User manual

68 | Using databases
Automating tasks with scripts
Scripts can do simple tasks like setting print orientation or complex tasks like
preparing a customized mailing to clients. Scripts can incorporate conditional
decisions (if-else statements) and perform repetitive tasks (loop statements).
You use the Manage Scripts feature in FileMaker Pro to build scripts by
selecting from a list of FileMaker
Pro script steps, specifying options, and
arranging the steps in the correct order to perform the task.
Use scripts to combine and automate tasks like:
1 switching to another layout or mode
1 finding, sorting, and printing records
1 importing data from the same source
FileMaker Pro makes it easy for you to manage scripts. You can display a
default script to use as a template when writing your own scripts. You can open
several scripts at once to compare them. You can copy and paste entire scripts
between files. You can copy and paste script steps from one script to another
script in the same file or to a script in a different file. You can assign scripts to
groups to make it easy to find scripts of a specific type (for example, copy an
entire group of scripts to another file or delete an entire group of scripts). And
you can design scripts to run when a particular event occurs (such as when
users enter a field, press a key, or add a new record to the database).
Procedures for creating and managing scripts and a reference to all
FileMaker
Pro script steps (organized alphabetically or by category) are
available in Help.
Backing up database files
Routine backups are imperative for any document stored on a computer. It is
easier to restore a backed up database than it is to recreate it. How often you
should back up depends on the amount of data you are adding to your
databases, and how difficult it would be to recreate your files if they become
corrupt.
For very important files, it’s a good idea to routinely store backups at an off-
site location.
φμπ10_υσερσ_γυιδε.βοοκ Παγε 68 Μονδαψ, Αυγυστ 25, 2008 3:59 ΠΜ