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
8-16 Developer’s Guide
1 browse the database
1 preselect how many records to view at a time
1 add a record to the database
The Employee Database example also provides a demonstration of
the difference between using a static HTML form and dynamic
CDML to display a value list. Examine the difference between two
example links that both go to the same example.htm page but only
one dynamically displays value lists (data) from the database.
The first example link is a simple HREF link to the example.htm
page.
<A HREF=”example.htm”>example</A>
And the CDML replacement tags appear statically on the page.
The second example link contains a FileMaker Pro CGI command
for a CDML -view request. (The -view CDML action tag is usually
used to display format files containing value lists or CDML
replacement tags.)
<A HREF=FMPro?-db=Employees.fp5&-lay=Detail&-
format=example.htm&-view”>example</A>
The CDML replacement tags are replaced with the value lists from
the database.
Guest Book example
The Guest Book example demonstrates how web users can enter
information on a web page (in an HTML form) and submit it to a new
record in a FileMaker Pro database. The HTML form that is used on
the New Record web page includes CDML tags that allow the
database to be accessed and a new record to be created.
Click to search,
browse, and add
records to the
Employees.fp5
database
Click to display the
example.htm page
statically
The New Record page in the Guest Book example
Arrows indicate
required fields
in the database