book

FileMaker Pro 8: The Missing Manual

by Geoff Coffey, Susan Prosser

September 2005

Beginner to intermediate

762 pages

23h 16m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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A Note Regarding Supplemental Files
Copyright
The Missing Credits
About the AuthorsAbout the Creative TeamAcknowledgementsThe Missing Manual Series
Introduction
Why FileMaker Pro?What’s New in FileMaker Pro 8The Very BasicsAbout This BookAbout the OutlineLiving ExamplesMacintosh and WindowsAbout → These → ArrowsAbout MissingManuals.comSafari® Enabled
I. Introduction to FileMaker Pro
1. Your First Database
1.1. A Very Quick Database Tour1.1.1. Content Area1.1.2. Mode pop-up menu1.1.2.1. Status area and the status area control1.1.2.2. Zoom controls1.1.2.3. Scroll bars1.2. Creating a New Database1.2.1. Choosing a Template1.3. Opening and Closing Database Files1.3.1. Opening a Database1.3.2. Closing a Database1.4. Saving Your Databases1.4.1. Saving a Copy of Your Database1.4.1.1. Saving a clone of your database1.5. Adding Records to Your Database1.5.1. Creating a Record1.5.2. Editing a Record1.5.2.1. Moving between fields1.5.3. Adding More Records1.5.3.1. Duplicating a record1.5.3.2. Deleting records1.5.3.3. Revert the record1.6. Navigating Your Database1.6.1. Navigating Record by Record1.6.2. Keyboard Shortcuts1.6.3. Finding Records1.6.3.1. Performing a Find1.6.3.2. FastMatch1.7. Same Database, Multiple Windows1.7.1. Automatically Arranging Windows1.7.2. Hiding Windows1.7.2.1. Closing hidden windows
2. Organizing and Editing Records
2.1. Views2.1.1. Form View2.1.2. List View2.1.3. Table View2.2. Advanced Find Mode2.2.1. Finding by Omitting2.2.1.1. Constraining and Extending the Found Set2.2.1.2. Constraining the found set2.2.1.3. Extending the found set2.2.2. Refining Searches with Find Symbols2.2.2.1. The Wildcard (*)2.2.2.2. Less Than (<), Less Than or Equal To (≤), Greater Than (>), and Greater Than or Equal To (≥)2.2.2.3. Exact Match (=), Literal Text (“”), and Field Content Match (==)2.2.2.4. Range (…)2.2.2.5. Duplicates (!)2.2.2.6. Today’s Date (//) and Invalid Date or Time (?)2.2.2.7. One Character (@), One Digit (#), and Zero or More Characters (*)2.2.2.8. Relaxed Search (~)2.2.3. Refining a Found Set with Omit Commands2.2.3.1. Omit Record2.2.3.2. Omit Multiple2.2.3.3. Show Omitted Only2.3. Changing Multiple Records2.4. Sorting Records2.4.1. Multiple Sort Fields2.5. Editing What’s in Your Fields2.5.1. Find and Replace2.5.2. Fields for Lots of Text2.5.3. Drag and Drop Editing2.5.4. Text Formatting2.5.4.1. Font2.5.4.2. Size2.5.4.3. Style2.5.4.4. Text Color2.5.4.5. The Text Format Dialog Box2.6. Paragraph Formatting2.6.1. Align Text2.6.2. Line Spacing2.6.3. The Text Ruler2.6.4. Detailed Formatting in the Paragraph Box2.6.5. Tabs2.6.5.1. Setting tabs in the Text Ruler2.6.5.2. Setting tabs in the Tabs dialog box2.6.5.3. Editing tab stops in the Tabs dialog box2.7. Beyond Text: Container Fields2.7.1. Pictures2.7.2. Copy and paste2.7.2.1. Insert → Picture2.7.3. QuickTime2.7.4. Sound2.7.4.1. Recording sound2.7.5. File2.7.5.1. Exporting data from container fields2.8. Checking Spelling2.8.1. Spell Checking in One Pass2.8.2. Spell Checking as You Type2.8.3. Managing Spelling Dictionaries2.8.3.1. User dictionaries2.9. Printing and Preview Mode
3. Building a New Database
3.1. Tables and Fields3.1.1. Tables: The Foundation of Your Database3.1.2. Figuring Out What Fields You Need3.2. Defining Fields3.2.1. Changing a Field’s Name3.2.2. Duplicating a Field3.2.3. Deleting a Field3.2.4. Reordering the Field List3.2.5. Printing Field Definitions3.2.6. Field Types3.2.6.1. Text3.2.6.2. Number3.2.6.3. Date3.2.6.4. Time3.2.6.5. Timestamp3.2.6.6. Container3.2.6.7. Calculation and summary3.3. Advanced Field Options3.3.1. Auto-Enter Options3.3.1.1. Creation values3.3.1.2. Modification values3.3.1.3. Serial number3.3.1.4. Value from last visited record3.3.1.5. Data3.3.1.6. Calculated value3.3.1.7. Looked-up value3.3.1.8. Prohibit modification of value during data entry3.3.2. Validation Options3.3.2.1. When to perform validation3.3.2.2. Overriding validation3.3.3. Validation Requirements3.3.3.1. Strict data type3.3.3.2. Not empty3.3.3.3. Unique3.3.3.4. Existing value3.3.3.5. Member of value list3.3.3.6. In range3.3.3.7. Maximum number of characters3.3.4. Storage Options3.3.4.1. Global storage3.3.4.2. Repeating fields3.3.5. Indexing3.3.5.1. Automatic indexing3.3.5.2. Controlling indexing manually3.3.5.3. Indexing language3.4. Bringing It All Together
II. Layout Basics
4. Layout Basics
4.1. What Is a Layout?4.1.1. Types of Layouts4.2. Switching Between Layouts4.3. What Makes a Layout4.3.1. Layout Parts4.3.1.1. Parts in form view4.3.1.2. Parts in list view4.3.1.3. Parts in Preview mode4.3.1.4. When to use ‘em4.3.2. Layout Objects4.3.2.1. Text objects4.3.2.2. Lines and shapes4.3.2.3. Images4.3.2.4. Fields4.4. Layout Mode4.4.1. The Status Area4.4.2. View Options4.4.2.1. Go to Layout4.4.2.2. Page margins4.4.2.3. Graphic rulers4.4.2.4. Text ruler4.4.2.5. Ruler lines4.4.2.6. T-Squares4.4.2.7. Object size4.4.2.8. Buttons4.4.2.9. Sample data4.4.2.10. Text boundaries4.4.2.11. Field boundaries4.4.2.12. Sliding objects4.4.2.13. Non-printing objects4.4.2.14. Toolbars4.4.2.15. Status area4.4.2.16. Zoom in and out4.4.3. Layout Setup4.4.3.1. Layout name4.4.4. Layout Tools4.4.4.1. The drawing tools4.4.4.2. The control tools4.4.4.3. The field and part tools4.4.4.4. The line and fill Tools4.4.5. Working with Parts4.4.5.1. Deleting a part4.4.5.2. Resizing parts4.4.5.3. Coloring a part4.4.6. Adding and Editing Text4.4.6.1. Adding new text4.4.6.2. Changing text font, size, and style4.4.6.3. Editing existing text4.4.7. Formatting Fields4.4.7.1. Text formats4.4.7.2. Other field type formats4.4.8. Field Control4.4.8.1. Field/Control setup4.4.9. Laying Out the Layout4.4.9.1. Resizing objects4.4.9.2. Aligning objects4.4.9.3. Moving objects4.4.9.4. Adding images4.4.10. Adding a Dividing Line Between Layout Parts4.4.10.1. Wrapping up

5. Creating Layouts
5.1. The Lowdown on Layouts5.1.1. Standard Form5.1.2. Columnar List/Report5.1.3. Table View5.1.4. Labels or Vertical Labels5.1.5. Envelope5.1.6. Blank Layout5.2. Creating a Layout from Scratch5.2.1. Adding a New Layout5.2.2. Set up the Header5.2.2.1. Matching part sizes with the Object Size palette5.2.2.2. Matching part sizes with the T-Squares5.2.2.3. Adding the finishing touches5.2.3. Set up the Body5.2.3.1. Making data flow with merge fields5.2.3.2. Using symbols to show important info5.2.3.3. Arranging the objects5.2.3.4. Adding a field5.2.3.5. Copying formatting with the format painter5.2.3.6. Alternating the body color5.2.4. Setting Layout View5.3. Creating Layouts for Reports5.3.1. Visualize the Result Preview Mode5.3.2. Creating a Report Layout with an Assistant5.3.3. Print Margins5.3.4. Improving the Report Layout5.3.4.1. Tidy up the header5.3.4.2. Rearrange the body5.3.4.3. Tweak the footer5.3.5. Sliding Layout Objects5.3.5.1. When to use sliding5.3.5.2. Choosing the objects to slide5.3.5.3. Setting sliding options5.3.5.4. The Sliding/Printing dialog box5.3.5.5. Using sliding on the report layout
6. Advanced Layouts and Reports
6.1. Setting up Field Controls6.1.1. Creating Value Lists6.1.2. Values from a field6.1.2.1. Adding a second value field6.1.2.2. Value list from another file6.1.3. Editing Value Lists6.2. Adding Field Controls to Layouts6.2.1. Edit Box6.2.2. Drop-Down List6.2.3. Pop-up Menu6.2.4. Checkbox Set6.2.5. Radio Button Set6.2.6. Drop-down Calendar6.2.7. Auto-Complete6.2.7.1. Auto-Complete in Edit Boxes6.2.7.2. Auto-Complete in Drop-down Lists6.2.8. Repetitions6.2.9. Display Data From6.3. Field Behavior6.3.1. Field Entry6.3.2. Select Entire Contents of Field on Entry6.3.3. Input Method6.3.4. Go To Next Field Using6.4. Tab Order6.5. Print-Related Layout Options6.5.1. Non-Printing Objects6.5.2. Columns6.6. Format the Number/Date/Time/Graphic6.6.1. Number Formatting6.6.1.1. General Format6.6.1.2. Leave data formatted as entered6.6.1.3. Format as Boolean6.6.1.4. Format as decimal6.6.2. Date Formatting6.6.2.1. Leave data formatted as entered6.6.2.2. Format as6.6.2.3. Custom6.6.3. Time Formatting6.6.3.1. Leave data formatted as entered6.6.3.2. Format as6.6.4. Timestamp Formatting6.6.5. Graphic Formatting6.6.5.1. Scale6.6.5.2. Alignment6.6.5.3. Cropping6.7. Adding Buttons6.7.1. Creating Buttons with the Button Tool6.7.2. Turning an Existing Layout Object into a Button6.7.3. Making a Button not a Button6.7.4. Button Actions6.7.5. Go to Layout6.7.6. Go to Record/Request/Page6.7.7. Go to Field6.7.8. Go to Next Field and Go to Previous Field6.7.9. Enter Browse Mode, Enter Find Mode, and Enter Preview Mode6.7.10. Editing Actions6.7.11. Field Actions6.7.12. Record Actions6.7.13. Found Set Actions6.7.14. Window Actions6.7.15. Print Actions6.7.16. Open Actions6.7.17. Exiting FileMaker6.8. Tab Panels6.8.1. Creating a Tab Panel6.8.2. Editing Tab Panels6.8.3. Deleting a Tab Panel6.9. Reports and Summary Fields6.9.1. Summary Fields6.9.2. Creating a Summary Report6.9.3. Adding a Summary Part6.9.4. Other Summary Field Types6.9.4.1. Total of6.9.4.2. Average of6.9.4.3. Count of6.9.4.4. Minimum and Maximum6.9.4.5. Standard Deviation of6.9.4.6. Fraction of Total6.9.4.7. Summarizing repetitions6.9.5. Sub-Summary Reporting6.9.5.1. Sub-summary parts6.9.5.2. Creating a sub-summary part
III. Multiple Tables and Relationships
7. Multiple Tables and Relationships
7.1. Relational Databases Explained7.2. Modeling Your Database7.2.1. Choosing Entities7.2.2. Finding Relationships7.2.2.1. One-to-many relationships7.2.2.2. One-to-one relationships7.2.2.3. Many-to-many relationships7.2.3. The Entity-Relationship Diagram7.2.3.1. Creating an ER diagram7.2.4. Keys7.2.4.1. Primary keys7.2.4.2. Foreign keys7.2.5. Join Tables7.3. Creating a Relational Database7.3.1. Defining the Tables7.3.2. Defining the Fields7.3.2.1. Adding primary keys7.3.2.2. Adding foreign keys7.3.3. Defining the Relationships7.3.4. Cleaning up the Relationship Graph7.3.4.1. Arrange the graph7.3.4.2. Color your table occurrences7.3.4.3. Adding notes7.3.4.4. Printing the graph7.3.4.5. Deleting relationships7.3.5. Finishing the Field Definitions7.3.5.1. Customers table fields7.3.5.2. Jobs table fields7.3.5.3. Expenses table fields7.3.5.4. Timeslips table fields7.3.5.5. Invoices table fields7.3.5.6. Line items table fields7.3.5.7. Payments table fields7.4. Relational Databases7.4.1. One Table Occurrence, One Found Set7.4.2. Viewing Related Fields7.4.3. Adding or Editing Data7.4.4. Editing Related Data7.4.4.1. Showing multiple related records7.4.4.2. Editing fields through a portal
8. Advanced Relationship Techniques
8.1. Creating Related Records8.1.1. Value Lists Based on Fields8.1.2. Creating Related Records Through a Portal8.1.2.1. Preparing the relationship8.1.2.2. Adding a portal to a layout8.1.2.3. Adding records in a portal8.1.3. Navigating Between Related Records8.1.3.1. Go to Related Record8.1.3.2. GTRR with a found set8.2. Table Occurrences8.2.1. Understanding Table Occurrences8.2.2. Relationships with Table Occurrences8.2.2.1. Adding a new key field to a table8.2.2.2. Adding a table occurrence8.2.2.3. Adding fields for new table occurrences8.3. Managing Data with Data Tunneling8.3.1. How to Use Data Tunneling8.3.1.1. What you need in your data tunneling interface8.3.2. Understanding Table Occurrence Groups8.4. Building a Data Tunneling Interface8.4.1. Creating a Global Field8.4.2. Creating a New Table Occurrence Group8.4.2.1. Adding new table occurrences to a group8.4.3. Building a Global Field Layout8.4.3.1. Using a global pop-up field to change the display in a value list8.5. Connecting Databases8.5.1. Adding a Table Occurrence from Another File8.6. Lookups8.6.1. Creating Lookups8.6.2. Triggering a Lookup8.7. Advanced Relationships8.7.1. Relationships with More than One Criterion8.7.2. Other Relationship Operators8.7.3. Creating the Invoice Finder
IV. Calculations
9. Introduction to Calculations
9.1. Understanding Calculations9.1.1. Creating a Calculation9.2. The Structure of a Calculation9.2.1. Fields9.2.2. Constants9.2.2.1. Number constants9.2.2.2. Text constants9.2.3. Operators9.2.3.1. Mathematical operators9.2.3.2. The concatenation operator9.2.3.3. Comparison operators9.2.3.4. Logical operators9.2.3.5. The ^ Operator9.2.3.6. Parentheses9.2.4. Functions9.2.4.1. Text functions9.2.4.2. Text formatting functions9.2.4.3. Number functions9.2.4.4. Date functions9.2.4.5. Time functions9.2.4.6. Timestamp functions9.2.4.7. Aggregate functions9.2.4.8. Summary functions9.2.4.9. Repeating functions9.2.4.10. Financial functions9.2.4.11. Trigonometric functions9.2.4.12. Logical functions9.2.4.13. Get functions9.2.4.14. Design functions9.2.4.15. Custom functions9.2.4.16. External functions9.2.5. Expressions9.3. Creating a Calculation Field9.3.1. The Specify Calculation Dialog Box9.3.1.1. Table occurrence context9.3.1.2. Field list9.3.1.3. Operators9.3.1.4. Function list9.3.1.5. Result type9.3.1.6. Calculation box9.3.1.7. Repetitions9.4. Auto-Enter Calculations9.5. Validate Data Entry with a Calculation9.6. Replacing Data Using a Calculation9.7. Comments
10. Calculations and Data Types
10.1. Number Crunching Calculations10.1.1. Number Operators10.1.2. Number Function Types10.1.3. Precision10.2. Going Beyond Basic Calculations10.2.1. Preparing the Data10.2.2. Building the Calculation Fields10.2.3. Constructing the Calculation10.3. Text Parsing Calculations10.3.1. The Concatenation Operator10.3.2. Text Function Types10.3.3. Text Functions10.3.3.1. Character functions10.3.3.2. Word functions10.3.3.3. Text value functions10.3.3.4. Text counting functions10.3.3.5. Other text parsing functions10.3.4. Text Formatting Functions10.3.4.1. TextColor and RGB10.3.4.2. TextFont10.3.4.3. TextSize10.3.4.4. TextStyleAdd and TextStyleRemove10.4. Date and Time Calculations10.4.1. How FileMaker Looks at Time10.4.2. Math with Dates and Times10.4.2.1. Dates10.4.2.2. Times10.4.3. Parsing Dates and Times10.4.4. Calculations that Create Dates and Times10.4.4.1. The secret powers of date10.5. Containers in Calculations10.5.1. Calculations with Pictures, Sounds, Movies, and Files10.5.2. Calculations with References
11. Advanced Calculations
11.1. Stored, Unstored, and Global Fields11.1.1. Stored and Unstored Calculation Fields11.1.1.1. Field dependencies11.1.1.2. Deciding when to store11.1.2. Global Calculation Fields11.2. Logical Functions11.2.1. Conditional Functions11.2.1.1. The If function11.2.1.2. The Case function11.2.1.3. The Choose function11.2.2. Constructing a Conditional Calculation11.2.2.1. Total Due calculation #1: using the If function11.2.2.2. Total Due calculation #2: using the Case function11.3. The Let Function and Variables11.3.1. Defining Calculation Variables11.3.1.1. Total Due calculation #3: using Let11.3.2. The Life of a Variable11.3.2.1. Local variables11.3.2.2. Global variables11.3.3. Nesting Let Functions
12. Extending Calculations
12.1. Custom Functions12.1.1. Defining a Custom Function12.1.2. Editing Custom Functions12.1.3. Recursion12.1.3.1. Step 1: solve the first case12.1.3.2. Step 2: assume your function already works, and use it12.1.3.3. Step 3: find a stopping point12.2. Plug-ins12.2.1. Installing Plug-ins12.2.2. Old and New Plug-ins12.2.3. Finding Plug-ins12.2.4. Creating Your Own Plug-ins
V. Scripting
13. Scripting Basics
13.1. Your First Script13.1.1. Preparing the Database13.1.2. Planning Your Script13.1.3. Creating Your Script13.1.4. Improving Your Script13.2. The Importance of the Layout13.2.1. When to Switch13.3. Running Scripts13.3.1. The Scripts Menu13.3.2. Buttons13.3.3. Opening and Closing Scripts13.4. Branching and Looping in Scripts13.4.1. Branching with If, Else If, Else, and End If13.4.2. Looping
14. Script Steps
14.1. Go to Layout14.2. Scripting for Fields14.2.1. Navigating Fields14.2.1.1. Go to Field14.2.1.2. Go to Next Field and Go to Previous Field14.2.2. Editing Commands14.2.3. Selecting Text14.2.4. Editing Field Data14.2.4.1. Using Cut, Copy, and Paste14.2.4.2. Set Field14.2.4.3. Insert Calculated Result14.2.4.4. Inserting other values14.2.4.5. Putting data in container fields14.2.5. A Field Script in Action14.2.5.1. Building the script14.2.6. Other Steps that Work with Fields14.2.6.1. Perform Find/Replace14.2.6.2. Replace Field Contents and Relookup Field Contents14.2.6.3. Set Next Serial Value14.3. Working with Records14.3.1. Creating, Duplicating, and Deleting Records14.3.2. Navigating Among Records14.3.2.1. Go to Record/Request/Page14.3.2.2. Go to Related Record14.3.3. Opening, Reverting, and Committing Records14.3.3.1. Open Record/Request14.3.3.2. Commit Record/Request14.3.3.3. Revert Record/Request14.3.4. Copying Records14.3.4.1. Copy Record/Request14.3.4.2. Copy All Records/Requests14.3.5. Working With Portals14.3.5.1. Go to Portal Row14.4. Finding Records14.4.1. Performing the User’s Find Requests14.4.2. Static Find Requests14.4.3. Dynamic Find Requests14.4.4. Constraining and Extending the Found Set14.4.5. Omitting Records14.4.6. Modify Last Find14.4.7. Save Records as…14.4.7.1. Save Records as Excel14.4.7.2. Save Records as PDF14.5. Sorting Records14.6. Working with Windows14.6.1. Creating Windows14.6.2. Bringing a Window to the Front14.6.3. Closing a Window14.6.4. Moving and Resizing Existing Windows14.6.4.1. Adjust Window14.6.4.2. Arrange All Windows14.6.4.3. Move/Resize Window14.6.5. Other Window-Related Script Steps14.7. Working with Files14.7.1. Opening and Closing Files14.7.2. Save a Copy As14.7.3. Other File-Related Script Steps14.8. Printing14.9. Other Script Steps14.9.1. Open URL14.9.2. Dial Phone14.9.3. Send Email14.9.4. Flush Cache to Disk14.9.5. Exit Application
15. Advanced Scripting
15.1. Commenting Scripts15.2. Asking and Telling the User15.2.1. Showing a Simple Message15.2.2. Asking a Simple Question15.2.3. Asking a Not-so-simple Question15.3. Organizing Complex Scripts15.3.1. The Perform Script Script Step15.3.2. Halt Script and Exit Script15.3.2.1. Exit Script (Result)15.3.3. Script Parameters15.4. Handling Errors15.4.1. The Set Error Capture Script Step15.4.2. The Get ( LastError ) Function15.4.3. The Allow User Abort Script Step 15.5. Putting a Complex Script Together15.5.1. Planning the Script 15.5.2. Considering Exceptions 15.5.3. Creating Subscripts15.5.4. Adding a Script Parameter to a Perform Script Step15.5.5. Finishing the Subscripts15.5.5.1. The “- find unbilled activity” subscript15.5.6. Script variables15.5.6.1. Copying and editing existing script steps15.5.6.2. The “- create invoice record” subscript15.5.6.3. The “- process unbilled items” script15.5.6.3.1. Retrofitting a prior subscript.15.5.6.3.2. Getting data from a script variable.15.5.6.3.3. Making a script more efficient.15.5.6.3.4. Pulling data through a relationship.15.5.6.3.5. Creating a looping script.15.5.7. The Finished Scripts15.5.7.1. Create Invoice for Job15.5.7.2. -find unbilled activity15.5.7.3. - create invoice record15.5.7.4. - process unbilled items
VI. Security and Integration
16. Security
16.1. How Security Works16.1.1. Who Gets Access16.1.2. What They Can Do16.2. Privilege Sets16.2.1. Managing Privilege Sets16.2.1.1. Creating a new privilege set16.2.2. Other Privileges16.2.3. Data Access and Design Privileges16.2.3.1. Record privileges16.2.3.2. Creating record-level access16.2.3.3. Field-level access16.2.3.4. Layout privileges16.2.3.5. Value list privileges16.2.3.6. Script privileges16.2.3.7. Editing a privilege set16.3. Managing Accounts16.3.1. Adding a New Account16.3.2. External authentication16.4. Extended Privileges16.4.1. Default Extended Privileges16.4.2. Creating an Extended Privilege16.4.3. Checking for an Extended Privilege16.4.4. Assigning Extended Privileges16.5. Scripts and Security16.5.1. Detecting Privileges in a Script16.5.2. Handling Security Errors16.5.3. Running Scripts with Full Access Privileges16.5.4. Managing Security with Scripts16.5.4.1. Add Account16.5.4.2. Delete Account16.5.4.3. Reset Account Password16.5.4.4. Change Password16.5.4.5. Enable Account16.5.4.6. Re-Login
17. Exporting and Importing
17.1. Exporting a File17.1.1. Grouped Exports17.2. Export Formats17.2.1. Save/Send Records As17.2.1.1. Excel17.2.1.2. Portable Document Format (PDF)17.3. Importing Data17.3.1. Importing Over Existing Data17.3.1.1. Update existing records in found set17.3.1.2. Update matching records in found set17.3.2. Creating Tables on Import17.3.3. Converting Files Without Importing17.4. Import Data Sources17.4.1. File17.4.2. Folder17.4.2.1. Importing a folder of pictures or movies17.4.2.2. Importing a folder of text files17.4.3. Digital Camera17.4.4. XML Data Source17.4.4.1. XML Export17.4.5. ODBC Data Source17.5. Importing and Exporting in a Script17.5.1. The Import Records Script Step17.5.2. The Export Records Script Step
18. Sharing Your Database
18.1. FileMaker Network Sharing18.1.1. Setting Up a Host Computer18.1.2. Opening a Shared File18.2. Sharing Over the Internet18.2.1. Turning on Web Sharing18.2.1.1. Advanced Web Publishing Options18.2.1.2. Configuring file access18.2.2. Connecting from a Web Browser18.2.3. Custom Home Page18.3. FileMaker Server18.3.1. File Compatibility18.3.2. Administering FileMaker Server18.3.2.1. FileMaker Server Admin in Windows18.3.2.2. FileMaker Server Admin in Mac OS X18.3.3. Configuring FileMaker Server18.3.3.1. Remote administration18.3.3.2. Clients tab18.3.3.3. Databases tab18.3.3.4. Runtime Solutions tab18.3.3.5. Default Folders tab18.3.3.6. Administration tab18.3.3.7. Logging tab18.3.3.8. Directory Service tab18.3.3.9. Security tab18.3.4. Other Server Options18.3.4.1. Summary18.3.4.2. Databases18.3.4.3. Clients18.3.4.4. Schedules18.3.4.5. Plug-ins18.3.4.6. Statistics18.4. Server Hardware
19. Developer Utilities
19.1. Script Debugger 19.1.1. The Script Debugger Window19.1.1.1. Debugger toolbar19.1.1.2. Script steps19.1.1.3. Active script(s) information19.1.1.4. Data Viewer19.1.1.5. Debugging Controls submenu19.2. Disable Script Steps19.3. The Database Design Report19.3.1. Generating the DDR19.3.2. Using the DDR19.3.3. Finding Broken Elements with the DDR19.4. Tooltips19.5. Copying Database Structure19.5.1. Importing Tables and Fields19.5.2. Copying Fields19.5.3. Copying Scripts and Script Steps19.6. Custom Menus19.6.1. Editing a Menu19.6.2. Creating a New Menu19.6.3. Removing a Menu19.6.4. Installing Custom Menu Sets19.7. Developer Utilities19.7.1. Using the Developer Utilities19.7.1.1. Renaming files19.7.1.2. Create Runtime Solution application(s)19.7.1.3. Remove admin access from files permanently19.7.1.4. Enable Kiosk mode for non-admin accounts19.7.1.5. Databases must have a FileMaker file extension19.7.1.6. Create error log for any processing errors19.7.1.7. Loading and saving settings19.7.2. Delivering a Runtime Solution19.8. File Maintenance
VII. Appendixes
A. Getting Help
A.1. Getting Help from FileMaker ItselfA.1.1. FileMaker Pro HelpA.1.2. TemplatesA.1.3. Electronic DocumentationA.1.4. XML ExamplesA.2. Getting Help from FileMaker, Inc.A.2.1. Updaters & DownloadsA.2.2. Documentation and PublicationsA.2.3. Technical SupportA.2.4. FileMaker ApplicationsA.2.5. FileMaker Solutions Alliance (FSA)A.3. Getting Help from the CommunityA.3.1. Mail Lists and NewsgroupsA.3.2. Training/ConsultantsA.3.3. DevCon
B. FileMaker Error Codes
Index
About the Authors
Colophon
Copyright

Content preview from FileMaker Pro 8: The Missing Manual

Chapter 1. Your First Database

FileMaker Pro databases can be as simple as a phone list for the soccer team or as complex as a company-wide system for purchasing, sales, inventory, invoicing, shipping, and customer tracking. But they all have a few important aspects in common and essentially work the same way. This chapter gives you a tour of FileMaker’s major features and gets you up and running on your very first database.

FileMaker’s vast assortment of tools and options can make its window as intimidating as a jumbo-jet cockpit. But the program’s menu commands, dialog boxes, keyboard shortcuts, and other options stay largely consistent across all databases, from the most basic to the most high-powered. Almost everything you learn in the next few pages applies to every database you’ll ever use.

Note

Because a database usually solves a problem of some kind, some FileMaker experts call a database a solution, as in, “I can create an inventory solution for your bakery, but it’s going to cost you some dough.” Usually, database and solution mean the same thing, although the term solution sometimes implies a system of several connected databases (more on that in Part 3).

A Very Quick Database Tour

Every FileMaker Pro database has two things in common: One, it stores heaps of information; and two, it gives you the tools to manage that information. Whether you start from one of FileMaker’s templates (Section 1.1.2.2) or a completely blank slate (Section 1.2.1), your new database starts out ...

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