FileMaker® Pro 9 Bible

Chapter 8. The Processes: ScriptMaker

People, especially people who use technology, want and expect that technology to perform as much of the grunt work as possible. In fact, utopia would be for the software to read the user's mind and just provide the results. Well, we've not quite reached utopia, but FileMaker's built-in scripting capabilities let your solution appear to have at least a little ESP.

In the preceding chapters, you've become acquainted with the tools and techniques for building database structures and interfaces. ScriptMaker provides a third essential element that makes everything work together. When you need your solution to take a more active role, you have to provide it with a script. That's where ScriptMaker comes in. ScriptMaker enables you to store instructions about tasks to be performed with your data—then ScriptMaker performs those tasks for you!

Any series of database tasks you need to do repetitively may benefit from being scripted and performed on demand. ScriptMaker performs this essential automation role, with the potential to take much of the drudgery out of your digital days. The best thing is that you'll find it very easy to get started using ScriptMaker — and, when you do, you'll wonder how you ever got by without it!

ScriptMaker: What It Is and What It Offers You

At its inception, ScriptMaker was analogous to a macro environment — its focus was to perform a number of simple tasks in the same ways in which the users would perform the tasks. That was ...