ISO FileMaker Magazine

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.