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 5
Creating custom layout themes
FileMaker Pro 5 uses a variety of layout themes to describe the
colors, patterns, fonts, and borders of text, fields, and parts in a new
layout.
A FileMaker Pro theme is defined in an Extensible Markup
Language (XML) document that can be read and edited in text
editors (such as Wordpad for Windows or BBEdit for Mac OS) or
XML editors (such as XML SPY or XML Pad). You can customize
an existing theme or create your own, and then use the New Layout/
Report assistant to apply the custom theme when you create layouts
for your databases. You can modify attributes defined by the theme
in Layout mode after the layout is created. However, you can’t apply
a theme to an existing layout.
Note A FileMaker Pro theme is not a stylesheet and does not contain
positioning information for objects on a layout.
For information about:
1 using layout themes and designing layouts, see chapters 6 and 7 in
the FileMaker Pro 5 User’s Guide
1 XML and its uses, see the product support pages for FileMaker
Developer on the FileMaker, Inc. web site at www.filemaker.com
1 publishing your database on the Web in XML format, see
chapter 7, “Using FileMaker Pro XML to deliver your data”
Modifying a FileMaker Pro theme
There are nine theme files provided with FileMaker Pro 5, which you
can modify. A FileMaker Pro theme file can contain more than one
theme—for example, the Blue_gold.fth file contains two themes:
“Blue and Gold Screen” (for viewing onscreen) and “Blue and Gold
Print” (for printing).
Important The XML for a layout theme must be well-formed and
comply with the required syntax. See “Basic requirements for a
theme file” on page 5-3 and “Checking your theme document for
errors” on page 5-10.
To modify a theme:
1. Make a duplicate copy of the theme file (for example,
Blue_gold.fth) in the Themes folder.
FileMaker Pro 5 folder > Themes folder > Blue_gold.fth copy
2. Rename the copy and include the .fth extension with the new
filename. Keep the new file in the Themes folder.
Create themes to automatically apply different styles to text and
background fills in layout parts, fields, and field labels
Fill color and
pattern for
header part
Fill color and
pattern for
body part
Fill color and
pattern for
footer part
Field label
Field text
Field fill,
border and
shadow effect
Text in
footer part