Many years ago I was teaching an introduction to FileMaker class for folks that knew nothing about the product, or even database technology in general. When we started talking about the ability to sort records one student became visibly agitated. I asked if there was anything wrong.
Here at The Support Group, we practice what we preach. Our team of highly skilled developers have built and enhanced countless FileMaker applications for our clients, but what happens if a need arises for one of our own? Read on to learn how Nancy, a Systems Engineer here at TSG, leveraged the FileMaker technology we use every single day to build a database of her own.
Perhaps the most anticipated new features in FileMaker 2024 are the advanced integrations using artificial intelligence. Users can leverage their existing data in new ways with these AI capabilities: query data using natural language through the new semantic search feature, improve workflow efficiency with AI, and gain new insights and trends with company data. One of the main goals of using a database is to turn your data into information, and these new AI abilities can allow you to greatly expand the amount of information you can gain from your data.
Empire State Properties (ESP) is a full-service real estate company that provides sales, rental, and management services for hundreds of New York City property owners. Suzanne Miller founded the company in 1991 and has been going strong since. ESP takes pride in the stature of its properties and the clientele it services. Many of the residences offer luxury accommodations and amenities that leverage the beauty and convenience of living in New York City. And the properties offer a variety of options in terms of layouts, furnishings, leasing options, etc.
Owners and investors rely upon ESP to manage and find tenants for their apartments on both short-term and long-term bases. In addition to lease management services, ESP offers various related services, including housekeeping, finances, and other apartment utilities such as high-speed Wi-Fi, cable television, and linens. Each residence is unique and offers individualized leasing terms and amenities to occupants. There are quite a number of details that ESP has to track and handle professionally and efficiently. As such, ESP turned to technology and The Support Group to help them with their lease management software.
The first-ever software dates back to the late 1940s and technology has experienced many quantum leaps since then. It permeates virtually every aspect of society, from communication and entertainment, to education and business, and beyond. Frankly, technology, specifically software, can be the basis for success or failure, profit or loss, frustration or satisfaction.
Do you want custom software that fits your needs? It might not be as bank-breaking as you might suspect. Custom software development involves several factors that influence its cost.
Read on to learn all about custom software development cost factors.
One common request we often receive as FileMaker developers is to give users the ability to export the data out of the FileMaker app into Excel. While FileMaker provides the ability to do this quite easily with the tools built into the app, users often want more flexibility and customization when it comes to the formatting of the exported Excel sheet.
There are a variety of options that are available here – plugins exist to make this possible, and we have a blog post that outlines a routine way to export custom headers from FileMaker using XSLT sheets. But we can also export data from FileMaker to Excel with the power of JavaScript.
Is your application in dire need of an update? With operating systems becoming more advanced and offering better app usability, ensuring our software performance and scalability are up to par is more important than ever. So, how exactly can we keep our custom software relevant? Here are some things to consider when an opportunity to upgrade or enhance our applications presents itself.
TL;DR
Layout Calculations allow for calculations in text objects, but this feature has a few nuances.
- Removes the need for extra fields or scripts or layout objects simply for display
- Need to have version 20.3 or greater of FileMaker client
- Works for labels of regular buttons
- Use fully qualified field names so the calculation refreshes properly
- Can set data format so the formatting of text field works
The Support Group has been using FileMaker to provide solutions for clients for almost forty years, and for more than half of those years, we've been advocating for the layout calculations feature. So, we are very excited about its release.
There are many practical applications for ChatGPT with a low-code development tool like FileMaker. We've explored a chatbot, image generator, and audio transcription ChatGPT integration with FileMaker. We've also shared an example of using ChatGPT to summarize our notes.
We want to explore how integrating FileMaker and ChatGPT via Claris Connect works. Though not necessarily ideal, we'll use an annual performance review as the foundation for our example. Of course, performance appraisals are highly individualized, so artificial intelligence isn't recommended, but most people can relate to this process's fundamental objectives and structure. We will use it as a simple case to demonstrate the workflow and results.
