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
Distributing FileMaker Pro runtime database solutions 5-5
Using a compression utility program
If your runtime database solution is small, you might consider a
compression utility application rather than a custom installation
application. To compress files, use a utility such as:
1 WinZip for Windows (Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT,
Windows 2000, Windows ME) by WinZip Computing, Inc.
(www.winzip.com)
1 StuffIt Deluxe for Mac OS (the StuffIt Expander decompression
utility is available for Windows and Mac OS) by Aladdin Systems
(www.aladdinsys.com)
What your users need
In order to run your FileMaker Pro runtime database solution, your
users will need the same minimum equipment and software required
by the FileMaker Pro 5.5 application. In addition, your users will
need instructions for installing and starting your solution, and
information about how to recover damaged files.
Minimum requirements for your runtime solution
(Windows)
To use your runtime database solution on the Windows platform,
your users need the following minimum equipment and software:
1 an Intel compatible 486/33 PC
1 16 MB of RAM
1 a hard disk with at least 20 MB of free space
1 a CD drive
1 Windows 95, with Internet Explorer 4.0 or Windows NT 4.0 (with
Service Pack 3)
Note The runtime application requires the shfolder.dll and
comctl32.dll files, which are installed by Windows NT 4.0 with
Service Pack 3, or by Internet Explorer 4.0.
Minimum requirements for your runtime solution
(Mac OS)
To use your runtime database solution on the Mac OS platform, your
users need the following minimum equipment and software:
1 a Power Macintosh or Mac OS computer with a PPC 601 processor
or higher
1 at least 16 MB of RAM
1 a hard disk with at least 24 MB of free space
1 a CD drive
1 System 8.1
Sharing your solution over a network
Because the runtime application does not support FileMaker Pro file
sharing (peer-to-peer or client/server networking), users cannot
share your runtime database solution over a network unless they
access the files using the FileMaker Pro application on their
machines.
For optimal performance, they can host the solution files using
FileMaker Server.
For information about the FileMaker Server and FileMaker Pro
products, and information about volume license sales, see the
FileMaker, Inc. web site at www.filemaker.com.
Documenting the installation procedures
You’ll need to provide instructions to your users for how to install
your runtime database solution. Here’s a list of things you should
document:
1 Provide written instructions for copying or installing your solution
to your user’s hard disk.
1 Include software and instructions specifying how your users can
decompress your solution files.