Just a quick announcement for those of you in the Phoenix area. I’ll be presenting FileMaker Pro 10 with a focus on practical uses for Script Triggers at the next Phoenix FMPug meeting. We’d love to see you there.
Script Triggers: Using Layout Triggers for a Dynamic Tab Orders
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.
Isolate Any Record, Anywhere, Anytime and Any Context With One Script
There are some things that are easier to explain through examples. Putting the Set Field By Name script step to work is definitely one of them. It’s not a complicated process, but seeing the new [Indirection][ind] capabilities that Filemaker 10 has to offer makes a much stronger impression than trying to talk through it. Also, all my introductory quips for “isolating” and “isolation” were turning out quite depressing. So, here is how we used to find a specific record, and how we can do it now.
[ind]: /wp/set-field-by-name-exposed/ “Indirection SFR Style”
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.
Set Field by Name Exposed
In our [article about FileMaker 10][fm10], we promised some tips on using the new `Set Field by Name` script step, which gives FileMaker the power of _[indirection][indirection]_. This is a complicated concept, and we’ll be posting some real world examples along the way, as well. But first, we’ll give you a full explanation of the new script step and function that make indirection possible.
[fm10]: /wp/introducing-filemaker-10/ “What’s new in FileMaker Pro 10”
[indirection]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indirection “Wikipedia on Indirection”
Filemaker Server 10 New Features & Backup Scheduling
At long last, 10 has arrived! After all the tantalizing little glimpses that we got last devcon, I for one am glad we finally have something we can get our hands on. There are a lot of new features and changes to go over, and I’m going to mention them all here, but for this particular article I am going to be focusing on the huge improvements to backup scheduling and how the configuration methods have changed for the better. The level of depth in the scheduling options that the new Retention setting and souped up controls over the timing of the schedules is a big step forward. Essentially, one schedule can now take the place of many. So, without futher ado, onto the details.
Introducing FileMaker Pro 10
If you thought FileMaker 9 was a big update ([and we clearly did][fm9]) you’ll be thrilled with number 10. It starts with some flagship new features like Script Triggers (_finally!_) and infinitely more useful Sub-Summary parts, plus the usual round of small tweaks and improvements. But this release takes it one step further with a total overhaul of FileMaker’s most ubiquitous interface element. Gone is the Status Area, replaced by a freshly designed, much more useful Status Toolbar. Here, we’ll introduce you to everything new in FileMaker 10. Keep an eye out for more articles about how to use all this great new stuff.
[fm9]: http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/category/filemaker-9-tips/ “Our Articles on FileMaker 9”
An Overview of the Six Fried Rice Methodology
When I came to Six Fried Rice as a novice developer, I was essentially a completely blank slate in terms of development style and processes. Luckily, Jesse and Geoff are anything but novices at this. They’ve been working with Filemaker long enough to have made all the mistakes I was likely to see, so when it came time to train me on how best to follow the Six Fried Rice methodology they had a pretty broad set of standards and processes ready to go. Those processes have helped me really understand and develop solid, easily understandable and extremely stable systems that if I had been left to my own devices would have taken me years to figure out.
YouTube Roundup
My previous post led me to YouTube, which reminded me of a few screen casts I did for O’Reilly when FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual was released. I could only find two on line, but I thought I’d link them here in case anyone finds them useful.
By Popular Demand
Many of you may not know that in order to be accepted as a speaker at the FileMaker Developers Conference, you have to submit a “speaker demo,” which is a short self-made video of yourself presenting some topic.
I had to do this for the first time last year, and my demo video was a bit of a hit among my Phoenix FileMaker friends. I wasn’t accepted as a speaker in 2007, so maybe the powers that be didn’t think I had exactly the right idea.