The Support Group Blog

FileMaker 17 Development Features

Have you heard enough about FileMaker 17 yet? There’s certainly no shortage of articles, videos, walk-throughs, etc. about FileMaker 17 and we've certainly contributed to the information overload. There's just so much to discuss, show and brag about with the new platform. FileMaker, Inc. has introduced new, modern and evolving ways to develop custom apps to solve both common and complex business operations issues.

But we get it, it's difficult to process the new features all at once. So we thought it would be helpful to summarize the new features of the FileMaker 17 Platform in one succinct infographic. The infographic is by no means comprehensive, but certainly captures some of the remarkable nuances of the tool. Given that FileMaker, Inc. generally releases a new product version annually, it's nice to keep track of its evolution. 

Read More

The FileMaker Data Migration Tool

The introduction of the new FileMaker 17 Platform brings many new and productive improvements to the software. We have the ability to attach multiple files to email messages, copy custom menus, create directories on the fly and more. Those are all very exciting features but I would say one of the life-changing enhancements is the new FileMaker data migration tool. The data migration tool isn’t strictly a version 17 feature, so you don't necessarily have to upgrade to FileMaker 17. It's really a stand-alone command line app that you can download with a FileMaker Developer Subscription, just like the iOS SDK.

Read More

Walkthrough: Upgrade to FileMaker 17

I've finally jumped on the bandwagon; I've upgraded to the FileMaker 17 Platform. I know, I’m a developer and I should have done it as soon as it released, right?! I have no good excuses, but better late than never. So here's how I navigated the upgrade process.

NORTH

I downloaded the installer file and installed it, so far so good. I opened the file for the first time and immediately noticed the new My Apps window. This new window provides easy access to My Apps and Recent files as well as a button to Create a file. The new UI is very modern and intuitive.

Read More

Edit Group Objects in FileMaker 17 Development Feature

One of the great things about the FileMaker Platform is how fast you can create a custom app that is valuable to you and your coworkers. The ability to whip up something in virtually no time is obviously an attractive feature, but so too is the platform’s unparalleled flexibility to continuously adapt to your needs as they change. They say nothing's perfect and I guess one of the few gripes I had with the program was the minor requirement to ungroup objects in order to make substantive changes to them. 

Read More

FileMaker Server 17 Enhancements & Changes

FileMaker Server 17 ushers in a new age of server administration. Since the release of FileMaker Server 13, we've relied on proprietary Java framework, which was a little heavy for the simple task of administering a server. Now, FileMaker Server has moved to a standards-based, web-only administration interface that is as dynamic and responsive as any modern website. This isn’t our first glimpse of this directional change as many of us have been using a slimmed-down version of this interface with much success in FileMaker Cloud for over a year now. It's elegant, fast and intuitive. Having said all that, creating a whole new tool that allows you to perform all the tasks required to administer and deploy a database/application server is quite a Herculean task. In order to accomplish this without disruption to the user base, FileMaker, Inc. has decided to move in a more evolutionary direction rather than a revolutionary one .

Read More

How To Create Master-Detail Layouts in FileMaker

If you've been kicking around the FileMaker neighborhood for any amount of time, you've probably run into a need to show multiple records in a list format as well as provide a detail view of the current record. Up until now you basically had two options.

The first and probably most popular method is to create one list view layout and another form view layout. The user typically performs a find and if there's more than one record found, you send them to an optimized list view layout. And then with the click of a button, they can see the related details of each record in a form view layout or even in a popover.

Read More

Explore the New Layout Mode in FileMaker 17

If you're like me and you do your work on a laptop in the office and at home, you will welcome the new self-organizing and predictable controls that FileMaker, Inc. has introduced in the new FileMaker 17 Platform. At work, I connect my laptop to an external monitor, which expands my viewable space and allows me to spread my work out. However, at home, I rely on my 13" laptop screen to do my development work. Prior to the release of FileMaker 17, every time I switched between the monitor and my 13" laptop screen, I had to find all my control pallets (Object Viewer, Inspector and Field Picker) and then rearrange them to work within the confines of my screen. This was a pain because I had to shift my focus from improving workflows and adding value to trying to find and grab my pallets. It was like being at the carnival midway playing whack-a-mole. This has all changed with version 17. Now all three of these important tools are always accessible where and when I need them. Like most modern integrated development environments, the new Layout Mode configuration docks these important tools right to your Layout window, so that you don’t have to think about where they are when you transition from desk to couch.

Read More

FileMaker 17 New File Export Features

Here's the situation: you're showing your new custom app to a client, boss or colleague and you're proud of the way it can send an email directly from the app. This allows users to leverage all the data stored within it - pretty powerful! But then they ask if they can email more than one attachment because the weekly sales progress report includes three PDF files. Deflated, you hang your head and explain that FileMaker Pro only supports one attachment per email. That used to take the wind right out of your sails until the new FileMaker 17 Platform came along and offered the option to attach multiple files to an email message...

Read More
  • Page 1 of 1
  • 1
BrowseMode

Sign up to receive news and information about the FileMaker platform and other custom app development tools.

Keep me posted

Most Popular

Developer Resources

News, Tips & Tricks and Demos

Archives