If you’re a male, do you really need to be asked you if you’re pregnant when you are at a clinic? If your female, do you need a prostate exam? Probably not. There are little nuances to data entry that occur with just about every solution that make it just slightly more tedious to collect information with just a standard tab order. We’re going to remedy that with using a simple layout keystroke trigger.
Jesse Antunes
Script Triggers: Using the Keystroke Trigger
Adding Script Triggers has opened up a world of possibilities for FileMaker developers. Each different type of script triggers has it’s own nuances and pitfalls to be aware of. In fact, with script triggers, FileMaker, in some ways, begins to expose the complexity of more advanced programming environments. Nothing illustrates this more than the `OnLayoutKeystroke` and `OnObjectKeystroke` triggers. In this article, we’ll look closely at keystroke triggers: the most powerful and complex of the triggers in FileMaker 10.
Comparing Dates in FileMaker
Comparing dates can be confusing. It’s tough to tell exactly when FileMaker will treat the values that you are trying to compare as dates or as numbers or as…something else. Hopefully, I can point you in the right direction.
Duplicating a Set of Records in FileMaker
Duplicating in a Record in FileMaker is very easy…. but a found set???? That takes a little bit of thought. Here is how I would approach the task.
Tab Controls without the Tabs
Tab controls have added a wealth of options to FileMaker developers looking to better organize and present data to their clients. The only limitation is that the tabs could only be placed on the top of the tab controls isn’t always ideal. FileMaker 9 provides a much more powerful and interesting way of controlling your tabs.
Highlighting the Active Field in FileMaker
One of the common complaints our customers have is that they can’t tell which field they are in when using FileMaker. Before FileMaker 9, there was no way to fix this for them. With the addition of conditional formatting, not only can you highlight the active field but you can make it bold, a different color or perhaps even enlarge the font.
FileMaker Dictionary Functions
Since many people were impressed with my named parameters article, I decided to write up another post about the dictionary functions. Actually in all fairness I think three people actually liked it. Vincenzo Menanno, Chris Wack and Sam Barnum this post’s for you!
Importing Records to a Backup – Brute Force
Your FileMaker Server loses power. All your files have crashed. What do you do now? The safest practice is to go to a backup. Sure, this sounds like a daunting task, but it is surprisingly manageable. The best part is that you won’t lose any sleep worrying about how long your baling wire and bubble gum files will last.
Dealing with Damaged FileMaker Files
One of the most asked questions about FileMaker is how to deal with damaged files. There is a glut of choices when attacking this problem and there doesn’t seem to be one single answer. Compact, Optimize or Recover… Maybe `Save as Clone` which one works and why? Hopefully, this will answer a lot of your questions.
FileMaker DevCon Day 2
DevCon Day 2 featured two sessions by a couple of FileMaker insiders. Andy LeCates showed off some really slick implementations of Conditional Formatting and some innovative ways to use tab controls. Jon Thatcher eliminated a lot of the confusion about File Maintenance and Recovery practices.