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
There are two folders that can be used to store files to be served to
the Web; the Web folder, and the cdml_format_files folder, both
located at the root level of the FileMaker Pro folder. Your custom
web pages, CDML format files, and XSLT style sheets can be stored
in the Web folder in order for the Web Companion to serve them on
the Web. Though the Web folder allows web users to view the source
code of files placed within it, the cdml_format_files folder prevents
web users from directly viewing the source code of any files placed
within it. This allows the user to see the HTML generated after
processing the CDML format file, while preventing them from
seeing the CDML tags in the unprocessed source file. See the Web
Security.pdf for more information on using the cdml_format_files
folder (FileMaker Developer 6\ Web Security \ Web Security.pdf).
Your databases should not be inside either of these folders. They only
need to be open in FileMaker Pro and shared via the Web Companion.
Note You can keep your site folders, web pages, and databases in a
different folder anywhere on your hard drive. To do this, replace the
Web folder inside the FileMaker Developer folder with a shortcut/
alias named “Web”.
For information and tips on providing security for your databases on
the Web, see the WebSecurity.pdf document in the
FileMaker Developer Web Security folder.
Enabling the Web Companion
You only need to enable the FileMaker Pro Web Companion plug-in
once. FileMaker Pro will attempt to connect to a network in order to
enable the Web Companion — if you do not have a network
connection but want to enable the Web Companion anyway, see
“Testing your site without a network connection” on page 8-17.
To enable the Web Companion in Windows or Mac OS:
1. In FileMaker Pro, choose Edit menu > Preferences > Application.
Mac OS X: choose FileMaker Developer application menu >
Preferences > Application.
Publishing your database on the Web 8-3
2. In the Application Preferences dialog box, click the Plug-Ins tab.
3. Select the Web Companion checkbox to enable the Web
Companion plug-in.
Enable the Web Companion in the
Application Preferences dialog box
4. Select Web Companion and click Configure to set configuration
options, or click OK.
Setting Web Companion configuration options
After you’ve enabled the Web Companion, follow these steps to
select various configuration options:
1. On the Plug-Ins tab in the Application Preferences dialog box,
select Web Companion and click Configure.
Example of the Web Companion configured
for Instant Web Publishing