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
Chapter 1
Installing FileMaker Developer 5.5
FileMaker Developer 5.5 enables you to create custom database
solutions and distribute your solutions as standalone, executable
applications, or host your solutions on a web server.
To help you create your custom solution, the FileMaker Developer
5.5 CD includes design tools, sample databases, and examples for
using XML, CDML, Java, and JDBC to deliver your data, and
external APIs to extend your solution functionality through plug-ins.
The FileMaker Developer installer installs FileMaker Pro, for
creating your custom database solution, and FileMaker Developer
Tool for creating a runtime version of your solution. The additional
tools, samples, and examples are not installed to your hard drive by
the installer. You can browse the CD to use these development aids,
or you can copy them to your hard drive.
For a description of what’s installed, see “Contents of the FileMaker
Developer 5.5 folder” on page 1-11.
What you need to install
FileMaker Developer
This guide gives instructions for installing the FileMaker Developer
application and associated files on your Windows or Mac OS
computer. Before you begin installing, you should know how you
plan to use FileMaker Developer.
1 On a stand-alone computer—you want to use
FileMaker Developer on your computer, and you don’t plan to share
files with other users over a network.
1 With networking—you want to use FileMaker Developer on your
computer, and you plan to share FileMaker Developer files with other
computers using either TCP/IP or IPX/SPX networking software
(Windows), or TCP/IP or AppleTalk (Mac OS and Mac OS X).
If you’re on a network
you need to know which type of network you’re
using. If you’re not sure which network option to choose, check with
your network administrator before you begin installation. See
“Networking requirements” on page 1-2 for more information.
Installation code
The installation code is a seventeen-digit number located on a multi-
part sticker on a separate paper sheet within the box. Do not lose this
installation code; it cannot be replaced. We recommend that you
place one of the stickers on the inside front cover of your manual.
The installation code ensures adherence to the single user license
agreement, which allows for use of one (1) copy of the Software on
a single computer at a time (refer to your Software License). If the
code is invalid or if another copy of the application installed with that
same code is running on the network, the FileMaker Developer
application displays this error message: “The maximum number of
licensed users are currently using this copy of FileMaker Pro. Please
refer to the Installation Code section of your Getting Started Guide
for further instructions.”
If you receive this error message, you have entered a duplicate
installation code. To install FileMaker Developer on multiple
computers, you must have a unique installation code for each user,
or obtain a volume license. You must license one copy of FileMaker
Developer for each computer.