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
Chapter 1
Welcome to FileMaker Developer
Welcome to FileMaker
®
Developer 6. FileMaker Developer 6
consists of the Developer edition of FileMaker Pro, and the
FileMaker Developer Tool application. You use FileMaker Pro to
create and test your database solutions. You use FileMaker
Developer Tool to transform your database solution into a runtime or
kiosk-mode application that you can distribute to your users.
Thoughout this Guide, references to FileMaker Pro include the
Developer edition of FileMaker Pro.
About the Developer edition of
FileMaker Pro
The Developer edition of FileMaker Pro includes two productivity
tools designed especially for database developers. They are the
Script Debugger tool and the Database Design Report tool. These
tools are fully documented in the FileMaker Pro onscreen Help:
• In the Contents tab, see “Using FileMaker Developer features”
• In the Index tab, look for Script Debugger or Database Design
Report
Note FileMaker Inc. does not support the use of the Script Debugger
and Database Design Report tools on files processed as runtime
applications through the FileMaker Developer Tool.
About this guide
This Guide tells you how to install FileMaker Developer on your
Windows or Mac OS computer and how to use the FileMaker
Developer Tool. In addition, there are several chapters that explain
how to publish a FileMaker Pro database on the Web.
Note You cannot publish a runtime solution on the Web.
The FileMaker Pro User’s Guide, also included in the FileMaker
Developer package, describes how to use the most common features
in FileMaker Pro. For a list of new features in FileMaker Pro 6, see
chapter 4 of the FileMaker Pro Getting Started Guide, or see “About
FileMaker Pro 6” in the onscreen Help.
Note When a feature or procedure is specific to a particular platform,
you see instructions and illustrations that are also specific to that
platform. For features or procedures that are similar on both
platforms, you may see illustrations for either Windows or the
Mac OS.
Registration and customer support
Please take the time to register your product during installation,
through the FileMaker web site at www.filemaker.com/register, or
by choosing Help menu > Register Now in FileMaker Pro.
For information about technical support and customer service, see:
www.filemaker.com (North American customers)
www.filemaker.com/intl (customers outside North America)