Comments on: Dynamic Finds in FileMaker 10

By: Simon Plint

Simon Plint — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:05:41 +0000

Geoff, where can I get a copy of your “tried and true Safe Find script”?

Thank you for this technique. I can replace my current methodology of predefined search layouts with named objects.

Regards,
Simon.

By: Rodney Stares

Rodney Stares — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:56:55 +0000

Your tips are a real resource and greatly valued by me and other FileMaker developers in Scotland so this is a very, very minor point.

I think that on occasions – such as the Dynamic Finds example – when you use the word “pass” you may mean “parse”. But then again I could be wrong.

Again many thanks for all your good work.

Rodney Stares
Edinburgh

By: Trudi

Trudi — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 02:18:38 +0000

Geoff thanks a million for the response. How simple yet I had no idea! Much Appreciated

By: Geoff Coffey

Geoff Coffey — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:24:59 +0000

Trudi: The Omit script step has two powers:

In Browse mode, it omits the current record from the found set.
In Find mode, it sets the Omit checkbox you're referring to.

Geoff

By: Trudi Hennessy

Trudi Hennessy — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 04:18:16 +0000

Just in regard to the dynamic find. I have set up something similar to this (I am working on a funding applications database). I have search criteria as records in a table and have written a script that creates find requests from this criteria but I’m stuck on how to script it to check the OMIT box. Is this something simple I’m not seeing? Any comments appreciated.

By: Leo

Leo — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:05:43 +0000

@Daniel Antunes

I’m a green hand?I’m very interesting of this dynamic finds technology. Could you send me the FM file of this sample? And the FM file of FileMaker Dictionary Functions?

Many many thanks!

By: Geoff Coffey

Geoff Coffey — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:57:18 +0000

Mikhail:

My two cents: a lot less clicks. Building dynamic find requests is, to me, one of the most tedious aspects of FileMaker scripting. Click click click click click click. With this method, you can construct a relatively complex, dynamic find request in one calculation.

Obviously, this is a matter of personal taste. There is no new power here. Just a faster, easier way to get to what we already do. Just like the Safe Find script Daniel mentions. It doesn’t do anything you can’t do yourself, but it turns three very common steps into one script call, and that makes me happy.

Geoff

By: Val

Val — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:11:14 +0000

I believe the goal of this approach is to be context free… use one script for a search field appearing in different contexts.

By: Mikhail Edoshin

Mikhail Edoshin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:36:02 +0000

@David:

Thanks, you’re right about GetFieldName(). I haven’t yet get used to it, I think At least this idea to use it to pass a field name dynamically didn’t occur to me. As I saw the description of this function in FM 10 I assumed the most obvious use of it would be to be able to write code that works like the GetSummary() or GetNthRecord() functions, where you use a field as one of parameters and it gets processed as a field, not as a value. E.g. one could try to write a function like Get Present Value( base date, dates, amounts ) that takes field names for the last two parameters and then processes all values in these fields. But now I see the intent probably was to have a logical counterpart to the new Set Field by Name step.

By: David Graham

David Graham — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:57:21 +0000

@Mikhail:

If you use GetFieldName() — as they’ve done in this article — the field names *do* automatically adjust if they are renamed. That said, while I’m a big fan of SFR context-independent coding style, I too am failing to see a substantial benefit from this particular approach. I much prefer transparency even at the expense of a few extra lines of code; you never know when you are going to have to collaborate with others on a project!

- Dave