ISO FileMaker Magazine

Sometimes, we all get stuck in the routine of doing things a certain way. New methods may appear as time passes by and unless we take the time to evaluate our own methods, we miss out on the power and elegance of these new ideas!

I've been using FileMaker 8's variables since they were introduced. However, I never thought to use them for graphics. While storing a lot of LARGE graphics within memory is not advisable, there's nothing that says you can store smaller interface graphics into the client memory space. In fact, this makes your interface more snappy when it comes to performance. You're not taxing the server for a transfer of an image each time it's shown.

Of course, FileMaker may have it's own internal caching of graphics, when it comes to displaying layouts, but why not take advantage of any system that helps manage or make things more dynamic? This video presents a great solution to providing a flexible system of displaying icons and graphics. Special thanks to Stephen Dolenski of FMForums.com for sending this in. This tip earned a whole year's subscription! - (so be sure to send in your own cool FileMaker techniques)

Whether you've just started working with FileMaker, or you've been a developer for a long time, the following suggestion is always a great way to approach the design process - simply ask questions!

Most every solution to your development process can be answered, yes answered, by asking a question. If you think you don't know what you're doing, you can always ask "Do I need to seek more knowledge?". If you think you already know it all, you can ask "Does my brain have enough space for this ego?" - or some similar such question.

At every critical point in the process, it may be as easy as asking yourself "Will users really search for data based on a zip code field? Do I need all those fields or will one Address field for the whole address work just fine?".

In this video, I start the process of breaking down the development of a new FileMaker database system. I decided to document this process and the tools I use to do this. Surprisingly, (or not so much) I end up using Excel to outline the structure of this new database. Spend a few minutes watching this video and see if you pick up a few tips about making the brainstorming process a bit easier!

There are all kinds of things you can do to dress up your layouts. When it comes to FileMaker native tab panels, it may just be a matter of what you do with the tab panels themselves that makes the difference.

In this video I walk through a number of the tricks you can use to make tab panels a bit more versatile. One in particular, will help you create a navigation area similar to those found in Microsoft Windows products. Watch this video to learn a few more things about what you can do with native tab panels.

Using one relationship, as a utility relationship, for the purpose of creating another valid data relationship isn't something that's always an obvious solution. In this video, I walk through the process of using a utility relationship for the purpose of a facilitating a lookup - which is used to reference data in a previous record. In this solution we're using time values in order to calculate an elapsed time.

Ok, so it sounds a little confusing without the background of the problem we're trying to solve. Fortunately, you can watch the video and work with the file provided. It's a Time Logging database which helps you track how you've spent your time.

Regardless of whether your database works with time values or not, there's always a lesson to be learned in solving a FileMaker problem!