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
Contents v
Chapter 7
Distributing FileMaker Pro runtime database solutions
Organizing your runtime database solution components
7-1
Generated DLL files for Windows runtime
database solutions
7-2
System files for Windows solutions
7-2
Solution Extras files for Mac OS solutions
7-3
FileMaker Extensions files for Mac OS solutions
7-3
Choosing the distribution method
7-4
Requirements for distributing on floppy disks
7-4
Using a custom installation program
7-4
Using a compression utility program
7-4
What your users need
7-4
Sharing your solution over a network
7-5
Documenting the installation procedures
7-5
Starting your runtime database solution
7-5
Recovering damaged files
7-6
Distributing updates to your runtime database solution
7-6
Chapter 8
Publishing your database on the Web
Types of web publishing
8-1
Custom web publishing with XML
8-1
Custom web publishing with JDBC
8-1
Custom web publishing with CDML
8-2
Instant Web Publishing
8-2
Other ways to create custom web sites for your data
8-2
Static web publishing with HTML 8-2
Using the FileMaker Pro Web Companion 8-2
Requirements for web access 8-2
Enabling the Web Companion 8-3
Setting Web Companion configuration options 8-3
Sharing the database via the Web 8-5
Creating a custom home page 8-5
Specifying a custom home page as the default 8-6
Creating a custom home page for Instant Web Publishing 8-6
About the FileMaker WebPortal object 8-7
Overview of setting up a custom home page for
Instant Web Publishing
8-7
Creating a custom web site using a database layout 8-7
Overview of using a database layout as the Instant
Web Publishing home page
8-8
Using script buttons in Instant Web Publishing 8-8
Suppressing the Instant Web Publishing interface 8-11
Bypassing the Instant Web Publishing home page 8-12
Format filenames for instant web pages 8-13
Web Companion support for Internet media types 8-13
Monitoring your site 8-14
Using the access.log file 8-14
Using the error.log file 8-14
Using the info.log file 8-15
Using the Web Companion external functions 8-15
Exporting data to a static HTML page 8-16
Testing your site without a network connection 8-17
Opening password-protected databases remotely 8-18
Opening and closing databases using XML 8-18
Opening and closing databases using CDML 8-19
Chapter 9
Custom web publishing using CDML
About the CDML examples 9-1
General steps for custom web publishing using CDML 9-2
About CDML format files 9-2
Generating FileMaker Pro CGI requests using CDML 9-3
Request names 9-4
Requests for adding records to a portal 9-4
Requests for editing multiple records in a portal 9-4