ISO FileMaker Magazine

Data manipulation is the hallmark of any database system. There will be many times when data must be added to a FileMaker system which comes from an external source - a web page form is a good example. One of the most common methods for acquiring data is through a web form. Typically the web form is emailed to a specific email account.

While FileMaker can be used to capture information directly from the web (using FileMaker Server Advanced), this isn't always an option. Plus, there may be both legacy systems and newer methods, such as PHP and web forms, where information needs to be captured and parsed into your database fields. This example file and video will walk through the use of a very powerful tool which I am providing to subscribers of the magazine. The Universal Data Parser, and this video, will teach you a great deal about data manipulation!

Every great FileMaker developer should have a good grasp of a number of fundamentals. This is what makes development smoother and take less time. This video presents a technique that is bound to become a core piece of FileMaker know-how.

With the information in this video and file, you'll not only know how to create a cool-looking content navigation interface, but you'll have the foundation for creating all kinds of powerful techniques - such as tracking more detail about when a record is accessed, departed from and all kinds of additional detailed information. If you've ever wanted a record event, meaning you can trigger a script when a different record is accessed or a new record is created, then this is the information you need!

Information Interchange - isn't that what's it's all about? You use iCal and I'll use Outlook (actually, I use iCal myself), but it's still about using the calendar software you're comfortable with, unless corporate tells you what you have to use.

Either way, FileMaker is a great solution for distributed information. It provides a high level of collaboration, however, when it comes to using a database for calendar based information, you might want to support pushing information into a user's personal calendar. Fortunately, this can easily be done.

This technique file and instructional video will walk you through all aspects of exporting the contents of your event records into the compatible vCalendar format!

After working on a FileMaker database for any given amount of time, you often find yourself setting up the same working environment over and over again. This is typically a process of creating special "viewer" windows where you watch what happens with your data as you develop.

The problem with this inconvenient task is it takes time to setup and position these windows - each time you start a new day of development. While FileMaker itself does not remember the windows you had open when you last closed a file, it is possible to accomplish this with a special developer script. If having a more enjoyable development experience is something you want with FileMaker Pro then watch this video and you'll start enjoying FileMaker even more!