ISO FileMaker Magazine

Living the 100% FileMaker native life is certainly possible, but can be seriously limiting when it comes to all the things possible with various other technologies. JavaScript, as one of the predominant languages used across the Internet and beyond, is quickly becoming a must-know for every serious FileMaker developer.

In this video I showcase using the MBS plug-in in order to take advantage of the VERY WIDE world of JavaScript libraries and doing it without the Web Viewer. FileMaker's Web Viewer, while providing a full runtime WebKit engine, is a bit of a liability in certain situations. Because of the Web Viewer's caching, especially if your script does any moving around between records and/or layouts, you have to be extra cautious about how you implement the use of a Web Viewer for running JavaScript. If you're not careful, you won't get the reliable results you might expect as opposed to simply executing plain old JavaScript.

The solution to finicky Web Viewer execution is to take advantage of the JavaScript offered by a plug-in. The most comprehensive plug-in regarding JavaScript is the MBS plug-in. If you've never used its raw JavaScript power, then you're in for a great surprise of how easy it can be and this video will guide you towards taking full advantage of what it has to offer!

When you're dealing with any type of web service which doesn't offer an API for data exchange, you'll inevitably end up working with a web form for getting data into that service. Data has to get in via some method and the most common is your standard web form.

Maybe you need to interact with a Google Form or some other public form service. While some of these services will provide a standard format such as CSV for pulling data out, there are still those services where you need to popuate a web form using your own data.

So, when it comes to moving data in and out of FileMaker, via a web form, you need to use the tools available. The great thing about this situation is that JavaScript is the tool and you have it right there ready for you to use. The humble Web Viewer is your gateway to getting your FileMaker data into a form. This video walks through the JavaScript and setup you need to know in order to interact with pretty much any web form on the web. Learning these valuable tools

Developing software in FileMaker can be such a joy when you're able to solve so many problems so quickly. There is, however, a point where you start to solve so many problems that your solution starts to slow down and you find yourself wondering why.

Most commonly, it's the result of cumulative features compounding to make your solution slower and slower. Without careful consideration of the user interface, and how features are presented, it's easy to create a solution which starts to lag over time.

In this video, I show how portal filters really work and how to address the issue of a portal used for a very simple selection process. In most cases, your portal is only going to show a fraction of the number of fields found in its table. To this end, you must learn how to replicate the native portal filtering feature. Filtering with JavaScript/JSON is one of the most powerful ways to present data in both an efficient and faster way.

Finding your FileMaker solution is feeling slower as time goes by? You need the content covered in this video!

The world of JavaScript libraries is so rich and full that once you start using some of them you start to ask yourself "Should I even try this natively with FileMaker?" When it comes to something like QR codes we don't even have a native option to create them. Currently, there's no GenerateBarcode() function.

There's also the situation where you're using one of these fabulous JavaScript Libraries and you want to loop through a found set of records. The problem is... — You try to use your new cool JavaScript library on a range of records. Creating a QR code for a collection of records. Just a few hundred or a few thousand is all you need.

There's a few problems with this situation however. One of them is that you MUST know how the FileMaker.PerformScript() function behaves within a Web Viewer. If it's not ready to go, then you'll get an error (which you can't even see unless you use a JavaScript debugger). The second issue is that FileMaker will simply stack any script calls until you get to the last record of a record loop and then execute them all on the last record. This is why you need to know the two critical things which must be set for successful loop based JavaScript use with a web viewer. Fortunately, we'll walk you through these critical issues and show you everything you need to keep in mind for using JavaScript, a Web Viewer and a Record Loop.

Some developers who start with FileMaker never extend beyond it. Hopefully, that's not you. Or, at least you're willing to look into learning some other languages and see how they can benefit your FileMaker solutions!

In FileMaker 19 we gained both a new script step named "Perform JavaScript in Web Viewer" and a JavaScript function embedded into the Web Viewer named "FileMaker.PerformScript()". If you haven't taken the time to investigate how these new features work, then allow me to give you the gentle push into taking advantage of them.

While formerly we could use a plug-in to directly execute JavaScript, and there were some "hackish" workarounds to using the JavaScript within Web Viewers, we now have a totally native way to take advantage of this very powerful technology. Understanding how things work, and what you can do, will expand your development capabilities. I highly suggest you take a serious look at learning a bit of JavaScript and the cool thing is you can do it right within a FileMaker file!

Learning JavaScript, while also learning FileMaker development, can seem like a daunting task. The trick is to take things little-by-little and pick up those essential skills which allow you to add in the really cool functionality.

You don't have to code your own JavaScript library. You just need to be willing to integrate them with that little bit of know-how you acquired. The great thing about this process is building the skills to be able to implement things in a quick fashion. In this video, I show you how to "hijack" a web page within the FileMaker Web Viewer object. We do this by injecting jQuery and then using another JavaScript library to convert the HTML we capture into a popular plain text format called Markdown.

By doing this, we essentially create a tool which allows us to easily and quickly pull content from the web. The bigger benefit, however, is knowing how to integrate JavaScript libraries onto the Web Viewer and being able to use our own JavaScript code to make a web page or integrated feature do the things we want it to do.

It's always nice to have someone simply show you what you need to know in order to solve a problem. There is, however, a problem with just being shown only what you need to know. You deprive yourself of the deeper level of retention that comes from self-discovery of the topic being explored.

So, consider this video a comprehensive introduction. One where I guide you through the process of learning the tools of JavaScript within FileMaker Pro. The advantage is the fact that you have your own FileMaker solution you're working on and this solution can inevitably benefit from using JavaScript implementations. The motivation should be there. You just need some of the know-how.

The result of watching this video is growing your skillset and branching out into other methods of solving problems in FileMaker.

Learning from a technology you don't already understand, while receiving an immediate benefit, is one of my driving reasons for creating content. In this two part series, I dig into the depths of understanding the JavaScript mechanisms natively available to FileMaker developers and learners.

This first video focuses on the implementation of an internal cropping tool which uses a web viewer to provide the interaction and actual cropping. The demo file and video show you how to implement the JS libraries required and how to use the technology available.

Understanding how to crop, and also the distinction of what you want to crop versus what you need to crop, is an important step for some high impact database systems which may use larger sized images. If you're looking for a better understanding of JavaScript and also how to crop and image directly within FileMaker then I'm sure these videos will cover what you need to know.

As a long time developer of FileMaker solutions, I clearly remember the first time I personally attempted to create a calendar solution. It was not as easy as I'd initially thought. There were a TON of "little things" which you find out about down the road.

Don't get me wrong, the learning experience is well worth it and made me a better developer for sure! But, when it comes to building one natively within FileMaker today, it just doesn't make much sense. That is, unless you really only need the most basic of calendars. If you don't care about multiple calendars, flexible displays and interaction, the ability to drag-n-drop and many more features then, sure, you can make a grid of 42 objects and show "some" of your solution data.

However, if you're in the need of something which will handle user editing controls, multiple time zones, multiple view styles and is HIGHLY extensible, then you can't beat free if you're willing to take the time and learn about FullCalendar.

Of course, that's why you're subscribed to the magazine site right? We'll save you many hours of effort and struggle by getting you up and running with a very powerful Javascript based calendar!

There are so many times I hear lamentations from stalwart "FileMaker only" developers who declare that you should do everything within FileMaker and FileMaker alone. This is just crazy. It's like saying you should build an entire house with only a hammer and nails. How could you ever do that efficiently? What about the plumbing? The electrical? Well, you can't. You always have to increase what you know and become familiar with other tools and newer technologies.

In this video, I showcase a very compelling use of Javascript within a web viewer. It's because native FileMaker simply can't generate a Sankey flow diagram. FileMaker doesn't do curves, it does data. However, FileMaker can make it happen with the use of Javascript and a web viewer. The best part yet is that it's already been done for us. All you have to do is become familiar with how to modify and integrate with your own data.

That's exactly what this video does. It will teach you how to understand the implementation of this particular Javascript and give you the confidence to integrate other examples as well. If presenting your data with a very compelling visualization is something which you'd like to do, then you'll find the knowledge you need within this video.