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Our Library of Videos
In a world of increasing knowledge, the number of people who know how to gain access to a variety of systems increases as well. This means it's up to you to know how you can protect the resources you're responsible for. Typically, this is managed by a select few in an obscured IT department.
Today, however, anyone can employ the power of some of the most secure methods of locking down access to your database. The concept of a VPN (Virtual Private Network) has been around for many years. The skill necessary to implement and the hardware investment required typically made it prohibitive for many private individuals and small companies.
Times have changed now and you can easily set up a very robust VPN of your own. You can do this all with software and it requires a minimum amount of time to do so. In this video you'll be provided with the information for an understanding and starting point to get your own VPN running. Using a VPN is one the best ways to secure your FileMaker database systems.
For years now, you've been able to schedule FileMaker scripts to trigger at predefined times. In fact, the solution was as easy as simply buying a plug-in offered by one of the many plug-in vendors. You can also use the free tools available in whichever OS you're using (see my other video from '05 - still a great technique).
However, what happens when you're simply looking for a very basic solution which allows you to visually manage the list of scripts that should trigger? Well, you watch this video and use the included technique file. With the release of the free zippScript 2.0 plug-in (which added one single scheduled script) and a newer entry named DoScript, you can create a "watcher" script which will watch a list of scripts to be triggered in the future.
One of the biggest advantages of being able to schedule scripts is for peer-to-peer FileMaker users. When you have a small setup and you're not using FileMaker Server, you need some type of solution to make backups of your shared database. This solution provides that.
If you don't have the time to create a script watcher, but you do have the interest, then simply watch the video and use the file. It's that easy!
When a relationship allows the creation of related records, you simply enter a portal row and start to enter new data. The problem, from an interface standpoint, is when you start to add buttons to you portal rows.
One button in particular, can give you a bit of a hassle with this default behavior of creating related records. It's the delete button that rears its ugly head when your last row reveals the button, yet the row is waiting for new data. You can't delete a related record when it doesn't exist - although that is exactly what FileMaker lets you do!
The solution to this problem is to simply determine if the portal row is showing a record or showing nothing. By making this determination, you can show a button appropriate to the action which a user might expect.
This video provides you with core technique that will add a bit more polish to your solutions!
While it's possible to use too many colors or too many font sizes, it's rarely possible to use too much simplicity. Making your interface simple, while hiding the complexity to accomplish the desired tasks, should be your ultimate goal.
In this video I walk through four different techniques you can use to make your user interface just a bit more user friendly. Identifying the end of all records in a list view, using a double-click script, making it easy to manage buttons over tabs and making your sort columns just a bit prettier.
Do you have some of your own techniques you'd like to share? Post them in the comments section.
by Matt Petrowsky
12 minutes
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Is it an OR search or an AND search? Do I use more than one field on one request or multiple find requests with multiple fields? These may be common questions if you've not spent a lot of time searching manually through a FileMaker database.
If you're not one to teach your users how to search the FileMaker way, then maybe you should script the whole search process. In fact, that's exactly what many developers do.
From the complex to the simple, there are many ways to script a search in FileMaker. In this video, you'll find out that using a common browse mode feature will help you accomplish some complex searches and do so in such a simple manner. It's the easiest way to make a complex search an easy one, and this includes both users and developer.
Details: Released - 6/4/2007 / Size - 13.14 MB / Length - 12 min
by Matt Petrowsky
18 minutes
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- Older Article - Sorting List Views
Sorting list views is simply one of those features which all users expect. If it isn't there, they notice. If it is, then everything is fine in the world of your database.
Since FileMaker knows nothing about your solution, you have to specify which fields are sorted and in which direction. The problem with doing this across a number of scripts is having to edit all those scripts when you want to make minor changes. On top of that, you may have them organized in a variety of locations within ScriptMaker.
It certainly would be nice if sorting could be accomplished programatically - but, it can't right now. So the next best thing is creating a few universal scripts which allow you to control all of your sorting from within one script.
In this video, you'll learn how to maximize sorting your list views and making your solution that much easier to manage!
Details: Released - 5/24/2007 / Size - 18.54 MB / Length - 18 min
If you need to track changes made in your FileMaker fields, then this video and file has what you need.
Every so often there's a technique you come across which exposes a key FileMaker concept. Ray Cologon's Super Log technique is a great starting point for a very robust audit logging system. I've enhanced Ray's original technique and taken it to the next level.
Given the new features in FileMaker 7 and higher, there's really no reason you shouldn't take the few minutes it takes to implement and maintain full tracking of all field changes.
If you need to go few steps further than what the technique provides, then watching this video will get you on your way!
Details: Released - 5/16/2007 / Size - 24.05 MB / Length - 31 min
There's a lot to FileMaker if you really want to know it all. Of course, it's helps if you know it's not possible to know it all. There are just too many aspects which affect so many technological areas to know it all.
Maybe you just want to learn how to do even the most simple things. If you don't need the complex techniques covered on much of this website, then you may be looking for FileMaker basics.
I'm deciding if I should start a series which covers the most basic of concepts related to learning and knowing FileMaker.
Before I do that, I need to hear from you. Is this something that you may be interested in? Watch the video on this page and send your feedback using this feedback form.
by Matt Petrowsky
21 minutes
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After spending more time with the original Layout Properties, sent in by Fabrice Nordmann, I decided to revise his approach. I personally wanted to use a single text field to control how a Layout would render.
My revisions to this method are included in the technique file for this video.
Watch this video if you want to learn a powerful method for controlling how your layouts are rendered. Using a dedicated layout object, you can reduce the total number of steps in many of your scripts. Full window control can be harnessed when using this technique - it's something I would consider core to any solution!
Details: Released - 5/7/2007 / Size - 24.93 MB / Length - 21 min
by Matt Petrowsky
23 minutes
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One of the most powerful features added to FileMaker in version 8.5 was Layout Objects. This one feature alone has spawned, and will spawn, a large number of techniques which extend what you can do within your database solution.
In this video, I present two different uses of layout objects, both from different developers, and how they can be leveraged to create what I'm calling Smart Layouts. This is an approach which allows an individual layout to contain most of the information needed to make sure the layout is presented the way you desire. You may disagree with me, but I find that it minimalizes the amount of code dispersion (all those trips into ScriptMaker) and simplifies your ability to keep your solution clean and easy to understand.
The concept, once understood, can be used to implement a wide array of features. Watch this video to grasp a solid understanding of the basics of how it functions.
Details: Released - 4/30/2007 / Size - 48.54 MB / Length - 23 min