ISO FileMaker Magazine

Wow, that whole iPad thing sure has taken off. Drag this here, drag that there, you know, it's a whole lot of dragging goin' on.

Why not do the same in your FileMaker database. Nope, there's no iPad native version of FileMaker (yet?), but this shouldn't stop you. There are a lot of things you can do in your interface when you consider drag-n-drop as an option.

Watch this video to see a very effective method for performing data manipulation within your interface. Import a few images, create a few portals and start to drag away. If you didn't know FileMaker could do this, then you'll certainly enjoy what you'll find in this video.

Adding a clean and efficient visual interface to your FileMaker solution will certainly give it that 21st century Web 2.0 look and feel!

It seems that over time, you can always make a nice technique even better. As you code more and more in FileMaker, you start to make your code more modular.

That's what this video is about - along with a nice enhancement to your standard web viewer being used to show navigational progress.

Included in the file, and the video, is information which will help you break your scripts and calculation code into smaller bits of reusable code. You'll also end up with a very functional progress indicator for use with record navigation.

The big lesson here is there's a multitude of ways to break down a solution to a problem. Personally, I like using custom functions for the primary reason of being able to code something once and be able to affect global changes - however, some times you don't need this, and keeping things localized to a small scope is a great way to go too.

Either way, if you're looking for a method to use for displaying navigational status and you find that web viewers are great for this task, then this video has what you need!

FileMaker 11 introduced the very exciting merge variables feature. Somewhat self-explanatory, in that, you can merge variables into text which is on the layout. This is great, because it will REALLY cut down on the number of calculated fields needed for the user interface. In fact, you could potentially create a whole solution with just data fields and global variables for screen output.

However, there's one GIANT oversight (actually intentional) that really goes against any common sense approach to good UI design. The decision was made to actually show the variable name AS A MERGE FIELD when there's no data in that particular global variable. I mean really, which user ever said "Yeah, I want to see <<$**_developer_variable>> in my layout."

Once again, the thought process behind this was probably along the lines of "Hey, we can't count on your average FileMaker user/developer to remember that the layout should show something, when in fact, there is nothing to show. Why don't we just show the funky looking merge variable as a reminder?". Never mind how much confusion this would lead to for your average end user. I know I would think the database was broken!

Ok, so enough of my rant about this very poor UI decision (yes, my personal, and strong, opinion). Let's solve the problem.

The solution is to create a method where you can actually use this feature, with the peace of mind that the ugly merge variable format won't ever show. Fortunately, with the help of conditional formatting, some creative custom functions and script triggers, this is totally possible! Watch this video for a great solution to using default merge variables. Thanks to Oreste Schiavone for sending in the starter file!

One of the first times I really started feeling like I "knew" how to "really" do things in FileMaker, was when I started to take serious advantage of loops.

In many processes, which have a sequence of recurring steps, the most efficient, and certainly most effective, way to tackle the task is with a loop.

Here's a very simple example. Which is more flexible?

Set Field [ some_field ; some_field & data_1 ]
Set Field [ some_field ; some_field & data_2 ]
Set Field [ some_field ; some_field & data_3 ]
Set Field [ some_field ; some_field & data_4 ]
Set Field [ some_field ; some_field & data_5 ]

or

Set Variable [ data_to_process ; data_1, data_2, data_3, data_4, data_5 ]
Loop for each piece of data
Set Field [ some_field ; some_field & current_data_piece ]
End Loop


Obviously, a trick question, because the later is more flexible. It can use an indeterminate number of pieces of data, whereas the first example is currently limited to five. To extend beyond the limit of five, you'd have to modify the script.

And the advantages go beyond just this one simple point.

In this video (and it's second part), I walk through a number of looping scenarios and show you some very powerful stuff. Stuff which not a whole lot of FileMaker developers know. Mixing in some record creation techniques, which is very common within loops, and you've got some extremely powerful knowledge.

If taking full advantage of looping and what FileMaker can do is one of your primary goals, then this video, and it's companion, are sure not to disappoint!