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Our Library of Videos
One of the biggest downsides of any complex FileMaker solution is the growing number of layouts and layout elements you'll have to manage. If your number of navigation (or general menu) items is both static and large, then you're going to have issues with keeping the solution well updated. Aside from this, you could have additional complexity when it comes to controlling which menu items show under certain circumstances.
While there are number of ways to make menu management easier, the best solution for most any code is to maintain it within a singular location. Allowing that code, and singular layouts, to serve your whole solution, and be flexible enough to vary when necessary, is ideal. This is exactly what this video and technique file are all about. Not only is this solution one of the most easy-to-manage solutions for a menu system, but, it's also one of the most incredibly easy menu systems I've ever created. Once you see the simplicity of management it's hard to think of going back to anything more complex.
Here's a hint about how it works. If you've used and love the flexibility of managing script steps within a script, then you'll fall in love with using Incredibly Easy Menus!
If you're using Claris/FileMaker for either part-time or full-time development, and you've not installed the MonkeyBread plug-in, then you're doing something wrong. Many of the most desired features for working with code, such as code folding, extended syntax highlighting, variable auto-completion, the ability to search code, line jumping and other convenience features are available for free when you install the MBS (MonkeyBread) plug-in.
In this video, I go over all the free features and how to simply install the plug-in. If you've not taken the time to investigate what the plug-in offers then you'll get a great head start by just watching this free video.
One of the key reasons for using a database is having a single source of truth. When the possibility for duplicates enters the equation of "truth" we have a problem.
Dealing with duplicates comes in the forms of cleaning and removing them and preventing them. One of your primary tools for preventing them is to use data validation.
It's simple really. You can only continue to do this unless these conditions are met. Everything must be valid. In Claris Studio/FileMaker your options for setting field level validations can be found within the field's options. Once you've set these options you're leaving it up to FileMaker to handle this for you. To be blunt, it isn't pretty.
You, as the developer, need to take control of the situation and handle the validations in a much more graceful manner. This is where you need to know the implications of the various validation settings and how to take control with a scripted process. This is where you'll learn how to do exactly that. Watching this video will give you the necessary insight to handle your validations exactly how you'd like to.
While recently working on a FileMaker Mobile solution I came across a number of tricks I was using which I thought might help other developers. The great thing about FileMaker Go is you have access to so many of the core iOS technologies and you can often create very attractive UIs in a short time.
When it comes to controlling access and replicating certain iOS features, you only need a bit of creative thinking. If you see something done in another iOS app you can typically find a combination of features within FileMaker which will let you replicate it.
This video showcases some of the recent features I've been using within the development of a FileMaker Go mobile application. There's an especially helpful script which will take the guess work out of testing your designs for multiple devices sizes. So, if you've ever found yourself thinking "This sure would be nice if I could access my database on my iPhone/iPad." Then make sure and watch this video and download the technique file.
Get ( WindowMode ) can be really useful when used to vary what is shown within your user interface. This video will both introduce and show you how to take advantage of the function.
Interested in how you might use the Get ( Device ) environment function? This video will both introduce and show you how to take advantage of the function.
Claris FileMaker is continually adding new features in order to make things easier for developers. In the most recent release of version 19 we found a new function named Get ( PageCount ). This one function essentially emulates the combination of steps we needed to use to determine the total number of printed pages useful for adding a Page X of Y count to the bottom of a printable report. It's available for use within FileMaker Go, which is a big benefit.
However, while the addition of {{PageNumber}} of {{PageCount}} is super helpful, it does not address one of the more common scenarios we find in FileMaker development. That's the situation of a Multi-page report being generated from multiple different layouts. In that scenario we may have a cover page, a summary and then detailed output -all in one PDF report. All this data typically comes from different sets of related data.
So the solution we have above won't work for that type of report. On top of this, one of our standby methods of getting the page count of using the Enter Preview Mode script step simply doesn't function on FileMaker Go or Server. So, we need to create another method of accurately determining Page X of Y. Fortunately, that's what this video and technique file will provide for you. Yet another creative method of solving a common problem within Claris FileMaker. If you need to page number a multi-page report generated from multiple layouts then look no further!
Because of its age, FileMaker has a variety of options sprinkled in a bunch of different places regarding exporting data. Some of these options relate to getting the exact export of data you need from the software.
In this video I cover a variety of specifics related to exporting data. One feature in particular is controlling the export headers you may need on your custom export. If you've ever needed to provide an output file of either CSV or TAB, and you'd like to have full control over the headers, then look no further.
You'll find all the details about formatting for custom output, injecting your own desired headers and how to deal with the output on mobile FileMaker Go vs. the Desktop client. Need customized exports? Watch this video and learn from the provided file.
One of the greatest joys I get from working with FileMaker is making it do something it doesn't do natively. It's sort of like always being able to say "Yes" and never having to tell yourself "No". Enjoying your sweets and treats as much as you like! There is, quite literally, nothing I can think of that can't be done just outside FileMaker and brought back in to the software.
Do you need OCR? AI processing? Serious image manipulation, complicated heuristics, complex PDF manipulation, data scraping from HTML or anything else? You name your need and a solution can be found. You simply need to be willing to step ever so slightly just outside FileMaker and your result will be found.
In this video, I'll show you the technology you need and how to integrate the technology to pretty much solve any problem. It's always just a matter of knowing where and how to look and then integrating what you find. No matter what your needs are, I can promise that short of a real-life magic wand, the info in this video will put you on the path to solving the problem you think Claris/FileMaker can't.
Claris/FileMaker, as a development environment, is full of all kinds of hidden corners and secret places. Most of this is due to its age and keeping a strong commitment to backwards compatibility. To its credit, there are very few features which have been removed to date. Still have a database which uses repeating fields to store data? They're still there!
To say that developing within the environment is straight forward is a bit misleading. Sometimes, you can combine knowledge about older features with newer ones and end up with something entirely new and cool. That's what happens in this video and technique file. By using JSON with one of those somewhat hidden features, we can solve an age old problem of having field specific information available to the whole solution - and we only need to manage it within one location, which happens to be specific to the field itself. It's one situation where having tightly coupled data is exactly what you're looking for!
In this video we'll take a look at how a well structured format like JSON can benefit us in a wide variety of ways. By addressing the need for supporting multi-lingual field labels, we are just touching the tip of the iceberg with this creative solution.