Developer’s Guide
Table Of Contents
- Chapter 1 Welcome to FileMaker Developer
- Chapter 2 Installing FileMaker Developer in Windows
- Chapter 3 Installing FileMaker Developer in the Mac OS
- Chapter 4 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 your solution
- Converting and upgrading solution files
- Chapter 5 Creating custom layout themes
- Chapter 6 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 Scripts menus
- Adding the FileMaker Pro extension to database filenames
- Saving your settings in the Developer Tool
- Chapter 7 Distributing FileMaker Pro runtime database solutions
- Chapter 8 Publishing your database on the Web
- Types of web publishing
- Using the FileMaker Pro 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 network connection
- Opening password-protected databases remotely
- Chapter 9 Custom web publishing using CDML
- About the CDML examples
- General steps for custom web publishing using CDML
- About CDML format files
- Generating FileMaker Pro CGI requests using CDML
- Using the CDML Tool and templates
- About the CDML Reference database
- Creating error messages
- Using an encoding parameter with a CDML replacement tag
- Planning your web site
- Chapter 10 Using FileMaker Pro XML to deliver your data on the Web
- About the XML examples
- General process for custom web publishing using XML
- Generating an XML document
- Using the FMPDSORESULT grammar
- Using the FileMaker Pro Extended XML grammars
- About UTF-8 encoded data
- Generating FileMaker Pro CGI requests for an XML document
- Using style sheets with your XML document
- Comparing CSS, XSLT, and JavaScript
- Looking at the XML Inventory example
- Chapter 11 Using JDBC to deliver your data
- About the JDBC examples
- About JDBC
- Using the FileMaker JDBC Driver
- SQL supported by the FileMaker JDBC Driver
- FileMaker Pro support for Unicode characters
- About the FileMaker JDBC Driver interfaces and extensions
- Example 1: Looking at the FileMaker Pro Explorer application
- Example 2: Creating the JBuilder Inventory application
- Example 3: Creating the Visual Cafe Inventory application
- Chapter 12 Understanding external function plug-ins
- About external functions
- About the plug-in example file
- Installing, enabling, and configuring the example plug-in
- Description of the FMExample plug-in’s external functions
- Using the example plug-in
- Customizing the plug-in example
- Requirements for writing an external function plug-in
- FileMaker Pro messages sent to the plug-in
- Debugging your plug-in
- Avoiding potential Mac OS resourceconflicts
- Providing documentation for your plug-in
- Registering your plug-ins
- Appendix A Feature comparison of the runtime application and FileMaker Pro
- Appendix B Valid names used in CGI requests for FileMaker Pro 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
- 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 FileMaker Pro values for error codes
- Index
1-4 Developer’s Guide
FileMaker Pro
advanced feature Software requirement
URL support and the In Mac OS 9.x or earlier, the Internet control panel
Speak script step and the Speech Manager extension are usually
available as part of a normal system software
installation. Make sure they’re turned on in the
Extensions Manager control panel.
Features not supported In Mac OS X
In Mac OS X, FileMaker Pro does not support the following
features:
• Toolbars
• Status (CurrentPrinterName) function
• Dial Phone script step
Opening files from previous versions
FileMaker Pro 6 can open files created in earlier versions of
FileMaker Pro as described in the following sections.
Important There may be date considerations when converting a
database from an earlier version of FileMaker Pro. For more
information about how FileMaker Pro handles Year 2000 issues, see
www.filemaker.com.
FileMaker Pro 5.x databases
Because FileMaker Pro 5.x and FileMaker Pro 6 share the same
format, FileMaker Pro 6 can open FileMaker Pro 5.x files without
converting them. You can even use FileMaker Pro 6 files with
FileMaker Pro 5.x. However, the new features that you use in a
newer version will not be supported when you open the file in a
previous version.
We recommend that once you have created or opened a file in
FileMaker Pro 6, you do not make database design changes in
previous versions of the application, particularly to features that have
changed in FileMaker Pro 6.
FileMaker Pro 4.x/3.x/2.x databases
When you convert a FileMaker Pro 4.x/3.x/2.x file, FileMaker Pro 6
software saves your original FileMaker Pro 4.x/3.x/2.x file and
creates a copy that has been converted to the FileMaker Pro 5.x/6
format. The original file is not modified and you can open it in the
previous version of FileMaker Pro. The converted file can only be
opened in FileMaker Pro 5.x/6.
To convert and open a FileMaker Pro 4.x/3.x/2.x file:
1. Start FileMaker Pro 6.
2. Choose File menu > Open and select the file to convert.
3. Click Open.
4. Click OK to append “Old” to the name of the original
FileMaker Pro 4.x/3.x/2.x file.
5. Click Save to start the conversion.
By default, this converted file will have the original file’s name.
Preserving this name is important if you have existing relationships
or scripts, which might not function correctly if it is changed.
FileMaker Pro converts the file and opens it.
Keep these points in mind when converting files:
• You can also convert a FileMaker Pro file by dragging the file on
top of the FileMaker Developer 6 application icon.