Developer’s Guide

4-2 Developer’s Guide
Overview of preparing your solution files
As you design, build, and test your database solution, keep in mind
how your users will interact with it. This includes navigational
scripts and buttons, effective use of layouts and themes, and Help for
the user.
Here are some general considerations for preparing solution files:
1. If desired, create a custom theme for all the layouts in your
database solution. (See chapter 5, “Creating custom layout themes”
for information.).
2. In FileMaker Pro, design, create, and test the databases that make
up your solution.
If you’re creating a cross-platform solution for Windows and
Mac OS machines, design and test each database file on both
platforms. See
“Design tips for cross-platform solutions” on
page 4-11.
3. If necessary, convert files from versions of FileMaker Pro earlier
than 5.0.
4. Decide which database will be the primary file that users open
first.
5. Create scripts and/or buttons for users to navigate from the
primary file to all auxiliary files and layouts in the solution. See
“Using scripts to control your solution” on page 4-5 and “Creating
dynamic buttons” on page 4-6.
6. Create documentation about your database solution, such as an
About layout that describes your company and where users can go
for technical support, and a Help layout that describes how to
navigate and use your solution. See
“Providing user documentation”
on page 4-8.
7. Make backup copies of your original files and store them in a safe
place.
Once you have completed the design and development work and you
are satisfied that your database solution is ready for distribution, use
the FileMaker Developer Tool to create Kiosk-mode or custom
stand-alone solutions.
To create a custom solution:
1. Use the FileMaker Developer Tool to bind and customize the
database files. (See chapter 6, “Using the FileMaker Developer
Tool” for information.)
2. Test your custom solution for errors—step through your database
files trying every option, feature, and button. If your solution will be
run in both Windows and the Mac OS, test your solution on both
platforms.
3. Plan how your database solution will be distributed to your users
and, if necessary, create a custom installer.
FileMaker Pro runtime applications don’t have automatic installers,
so you’ll need to create an installation procedure for your runtime
database solution files. You may also need a utility to decompress
and install the files on users’ hard disks. See
chapter 7, “Distributing
FileMaker Pro runtime database solutions” for information.
Considerations for a runtime
database solution
Here’s a list of issues to consider as you prepare your database files
for a stand-alone runtime database solution. It’s best to address these
issues before binding the files to the runtime application.
• Do you want users to open and close auxiliary files?
In the runtime application, several FileMaker Pro menu options are
not available to the user, including File menu > Open and File menu >
Close. If you want users to open and close auxiliary files, you must
provide scripts in your solution to perform these operations. Then,
place a button or startup script in each auxiliary file that returns to the
main layout of the primary file.