FileMaker Podcast

Yesterday while on the FileMaker Today site I found a link to the FileMaker Sucess Tips Podcast. They are a little corny but really seem to know their stuff. They have been at it a while so I am probably going to go back and listen to some older episodes. They just posted a new podcast give it a listen! They recommend a nice little FileMaker Pro Reference iPhone App. <==iTunes Link)

I also created a quick little FileMaker test that will calculate from one value to another value in a given number of steps. It works from high to low and also low to high. I find that I need this function more often than I you would think. I am not completely happy with it but it wanted to test a looping script that outputs to a text field.

Here's the link:

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

Save File: seeker.fp7

FileMaker Today

I am still slogging my way through Chapter 1 of FMP10TMM.  I get sidetracked pretty easy. Found another couple of useful tricks in the Chapter 1 sample file. Some cool stuff with using buttons to pass script parameters and some cool formatting tricks using the auto resize.

I was researching an idea I had about storing graphics outside of the database and then using FileMaker to point to a reference of the image. This is pretty straight forward but what happens if the folder the images in is moved or renamed? Short answer is that the links all break. This is not good. There are some interesting workarounds but it's really overkill for what I am doing.

Anyway while looking this up I came upon a website called FileMaker Today boasting over 50,000 members. The forums look prety good and they even had a link on the front page to a FileMaker podcast that I will check out and repot back on.

Local Training and Reference Card

I was looking for a training class that I could take locally. The Support Group has locations in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

They also have a free reference card that you can print as a PDF or if you like they will mail you a laminated version of it.

The User Experience: Field Entry

Building on the example from FMP10TMM where the fields are highlighted as you type into them I started thinking of other ways to display this information to the user.

Usually I am just trying to get the database to do what I want it to do  on a daily bases. Often I forgo making a nice user interface. This is something that needs to be balanced because at some point a clumsy interface will begin to slow you down.

I thought it might be nice to float a window or some other shape containing text while the user was in the field. That sounded a little messy and may get a little cluttered so I thought maybe a status bar might be an idea.

A status bar would allow 1 field to contain the status and then could be scripted to so the status would change based on the field and it contents.

FileMaker Training Series Quick Peek

I found myself stranded without my Kindle so I am taking a quick peek at the FileMaker Training Series book. Right off the bat this book seems dense. The first example file you open is a serious database "solution". They are only showing you how to open the file so I guess it's as good as any.

Chapter 1 is for Babies!

So the am at the very beginning of FileMaker Pro 10 The Missing Manual. I am reading chapter 1 and it is going over the super painful basics of the program. How to switch modes, how to scroll the page. This is all great information if you have never used FileMaker before. I am almost at the point where I am thinking of skipping ahead a few chapters but I decide to load the example file.

Video Training

While I work through the books I am also going to be sampling some online video training. There are 2 companies that I have found so far.

VTC seems like a stripped down version of Lynda.com. VTC does however already have FileMaker 10 content.