We recently built an application that included PDF document management. While it might seem as simple as a quick FileMaker container field, we wanted to impress our client with an integrated solution on par with a content management system (CMS). Here’s how we built a powerful PDF viewer directly into FileMaker.
Continue reading “Full-Featured PDF Viewer Embedded in FileMaker”
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”
At the Custom Web Publishing (CWP) user group at FileMaker DevCon 2017 in July, a number of speakers (and a big thank you to everyone for a great session!) discussed solutions they’ve taken or investigated for making CWP apps compatible with PHP 7.
At Beezwax, we have a client project with a requirement for PHP 7 compatibility, but many of the available approaches were closed to us due to various constraints, so we came up with this solution.
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”
Wow! InspectorPro 6 is finally here. Can’t even believe it. It was such a massive undertaking. Lots of great new things and many improvements. Really proud of this release. In the immortal words of the late Steve Jobs… “This is our best version ever”.
One of the first lessons I learned with FileMaker is that of context! Layouts, reports, calculations, scripts, and so on all act from the perspective of a single Table Occurrence (TO) — the “context” — pulling in data from related tables as needed.
Generally, the record set being acted on is the set of records in that context table occurrence or a found subset thereof. There are a few exceptions to this, however, and today we’re going to explore one of those.
A few years ago, I worked on a FileMaker project where the client told us that every week they need to import about 7,000 rows of data that represent some information that this company uses. And every week there might be some modified records, some records that don’t show up any longer, and some new records that hadn’t already existed. For this example, let’s just call it this data “Products”.
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”
Beezwax’s Vincenzo Menanno is hitting the road this week to visit our FileMaker colleagues across the West Coast, talking about “FileMaker Collaboration, Performance and Insight with InspectorPro”. Vince will be presenting our latest research, development and product offerings to FileMaker Developer Meetups in Seattle, Portland, Santa Clara and Los Angeles.
Continue reading “FileMaker Collaboration, Performance & Insight with InspectorPro”
Ever wonder how you might be able to create a mobile app with data you already have in your FileMaker solution? I have, too! As it turns out, it’s not too outlandish of an idea thanks to the FileMaker Custom Web Publishing with XML API.
Continue reading “Building Native Mobile Apps with FileMaker Data”
FileMaker 15 introduces a major enhancement for the Script Workspace that is a real boon for developers: editing Undo and Redo. This functionality continues the efforts at making the Script Workspace more like a “text editor”. It’s a stress-reducing development enhancement that I think will improve our ability as FileMaker Developers to write scripts.
Continue reading “Freedom to Experiment – FileMaker 15’s Script Undo/Redo”
SSL certificates are a very common way to secure client/server network connections, and the FileMaker platform has made use of them for many years. Starting with version 15 however, FileMaker introduced a number of security changes, in handling SSL and certificates, on both the server and the clients. But where do they come into play, and how might this affect your deployments?
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”
FileMaker gave us the ability to integrate iBeacon technology with the release of FileMaker 15 last month. This is a great way to enhance existing apps with microlocation features as well as build entirely new apps to solve problems we couldn’t solve before.
Some potential app ideas that have been floating around in my head include:
Continue reading “iBeacons – Improve the Ranging Experience”
We develop FileMaker applications because we want a place to store information for the long term. We track events, tasks, contacts, finances—FileMaker can track almost anything. To update information, the application might ingest a spreadsheet.
Continue reading “Speeding FileMaker Performance with Truncate Table”
When you consider how to keep information safe, you might first imagine a team of hackers in a dank basement typing and clicking their way into your bank account.
Continue reading “Mask Data with Concealed Edit Boxes in FileMaker 15”
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”
