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839 videos found.
Native Web Scraping with JavaScript 01/22/2021 - 8:00am

Some of my most favorite moments, when working with technology, are when you see the result of a few lines of code do what used to take hours and hours of work. Seeing the fruits of knowledge labor which replaces a lot of manual labor. It's glorious!

The example I'm mentally referencing is any time you need to extract some content from a web page and it's literally SITTING RIGHT THERE in front of your face and you end up using your precious time doing the good old copy and paste.

Every day there are SO many mistakes made by human error because of duplicate entry that if the data is in digital format you're almost always better off just pulling out what already exists.

So, how can this be done easily within FileMaker? Well, it may be the situation where the web page is ALREADY including the code you need to simply extract what you're wanting to get. The trick is understanding how you can use that code and moving beyond that point if it isn't already there.

In this video, I walk you through all the details and all the understanding necessary to web scrap most any web page and do it with the native tools provided by FileMaker 19 and higher. While it is possible with versions prior to FileMaker 19, the new FileMaker.PerformScript function makes things so much easier.

Card Window Progress Bars ( updated ) 01/14/2021 - 3:15pm

Who doesn't want to know how long something takes? It's not like we, as the busy bees we are, have all the time in the world - right? Well, how about some convenient progress information.

One of the most common procedures within all of computing is to cycle or iterate over a set of something. In FileMaker, this comes in the form of records. A record loop is one of the most common things you'll ever do within FileMaker.

Setting a field value to something else across a range of records? You'll likely use a record loop. So, what's the easiest way show the progress of that record loop? It's currently a Card Window. In fact, when Card Windows first came out this was one of the first solutions I offered for said feature back in 2017. It's been a number of years since then and now we have better methods for handling multiple parameters.

So what better to do than give you a progress update about an update to the Card Window Progress Bars. How's that for progress? That's exactly what this week's video article is all about. How to implement a modern day progress bar for your standard FileMaker record loop.

Execute FileMaker Data API 01/07/2021 - 1:22pm

FileMaker Pro provides a variety of methods for extracting your data from its database. From memory, we have standard relationships and calculated concatenations, the Copy All Records script step, scripted data loops and using the ExecuteSQL function. In FileMaker 19, we're provided with yet one more method for pulling data out of the system. The Execute FileMaker Data API script step allows us to use what was formerly available only from outside of FileMaker Pro via a url.

Now, within our scripts, we can use this fast retrieval method for extracting data in the popular and common JSON format. Able to use that data in both web viewers and many other places within your solution. Knowing how to use this new script step will help you extract the data you need - when you need it.

By carefully crafting a specific layout, and using the Execute FileMaker Data API script step, you'll be able employ techniques such as Virtual List and using the data for presentation within Web Viewers. You can also simply pull the data for use within UI elements as simple as a button.

Let's take a tour of this relatively new feature and understand how we can use all of its numerous features.

Server Side Importing 12/31/2020 - 12:51pm

There's a great feeling about writing functional code when it's something you can rely on. You know it's just going to work. Which, for some import routines, doesn't always feel this way. Sometimes the import may fail or you can't figure out how to make it work.

Columns may get renamed, they may be shifted around and vary or you may be importing from multiple different providers. If you're consolidating data from multiple sources or you have a situation where you need to manipulate the data before the import, then we've got a great solution for you.

Not only is this video about server side importing, but it shows you how to anticipate a variety of situations that improve the importing performance and reliability.

The technique file and video will provide you with ready-to-copy-paste code that will setup your import routines to be as easy as drag-and-drop.

12 Tips for Developing in FileMaker Pro 12/24/2020 - 3:20pm

Every trade has its own tips for making your work go faster or happen more easily. During this holiday season I thought it would be great to bring you 12 Tips of Developing in FileMaker Pro.

So, I opened FileMaker and stared at the blank screen of a new file thinking about the things that tend to help me out the most. I pulled down a CSV file from Data.gov and just let the tips flow out from there.

I hope, with this list of 12 tips, you'll pick up some productivity enhancements that will carry you forward into the new year! Happy Holidays!

Organizing Images 12/18/2020 - 8:00am

With a handful of simple scripts and just a few fields, you can easily accomplish some powerful image organization both inside and outside of FileMaker. In this video, we take a look at how FileMaker can be used to organize a collection of images. This is prior to sending them out or making them available for a web server to host them.

If your FileMaker solution needs to work with images used for verification or any form of media communication, then learning how you can make FileMaker bend to your media will can have a number of big benefits.

Need to know how to manage the whole process and create an optimized approach to capturing and managing a digital collection of assets across a large number of users? We'll address that issue too!

Validating JSON for Scripts 12/10/2020 - 8:00am

Using JSON for passing multiple parameters can be a real life saver. Because JSON keeps all individual parameters separate from each other, you can pass pretty much any type of data except for container data - although you can pass a reference to a container easily enough. Your parameters can also have as many levels as necessary and the JSON can easily be modified as it moves from script to script.

When writing a complex and large collection of scripts, you eventually hit errors and issues. You end up spending extra time hunting down problems and eventually you find out it's a simple issue where you just "forgot" to include that one additional item the script needed in order to handle the process properly.

This is where validation comes into play. It's a perfect solution for making sure your scripts work the way you expect them to. Rather than letting the script fail, then determining whether it really did fail or not, you're telling the script it MUST fail unless it has all the required parts.

Thus, a single script, with a multi-dimensional JSON validator is a wonderful tool to have for your complex scripting situations. In the associated video and technique file, you'll find a complex script which will save hours and hours of time by validating your JSON data before the script even tries to use it.

Simple User Messaging 12/03/2020 - 8:00am

FileMaker natively provides us with some really nice tools for user feedback. We can use the Show Custom Dialog or even create a dedicated dialog using a Card Window and Layout.

There are, however, times when you need something a little more subtle. Just a simple message on screen will often suffice. The next question is whether you need the user to interact with that message or not. The solution is simply to provide both options of course.

In this video and technique file, we explore a super simple method for providing user feedback via a simple message which is shown using a dedicated Button Bar. Scripting the message happens within two lines of code and doesn't have to add a whole lot of scripts to your solution. It's quick, easy and a great way to provide user feedback.

User Specific Preferences 11/25/2020 - 8:00am

The wonderful thing about creating software is it feels like you're able to create your own universe. You're the master of that universe and how it functions and reacts to its users. It's a very empowering feeling to know you can direct and control data in a way that makes it useful to others.

When considering all the directions that software can take there's always that simple fact that different people like different things. Heck, someone buys the Rhubarb from the grocery store - because they keep stocking it - right?

So, what is the best way to offer user specific preferences to your solution users? Well, as always, this depends on the type of preferences you're trying to offer. If you're looking for a streamlined and efficient method of storing and referencing user specific preferences, then we may just have the solution you're looking for. In this video, we walk through a very straightforward solution to both storing and updating user preferences for a wide array of solution functionalities.

Advanced Portal Filtering 11/17/2020 - 1:00pm

Portals are wonderful tools for showing related data relevant to what your solution is solving. Sometimes, however, there's a trick to getting them to show exactly what you want. The combination of functions required may not always be obvious and it can be hard to achieve the desired result.

Essentially, you have to know how to extract the specific key values which allow you to filter only the desired rows. In this video, I walk through all the specifics of creating a custom function which allows you to filter unique keys such that only the desired records will be shown.

If you've ever had the need to filter your portals in a highly specific way, then this video and the associated technique file will likely provide you with some great insight. In a short amount of time, you'll get those portal filters to work exactly as you need!

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