The Support Group Blog

Thanks to all who attended!  If you missed the webinar, or want to watch it again, download the recording (which requires the WebEx WRF Player).  You can also download the sample FileMaker file used in the presentation.

When it comes to FileMaker Pro, calculations and scripts are your tools to “make stuff happen.” In this webinar, sponsored by FileMaker, Inc. and based on our Advanced Scripting and Calculations class, we explore some techniques for building robust, feature-rich databases with complex calculations, powerful scripted automation, and elegant user interfaces. 

When you release new functions or reports to an existing client, you must show them where the new features can be found and how best to go about testing.  Changes to a database people use every day—a database they use to get important work done—can trigger a variety of reactions, including alarm and anxiety; effective conversation can help them realize that the scope of the change is manageable.  They will be able to do what they always have, but now benefit from new reports or functions.  Conditional formatting provides an easy way to spotlight changes in your database. Conditional formatting offers the ability to highlight text or to make text bold or an unusual color.  To point out new items, simply use a formula like the following:

Reader Deborah wites:

I want to get running totals or summaries in my portal rows for number fields. Also, I want my portal rows to show a row number in a “self” relationship portal (I tried the Get(PortalRowNumber) function and could not get it to work). Hope that you can help. Thanks!

This article originally appeared in our old Get ( Answers ) newsletter.  I recently heard again from Marcelo, announcing his new consulting company and FileMaker 11 certification (congrats!), and thought I should update this.  With some new features introduced in FileMaker 10, this technique is even easier to implement.

UPDATE 2:

The webinar recording is now available (requires the WebEx WRF Player).

UPDATE:

If you missed today’s webinar with James, a recording should be available shortly.  We’ll update this post once it goes live.  Thanks to all that attended!  If you had a question for James and didn’t get a chance to get it answered, post in here in the comments for him.

Al asks:

Any hints on how to get appointments into iCal or Google calendars easily - without plug-ins? Mac would be fine, as I want this available on iPhone in the end.

Easy?  Maybe…  it depends on what you want to be able to do with it once it’s in iCal.

Robert asks:

I almost always tackle it with the basic script steps:

Hi, I’m Julien Lafleur, the director of development here at The Support Group.  I’ve been working with FileMaker for well over a decade (in fact I just passed my 10 year anniversary with TSG!), and I’m continually surprised by the many little challenges posed by our customers, and the many creative ways they can be solved.

Have you ever wanted to display event records in a calendar format?  Of course you have!  And FileMaker Pro 11 makes this so much easier with filtered portals.

FileMaker Pro 11’s new OnObjectValidate script trigger provides us with the ability to control and massage data in ways we couldn’t before.  While this trigger is often thought of as a way of adding additional limitations and restrictions on data entry beyond the built-in validation options, you can also use it to ease and allow more flexible data entry.