them become more efficient.

Fortunately, we still live in a world where people have to coordinate and organize code. Even if AI can create near-flawless code in some cases, it doesn't create the ideas. Humans are the creative force. Whether you're using a simple Find & Replace to refactor some functions, or having AI create your next powerful JavaScript for your killer Web Viewer interactions, you still need to know about your available tools.

In this video, I walk you through a recent revision to an older tool I had been using to ease the amount of typing I have to do when using JSON as the parameter passing method within FileMaker scripts or when interacting with an API or anything else that uses JSON. No joke, the content in this video and the associated technique file can save you literally hundreds of hours when used effectively. I'll show you how.

When you consider every little action you take while creating any type of software, if you add all those actions up, you can end up with a lot of extra repeated steps.

In consideration of all the fields you may be creating for various utility purposes, along with your normal data fields, it's always a nice idea to take advantage of features which may save you those little bits of time.

In this video, and the provided sample file, you'll benefit from using FileMaker's somewhat hidden feature of Default Fields. You can easily create your own set of desired default fields. And, using the provided file, you can easily switch between these various sets of default fields. I also provide my own personal list of desirable default fields.

Plus, if you've not used the FileMaker 18+ feature of writing file data out, then you'll get a double benefit from this technique file and video. You'll be learning how to use the FMDefaultFields.xml file and how to manage a collection of settings which you can custom tailor for your own needs.

In the world of software development, there are few tools you simply can't live without. A debugger is the first which comes to mind; because no one gets their code exactly perfect the first time. Plus, it's always a matter of figuring things out until they work as expected or desired.

There are also those "other" tools which you can't really live without. ESPECIALLY, if you're working with a solution file which was created by someone other than yourself! When you need to discover what the heck was done, how, (and possibly why) then you absolutely need a tool like FMPerception.

In this video I showcase the FMPerception tool from Proof+Geist and cover what I think are the essential things to know about using the tool. True, there is way more to the tool than can be covered within a single video, but I do my best to give you some solid insight into using it.

Because of the rich UI experiences which JavaScript provides within a web browser, it makes sense to take advantage of the various possibilities. The difficulty may be putting all the pieces together in order to get something working correctly.

Fortunately, JavaScript isn't just for those "other developers". Those who already know what they're doing. You too, can easily integrate and use JavaScript within your own solutions. You simply need to be ready to learn enough in order to integrate successfully. You need to be a JavaScript integrator.

When you're comfortable with getting data in and out of FileMaker, then you're able to have all those rich experiences which are found within the world of the web browser.

An open source project named Carafe, created by Jeremiah Small, and released by Soliant in April of 2019, has provided a very easy way to integrate various JavaScript resources. In this video I walk through the tool and some of its features. I then show how to take one of the bundles and integrate into a brand new FileMaker file. If you're looking for more reasons to explore the use of JavaScript within your solution then this video provides a great place to start.

The Layout Objects palette was an absolutely WONDERFUL addition to working in FileMaker's Layout Mode. If you've not given yourself the time to fully explore what's possible with it then this video will give you a great reason to do so.

In this video, I walk through a re-work I needed to do on a database project which had a ton of extra layout objects. I show you how I used the Layout Objects palette in the most effective way possible. The tips and tricks provided may very well save you a ton of time too.

Think there might be some hidden tricks waiting within the Layout Objects palette? Then this video is certainly for you!

Over the years, FileMaker has added, enhanced and modified various areas of the development platform. One of the areas which has seen a big transition is the way favorites are managed. If you're a long-time developer of FileMaker solutions, then one of the more recent changes in FileMaker 16 may be a bit disconcerting.

The change was to how favorites are managed. In fact, they simply took out the menu option and sorta left you hanging. The "Manage favorites..." menu is no longer present within FileMaker 16. If you were used to heading to that menu item in order to reorder, add or remove favorites, then your access to the dialog was recently cut off.

It was replaced a while back, but isn't all that obvious if you've not used the new Launch Center's cute little "star" (favorite) icons. This now pretty much the only way to manage favorite files and hosts. Fortunately, once you get used to the new way of doing things, you can easily take back control over your favorite hosts and files.