We have better tools than ever in FileMaker to create reusable modules. In this video of Mark Scott’s presentation at a Bay Area FileMaker developer meetup, he explores why the combination of card windows and JSON reigns supreme for modular FileMaker architecture. Included is an in-depth look at how modules can open, close, and communicate.
Continue reading “Mark Scott presenting at DIGFM: Modular FileMaker Design”
We’re thrilled to announce the official, “integration-ready” version of LOgiCATOR. LOgiCATOR is a modular search interface for FileMaker that can be easily integrated into new or existing solutions. It’s designed to help users locate data with logical precision, via a powerful yet intuitive interface for searching across FileMaker tables. This article includes a download link for the module and demo file, describes what’s changed since the preview version (a lot), and explains how to integrate LOgiCATOR into your FileMaker solutions.
Visit the LOgiCATOR page at Beezwax. Continue reading “LOgiCATOR Part 3: Ready, Set, Integrate…Into Your FileMaker Apps”
In Part 1 of this series, Introducing LOgiCATOR, I mentioned that LOgiCATOR grew out of a search interface I developed for a project several years ago. In ways we’ll briefly consider here, it wasn’t extensible, but all that has changed. As that early search interface grew into LOgiCATOR, it made a quantum leap in context independence. The reason we were able to accomplish that can be attributed to a powerful synergy of FileMaker card windows, JSON, window improvements, new functions, and the Layout Objects window — in short, FileMaker 16!
Visit the LOgiCATOR page at Beezwax.
Continue reading “LOgiCATOR, Part 2: FileMaker Card Windows and Modular Design”
We’re excited to announce the release of LOgiCATOR, a new modular search interface for FileMaker. It’s designed as a module you can drop into a FileMaker application and, with minimal configuration, add a rule-based search interface to any number of layouts in that solution. LOgiCATOR is also a springboard for learning about some great new design and integration features of FileMaker 16, like card-style windows and native JSON.
Visit the LOgiCATOR page at Beezwax.
Continue reading “Introducing LOgiCATOR: A Modular Search Interface for FileMaker 16”
While working on the third installment of Fun with FileMaker Button Bars, I was served a reminder of why it’s good to test the stuff you write about using the latest software updates (even if they just arrived that very morning).
Continue reading “Why It’s Always Good to Test Things with the Current Version of Software (When Writing a Blog Post)”
In Part 1 (“Check Please,”) and Part 2 (“Expert Panel,”) of this series, we had some fun doing things with button bars that showed off some of their unique usefulness within the FileMaker design-layer toolbox. Often as not, your button bars are going to include icon labels, with or without a supporting text label, and you want those icons to look great.
Continue reading “Fun with FileMaker Button Bars, Part 3: Tips for Designing Great Icons”
Have you ever had a FileMaker design conundrum for which you wished you could convene an Expert Panel to help guide you? If you’re thinking “panel of experts,” I can’t help you, but if you’re looking for a more flexible and visually engaging alternative to FileMaker Tab Panels, this combination of a slide-panel control and a button bar just might be your “Expert Panel.”
Continue reading “Fun with FileMaker Button Bars, Part 2: Expert Panel”
In the transit-planning universe, planners and economists often get excited about 5 minutes shaved off of a 30-minute bus ride. The individual rider might shrug at a mere 50 minutes saved per week, but the planners and economists multiply that 50 minutes by the number of people who ride that route during a typical week and see something much bigger.
Continue reading “Performance Optimizations Make Compelling Case for FileMaker 15 Upgrade”
In recent years, design, has become such an important aspect of what we do; luckily FileMaker has responded with a much improved design surface. With themes and styles, conditional visibility, SVG icon support, and new layout objects, we can now use design and color to communicate with users in ways not previously possible (see, for example, the “Priorities” example in the accompanying demo file).
Continue reading “Fun with FileMaker Button Bars: Check Please”
