Field Grouping

Example of a table called Customers:

Address1
Address2
CompanyName
City
FirstName
HomePhone
MobilePhone
LastName
State
WorkPhone
Zip

The challenge with the above list is that when you sort the field list in the table alphabetically Address1 and 2 are both on top while Zip is at the bottom of the list.  If the table structure is relatively small this is not a big deal.  If you have a lot of fields in the table then having your fields grouped together will save you the extra time of trying to find the fields you want.

An easy way to keep those together would be to change the names just slightly to something like this:

Address1
Address2
AddressCity
AddressState
AddressZip
NameCompany
NameFirst
NameLast
PhoneMobile
PhoneHome
PhoneWork

 Notice that you now have groups of Address, Phone and Names and when sorted it keep the like fields together.

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Alternate Field Names / Labels

Again I ran into a situation with a client the other day that would like to have different column heading labels when their records were exported to an Microsoft Excel file.  When Filemaker Pro exports the column headings it of course exports the field names as they are defined into the database definition.  I submitted to FileMaker, Inc some time ago a request to add an alternate field name when the database fields are created.  Microsoft Access has had this for years, which I believe they call caption.  The purpose this serves it is gives a human readable label to an otherwise unclear database label.  To the developer of the system a field called ’sompid” may be very clear but ’school of medicine patient identification’ makes it much easier for any person to understand what the field is referring to.

If you are like me I don’t like using any spaces or any characters such as %, -, !, $, etc.  This process works well again for developers but not the end users.

Field Examples / Human Readable Label

__kp_Student /Student ID
NameFL / Full Name
AddressCity / City
PhoneH / Home Phone

You get the idea.

Granted the example of the ’sompid’ had a much too long ‘human readable label’ but hopefully you understand the point.  It would be nice to have the caption/alternate label added when you add new fields to a layout and also when you export your data say to MS Excel.   Something that we would love to see.

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Why FileMaker Pro?

FileMaker® Pro is the #1-selling easy-to-use database software that manages people, projects, assets and more—the easy way! FileMaker Pro 11 gives you the tools you need to manage, customize and share all your information on a network or over the Web with Windows and Mac users.

Read the reviews and awards earned by the FileMaker® Pro product line. FileMaker is used by a growing list of companies both large and small. Read customer stories about how others are using FileMaker products.

  • FileMaker Pro is 100% cross platform. Both Windows and Mac’s can share the same database with no problem.
  • FileMaker Pro is multi-user right out of the box. Share your database with your co-workers. Scalable to share 125 files with 250 users using FileMaker® Server or even more with FileMaker Server Advanced.
  • FileMaker Pro allows you to easily publish your database to the web or you can access the database remotely.
  • Store an enormous amount of data. 8 TB
  • Build a custom solution, or choose from 30 FileMaker Starter Solutions to see results immediately.
  • Easily convert your Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheets into versatile FileMaker databases with a simple drag and drop.
  • Store and manage virtually any file type including images, Adobe® PDF documents, movies, Microsoft Office files and more.
  • Design custom layouts suited to your needs, output professional business reports, add your logo—all without programming.
  • Use the Layout and Report Assistant to guide you through creating layouts, labels, and reports so your screens and reports look just the way you want.
  • Customize by dragging and dropping fields and objects wherever you want.
  • Choose from hundreds of pre-programmed functions to automate your FileMaker solutions.
  • Extend rich business solutions to co-workers, customers, vendors, and others on a network or over the web.
  • Create Adobe PDF documents and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets for easy sharing and analysis.
  • Control your user privileges and access through FileMaker Pro 9 software’s advanced security system.
  • Secure your database traffic using SSL encryption between your FileMaker Pro Server and Clients.
  • Script Triggers
  • Dynamic Reporting
  • Native Charting.  Chart a whole new course!
  • New developer tools such as Layout Folders
  • Reoccuring Imports
  • Snapshot Link
  • Quick Find
  • Portal Filter and more!

FileMaker is a trademark of FileMaker, Inc., registered in the U.S.and other countries.

 

FileMaker, Inc just annouced the release of FileMaker Pro Version 11 product line.  Visit FileMaker’s website for further details.  We are partically please that FileMaker has chosen to add a native graphing feature that has been long desired.  We will give you more thoughts on  the new software in the very near future.

If you looking to move to version 11 and or need to convert your solution just give MyDBSolutions a call and we would glad to assist with your project.

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FileMaker Wish List

Here is our wish list of features that we would love to see in FileMaker Pro.  These are not in any particular order nor is it a complete list.  Enjoy!

  • Dynamic Portal Sorting with out having to create a million portals or manipulate the data
  • Calculations on the Fly.  Love to be able to do a calculation in a merge field for example.
  • Calculations outside of having to create new field definitions.  Defined in a query
  • Select Distinct!
  • Sub-Layouts.  Have a master form with sub-layouts which pull from different table occurrences.  This would help in building dashboard type views
  • Closing dialog box that would let the user know the file is being saved and not to say disconnect from their VPN until it is done.
  • Native Progress bars.
  • True sever side functions such as deleting and sorting records, etc.  Tell the server to delete or sort the records rather than having the client do all the work.
  • Gradiant Visual Effect
  • Less Screen Flicker in redraws
  • Cross Tab reporting.  Need we say more?
  • Icons/Graphics in Dialog boxes
  • Send HTML email without use of a Plugin
  • Built in Barcode support without plugin/fonts
  • Of course it would be great to have FileMaker Pro and Server be 64 bit.
  • Better debugging tools when FileMaker Server crashes.
  • True type ahead in a quick search
  • Container fields that can create thumbnails of the picture stored
  • Save to a word doc without plug-ins / XSLT
 

$$ Variables

Remember that $$ variable are session specific and file specific.  What that means is that the $$ variables must be set for the specific session the database is opened and if your solution is a multi-filed database solution then the $$variables are known only to the file that they were initially set.

 

Ever run a script in FileMaker and see the window constantly try to refresh and show you the results.  When running a script, it is good practice to add a Freeze window script step that freezes the window until the script is complete.  Remember you don’t need to add a Refresh Window step at the end.  FileMaker will automatically refresh the window when your script completes.  FYI: Freeze Window is not Server Side compatible.

 

User Dashboard and Global fields

Ever want a dashboard for a user when they login?  This is a great idea but these are not always easily created in FileMaker.  In order to do this in FileMaker remember each user must have their own record as a landing page.  This cannot be done using global fields on a single record.  Using global field will allow only one person to make changes to related date and everyone else will be locked out and must wait until the first person in commits their changes.  You can create a temporary record for  each user when they log in or better yet have a user table and a script that sends them to their specific record.

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Competitive Pricing on FileMaker Pro Software

MyDBSolutions is please to offer competitive pricing for your FileMaker Pro software needs.  Need to upgrade or buy new licenses?  Already have a maintenance plan? No problem.  Just last week we saved one of our clients over $500 off their order.  Call us today to save $$ on your next purchase.

 

Show Custom Dialog with Field Input

FileMaker Pro’s ‘Show Custom Dialog” script step with field input must have the OK button as the default button otherwise the field will never be update or obtain the value from the user.  This is sometimes a painful when you want the default button to be a Cancel button.

 
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