ISO FileMaker Magazine

Finding things within any database system requires the understanding of how to make a proper query of what you're searching for. In FileMaker, this comes in the form of FileMaker's Query By Form method of searching. To fully understand all of its power, you need to explore the concept of multiple requests, omit requests, using search operators and more.

However, before you even start to get into Query By Form, you need to know what's going on with FileMaker's Quick Find feature. It's a very powerful method of searching which will satisfy most users' needs.

In this video you'll find a step-by-step approach to using the two primary forms of searching FileMaker data. First, we start with maximizing Quick Find and then move on to using FileMaker's Query By Form method of searching for data.

While there are some features which FileMaker provides natively, I often wonder how heavily they are used. One feature in particular is the Saved Finds feature, which is only available in Find Mode. It's a great feature in terms of convenience, however, its implementation is right on top of the funky developer'ish UI. It's buried many levels deep within multiple dialogs (if you want to modify any of the saved searches) and it's just not as pretty as developing your own within a dedicated layout or UI widget.

In this video and technique file, I showcase a system of how to provide the same feature of saving user searches. This is handled in such a way that you can make the searches available to whatever user/group or permission set you desire. Unlike the native features in FileMaker, it's not user account specific. Ultimately, it provides many more advantages of being able to run automated searches.

If your data is the kind where multiple routine searches are frequently re-run, then this technique will have what you need. AND, a big bonus is a tip about how to detect when a user executes a search vs when a FileMaker script does so and being able to determine the difference.

As with all software projects, one of the biggest prices you'll ever pay is the accumulated technical debt. It's a cost which starts as soon as you make the choice to simply write a new script with every new feature you add into your FileMaker solution.

Thus, the trick with creating something which is easier to manage is to simply decide to limit the number of things you create. So, what does one do when you've made that decision? Well, you focus on using the available toolset, using great organization and creating a small amount of utility scripts in order to limit the number of things you would otherwise have to create.

In this video, I showcase an enhanced version of a system I designed a while back. It's a method for making simple, or even somewhat complex searches within the UI of your solution. You simply specify what you're searching for within the script parameter you're passing into the script. With the availability of JSON now, we have a very descriptive method of knowing what is being searched for.

Each time a new version of FileMaker is released there are more features and more information about what’s possible with the software. More functionality means more learning in order to take advantage of those features.

There are, however, core features which should be known by all developers. This includes knowing how to script Find mode and building an interface around the search functionality. Knowing how to script an omitted find request may not be super obvious unless you think of Find mode as being the same as Browse mode. Yet, scripting Find mode is exactly like scripting Browse mode. You can create an automated find which can be as complex or as simple as desired. It’s all a matter of translating what you would do with the normal native functionality and wrapping a user interface around it.

That’s what this video is all about. Taking the native methods for finding data sets and putting a user interface around them. When combined with a thought process towards lower maintenance costs, you can create some efficient methods of finding data.

One of the fastest ways to load records into a found set is to simply perform a Find. What becomes a bit difficult, beyond your most basic single field search, is filtering the results of what the user has specified by the requirements of the solution.

What needs to happen is a plain and simple hijacking of FileMaker's Find mode.

This can easily be done with the features provided by FileMaker Pro. You just need to know where and how to hook things up. Most intermediate to advanced users know about FileMaker's Custom Menu Sets, and that's a great place to start, but, what if there was an easier way to limit search results based on a very simple implementation which you may not have considered before?

That's what this video is all about. The features which provide you with the greatest amount of control over what happens within FileMaker's Find mode. Ever wanted to hijack FileMaker's Quick Find? You can do that too. You control what a search returns when you know how to hijack Find mode!