Developer’s Guide
Table Of Contents
- Preface Introducing FileMaker Developer 5.5
- Chapter 1 Installing FileMaker Developer 5.5
- What you need to install FileMakerDeveloper
- System requirements for FileMaker Developer 5.5
- Networking requirements
- Web publishing requirements
- Requirements for advanced features (Windows)
- Requirements for advanced features (MacOS)
- Installing FileMaker Developer 5.5 in Windows
- Installing FileMaker Developer 5.5 in the MacOS
- New features in FileMaker Pro
- FileMaker Pro 5.5 and Mac OS X
- Contents of the FileMaker Developer 5.5 folder
- Contents of the Developer Extras folder on the FileMaker Developer 5.5 CD
- Read Me file
- Electronic documentation
- Abiding by the license agreement
- Registration and customer support
- About the TechInfo database
- Chapter 2 Creating a database solution
- Overview of preparing your solutionfiles
- Considerations for a runtime databasesolution
- Considerations for Kiosk mode
- Using scripts to control your solution
- Protecting your database solution files
- Providing user documentation
- Design tips for cross-platform solutions
- Creating a consistent appearance
- Simulating outline and shadow text styles
- Using common character sets
- Designing text layouts for cross-platform solutions
- Using a common color palette
- Using graphics in cross-platform solutions
- Using QuickTime movies in cross-platform solutions
- Showing the status bar in Windows
- Using separate scripts for printing
- Using the Status (CurrentPlatform) function
- Creating platform-specific scripts
- Your responsibilities as a developer
- Testing before and after creating yoursolution
- Converting and upgrading solution files
- Chapter 3 Creating custom layout themes
- Chapter 4 Using the FileMaker Developer Tool
- About the solution examples
- Using the FileMaker Developer Tool
- Binding your databases into a runtime database solution
- Creating Kiosk-mode solutions
- Renaming your databases
- Removing design access to your databases
- Customizing the About, Help, and Scriptsmenus
- Adding the FileMakerPro extension to database filenames
- Saving your settings in the Developer Tool
- Chapter 5 Distributing FileMakerPro runtime database solutions
- Chapter 6 Publishing your database on the Web
- Types of web publishing
- Using the FileMakerPro Web Companion
- Creating a custom home page
- Creating a custom home page for Instant Web Publishing
- Creating a custom web site using a database layout
- Web Companion support for Internet mediatypes
- Monitoring your site
- Exporting data to a static HTML page
- Testing your site without a networkconnection
- Opening password-protected databasesremotely
- Chapter 7 Using FileMakerPro XML to deliver your data
- About the XML examples
- General process for custom web publishing using XML
- Generating an XML document
- Using the FMPDSORESULT grammar
- Using the FileMakerPro Extended XMLgrammars
- About UTF-8 encoded data
- Generating FileMakerPro CGI requests for an XML document
- Using style sheets with your XMLdocument
- Comparing CSS, XSLT, and JavaScript
- Looking at the XML Inventory example
- Chapter 8 Custom web publishing using CDML
- About the CDML examples
- General steps for custom web publishing using CDML
- About CDML format files
- Generating FileMakerPro CGI requests using CDML
- Using the CDML Tool and templates
- Modified CDML tags
- About the CDML Reference database
- Creating error messages
- Using an encoding parameter with a CDML replacement tag
- Planning your web site
- Chapter 9 Using Java and JDBC to deliver your data
- About the JDBC examples
- About JDBC
- Using the FileMaker JDBC Driver
- SQL supported by the FileMaker JDBCDriver
- FileMakerPro support for Unicodecharacters
- About the FileMaker JDBC Driver interfaces and extensions
- Example 1: Looking at the FileMakerPro Explorer application
- Example 2: Creating the JBuilder Inventoryapplication
- Example 3: Creating the Visual Cafe Inventory application
- Using the FileMaker Java classes
- Chapter 10 Understanding external function plug-ins
- About external functions
- About the plug-in example file
- Installing, enabling, and configuring the exampleplug-in
- Description of the FMExample plug-in’s externalfunctions
- Using the example plug-in
- Customizing the plug-in example
- Requirements for writing an external function plug-in
- FileMakerPro messages sent to theplugin
- Debugging your plug-in
- Avoiding potential MacOS resourceconflicts
- Providing documentation for your plug-in
- Registering your plug-ins
- Appendix A Feature comparison of the runtime application and FileMakerPro
- Appendix B Valid names used in CGI requests for FileMakerProXMLdata
- Generating a –find, –findall, or –findany request
- Generating a –view request
- Generating a –new request
- Generating an –edit request
- Generating a –delete request
- Generating a –dbnames request
- Generating a –layoutnames request
- Generating a –scriptnames request
- Generating a –dbopen request
- Generating a –dbclose request
- Generating a -dup request
- Generating an -img request
- Specifying parameters for the request
- –db (Database)
- –lay (Layout)
- –format (Format)
- –recid (Record ID)
- –modid (Modification ID)
- –lop (Logical operator)
- –op (Comparison operator)
- –max (Maximum records)
- –skip (Skip records)
- –sortfield (Sort field)
- –sortorder (Sort order)
- –script (Script)
- –script.prefind (Script before Find)
- –script.presort (Script before Sort)
- –styletype (Style type)
- –stylehref (Style href)
- –password (Database password)
- field name (Name of specific field)
- Appendix C FileMakerPro values for error codes
- Index
x Developer’s Guide
Provide layout themes for your solutions
Use custom FileMaker layout themes to create a consistent look for
new layouts in your database solutions.
Use design tools and templates for UI design
Use the sample buttons, interface elements, and database examples
provided by FileMaker Developer 5.5 as you develop the user
interface to your custom database solutions.
Using FileMaker Developer 5.5 in
Mac OS X
There are some differences in the user interface and feature set
between the Mac OS and Mac OS X systems. Refer to the Getting
started with FileMaker Pro in Mac OS X guide included with the
FileMaker Developer documentation.
Deploying your customized database
solutions
For deploying your custom database solutions over a network, the
Internet, or an intranet, the FileMaker, Inc. product line includes
FileMaker Server 5.5 and FileMaker Pro 5.5 Unlimited.
FileMaker Server 5.5 provides multi-protocol support for TCP/IP,
IPX/SPX (Windows) and AppleTalk (Mac OS 9.x and earlier)
networks for serving up to 125 hosted files simultaneously to
FileMaker Pro guests on Windows, Mac OS, and Red Hat Linux
machines.
Note Standalone runtime solutions cannot be served or published on
the Web.
FileMaker Pro 5.5 Unlimited includes all of the features of
FileMaker Pro 5.5 and also allows for an unlimited number of web
guests to access your FileMaker Pro databases. Use the FileMaker
Pro Unlimited Web Server Connector to publish your databases
through these popular web servers: Microsoft Internet Information
Server 4.0 and 5.0, Apache on Mac OS X Server, and Apache on Red
Hat Linux 7.1.
Getting more information
For more information about FileMaker Pro products, and for
technical support, go to the FileMaker, Inc. web site at
www.filemaker.com. There you will find product information and
support, trial software, and helpful links to other resources.
FileMaker Developer includes two shortcuts to the website: double-
click Go_FileMaker.html in the FileMaker Developer 5.5\FMI
folder, or click on FileMaker on the Web in the FileMaker Developer
Help menu.
About this guide
The Developer’s Guide provides instructions and examples for using
FileMaker Developer 5.5.
1 Chapter 1 describes how to install the FileMaker Developer
software on Windows and Mac OS systems and provides tables that
describe the content of what is installed.
1 Chapters 2, 3, and 4 describe how to prepare your files with FileMaker
Pro, create custom layout themes, and use the FileMaker Developer
Tool for creating runtime database solutions and other types of database
solutions such as Kiosk mode.
1 Chapter 5 provides instructions for distributing your database
solutions.
1 Chapters 6, 7, and 8 describe custom web publishing with the
FileMaker Pro Web Companion, and using XML and CDML.