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
8-2 Developer’s Guide
For a list of JDBC resources, see the product support pages on the
FileMaker, Inc. web site at www.filemaker.com. As a shortcut, in
FileMaker Pro, choose Help menu > FileMaker on the Web.
Custom web publishing with CDML
The FileMaker Pro Web Companion lets you publish your database
with custom web pages using a proprietary markup language called
CDML. Included with FileMaker Pro are all the tools, templates, and
examples you need to create your own custom web pages using
CDML. For information, see
chapter 9, “Custom web publishing
using CDML.”
Instant Web Publishing
When you use FileMaker Pro Instant Web Publishing, the Web
Companion generates predesigned HTML forms with HREF links to
your database. For general information on web publishing and using
the Instant Web Publishing feature, see chapter 14, “Publishing
databases on the Web,” in the FileMaker Pro User’s Guide or see
FileMaker Pro Help.
Other ways to create custom web sites for your data
If you want, you can create a custom home page to go with your
instant web pages instead of using the built-in FileMaker Pro Instant
Web Publishing home page. See
“Creating a custom home page” on
page 8-5, “Creating a custom home page for Instant Web
Publishing” on page 8-6, and “Creating a custom web site using a
database layout” on page 8-7.
Static web publishing with HTML
You can also publish your data on static web pages if you don’t need
dynamic web access to your database. See “Exporting data to a static
HTML page” on page 8-16.
Using the FileMaker Pro Web Companion
The Web Companion is a plug-in that acts as a Common Gateway
Interface (CGI) application for handling interactions between
FileMaker Pro and your web browser. The Web Companion also
functions as a web server by providing static files (such as HTML
pages and images) to the web browser.
Web users access your database either by accessing the IP address of
the computer running FileMaker Pro with their browser (which takes
them to the home page) or by clicking an HREF link that contains a
specific CGI request for FileMaker Pro. The Web Companion then
sends via HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) either the default
home page or the web page specified in the FileMaker CGI request.
The Web Companion in the Developer edition of FileMaker Pro can
only serve to a maximum of ten IP addresses in a 12-hour period, as
indicated by the IP Guest Limit of 10 in the Web Companion
Configuration dialog box.
If desired, you can set up your computer for testing without a
constant connection to the Internet or an intranet. For information,
see “Testing your site without a network connection” on page 8-17.
For general information on the Web Companion and about
connecting to the Internet or an intranet, see chapter 14, “Publishing
databases on the Web” in the FileMaker Pro User’s Guide.
Requirements for web access
The host computer must have a copy of FileMaker Pro serving the
databases on the Web (preferably with a full-time, constant
connection to the Internet or your intranet). The Web Companion
must be enabled in FileMaker Pro.