Developer’s Guide
Table Of Contents
- Contents
- Chapter 1 Introducing FileMaker Developer 5
- Chapter 2 Customizing your database solution
- About the custom solution examples
- Using the FileMaker Developer Tool
- Binding your databases into a runtime database solution
- Displaying databases in Kiosk mode
- 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 3 Preparing files for a custom solution
- About the Relational Example
- General steps for preparing your solutionfiles
- Issues to consider before creating a runtime database solution
- Opening files in Kiosk mode
- Design tips for navigating in Kiosk mode
- Creating startup scripts
- Using button image samples
- Documenting your database solution
- 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
- Protecting your runtime database solutionfiles
- Testing before and after creating yoursolution
- Converting and upgrading solution files
- Chapter 4 Distributing FileMakerPro runtime database solutions
- Chapter 5 Creating custom layout themes
- Chapter 6 Publishing your database on the Web
- Moving forward using open web standards
- Using the FileMakerPro Web Companion
- Displaying a custom home page
- Using a custom home page with Instant Web Publishing
- Monitoring your site
- Exporting data to a static HTML page
- Testing your site without a networkconnection
- Opening password-protected databasesremotely
- Using the Web Security Database
- 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 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 9 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
- New and 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 10 Writing external function plug-ins
- About the plug-in examples and templates
- Installing, enabling, and configuring FileMakerPro plug-ins
- Using external functions in a calculation
- 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
- Naming and registering your plug-ins
- Appendix A Feature comparison of the runtime application and FileMakerPro
- Appendix B Valid names used in CGI requests for FileMaker XML data
- 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
- 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 FileMaker Pro values for error codes
- Index
Chapter 10
Writing external function plug-ins
If you are a C or C++ programmer and familiar with advanced
calculations in FileMaker Pro, you can create external function plug-
ins that extend the feature set of FileMaker Pro — including
calculation formulas that take advantage of recursion and looping, or
that hook into other programming interfaces. Users can enable your
plug-ins in FileMaker Pro and use your external functions in their
calculation fields and scripts.
FileMaker Pro plug-ins must be registered with FileMaker, Inc. The
FileMaker, Inc. web site includes a plug-in registration form and a
database of all the registered plug-ins. You can browse this database
to get an idea of what kind of plug-ins already exist and use it to list
your own plug-ins.
About the plug-in examples and templates
FileMaker Developer provides examples and template files that
illustrate the API (application programming interface) for creating
FileMaker Pro external function plug-ins. The FileMaker Pro
external function API is a set of standards your plug-in must adhere
to in order to be used by FileMaker Pro.
The plug-in examples include two projects for use with the Microsoft
Visual C++ (Windows) and Metrowerks Code Warrior Pro
(Windows and Mac OS) development environments.
The template files comprise a shell project for creating a plug-in with
two functions typically used by programmers. The set of example
files and the compiled Full Example plug-in were designed to
illustrate what a complete FileMaker Pro plug-in looks like.
See “Installing the FileMaker Developer software package” on
page 1-2 for information on installing the examples and templates.
The example projects are located in the Full Example folder:
1 FileMaker Developer 5 > External FileMaker APIs > External Function
Plug-in > Full Example > Code Warrior Pro (Mac OS and Windows)
1 FileMaker Developer 5 > External FileMaker APIs > External Function
Plug-in > Full Example > Microsoft Visual C++ (Mac OS)
The template files are located in the Template folder:
1 FileMaker Developer 5 > External FileMaker APIs > External Function
Plug-in > Template > Code Warrior Pro (Mac OS and Windows)
1 FileMaker Developer 5 > External FileMaker APIs > External Function
Plug-in > Template > Microsoft Visual C++ (Windows)
You can examine the source code of these examples and templates in
any text editor.