Example files from Martha Zink

Martha has kindly posted details and example files to go with the techniques she demoed last month. Thanks Martha!
http://www.mightydata.com/blog/back-from-the-west-coast-tour-with-sample-files/

November Meeting: Script Triggers

Brad, Dan, Gordon, Travis, and Virg will demonstrate the 12 script triggers in FileMaker.

Tuesday, November 1
5-7pm
Wyngate Hotel in Sylvania, Ohio
RSVP: http://www.fmpug.com/rsvp.php?eventID=1181

DevCon 2011 Links

At our September meeting Tom Lewis spoke about DevCon 2011 (FileMaker’s annual developer conference). He had several examples of the various techniques he picked up at the conference. Here are links to those examples:

Tree Interface; iPad app with pictures of camera

Infinite Hierarchy

Picker window

Book on From Design

Thanks Tom!

October Meeting

Our next meeting is a week from today, Tuesday, October 4 at the Wyngate Hotel from 5-7pm. Brad Bechstein will lead a discussion about how FileMaker works with enterprise SQL systems.

RSVP today!

We rent our current meeting space so a free will offering is welcome though not required. I’m currently investigating free meeting spaces for our 2012 meetings.

Finally, help spread the word about our user group. Certainly let other FileMaker users know about the group. FileMaker may also be a great discovery for people storing data in spreadsheets or word processing documents or even people using enterprise systems who need something for smaller projects and/or reporting.

Resources to aid the FileMaker developer

At our August meeting Jason Scharf talked about the things he discovered at this year’s FileMaker DevCon. While presenting he showed off some tools and resources that he had accumulated, some recent, some he’d had for awhile. Asked to share them, he kindly forwarded a few of his favorite things:

Resources

Matt Petrowsky
http://filemakerstandards.org/dashboard.action
https://github.com/petrowsky/fmpstandards (includes custom functions)

Todd Geist (Geist Interactive)
http://www.geistinteractive.com/blog/2011/08/understanding-commit-record-video

Skeleton Key (ODBC FileMaker 11)
http://www.skeletonkey.com/FileMaker_11_ODBC_Drivers

Custom Functions
http://fmfunctions.com
http://www.soliantconsulting.com/customfunctions
http://www.briandunning.com/filemaker-custom-functions

Design Patterns
http://fmPatterns.com/
http://UI-PATTERNS.COM/

Development Tools
QuickCursor (Mac Only): http://www.hogbaysoftware.com/products/quickcursor
TextMate FileMaker Bundle : http://buzz.beezwax.net/2011/07/30/the-filemaker-ninjas-toolbelt-textmate-bundle
E-Text Editor (Windows, works with TextMate Bundle): http://www.e-texteditor.com/

Other cool stuff in Jason’s toolkit:
Safari Omnibar makes the Safari address bar behave like the Google Omnibar (unified search and url); free and open-source.
http://hackemist.com/SafariOmnibar/#about

TotalFinder, adds tabs and Copy/Cut/Paste to Finder; commercial, $18.
http://totalfinder.binaryage.com/

iTerm2, nice alternative to Terminal; free.
http://www.iterm2.com/#/section/home

The Unarchiver, will extract just about any archive format; free and open-source.
http://wakaba.c3.cx/s/apps/unarchiver.html

Enjoy!

It’s fall. It’s FileMaker. It’s fun!

It’s starting to cool off outside, but inside the FileMaker camaraderie is as warm as ever. Come on out and have lunch with us and talk the afternoon away about anything FileMaker. This month we have a variety of topics ranging from the real world practical to the downright geeky.

We’ll start off by helping one of our members with their in-house application by reworking its invoicing module to create a great deal more flexibility. Come see how invoices are generated when you have a lot of items to put on them.

Brian Ginn will be showing off a really awesome, but dead simple, technique he developed for creating very free-form reporting. He’ll also show us the demo he’s putting together with the goal of presenting at the Developer Conference next year. Come see if he has what it takes.

Alan Bird has a great bar code generation tool that doesn’t require a font or a plug-in (so it works on an iPad even!) that fellow committee-member Bill Holt wrote for him. He’ll show us how that works and talk about how he uses it as part of a process of quickly registering thousands of attendees at the shows and conferences he provides services to.

Cool stuff all around.

Schedule:
12:00-1:00 BYOBB (Bring Your Own Brown Bag) lunch and social (soft drinks provided)
1:00-3:00 Presentations and discussion
3:00-? Networking

DATE:
Tuesday, September 27, 2011 (Remember: FOURTH TUESDAY of the month)

LOCATION:
Universal Design
1234 S. Third Street
Louisville, KY
Map: here

Join us this coming Tuesday!

Sept 26 - Martha Zink

Ideas for Enhancing Your Existing Solution With the Latest Features

With every version of FileMaker, new features show up that make for easier development and better user experience. Oftentimes, we face resistance to upgrading an existing solution. This session explores the benefit of keeping up with the newest version, especially FileMaker 11. Discover ways to review existing solutions and decide what features can and should be updated with newer techniques. Also, this session will review features specific to FileMaker 11, like script triggers, filtered portals, quick find, and snapshot links, that greatly enhance the user experience while decreasing the development time.

The only word to describe Martha is awesome. She’s known at MightyData as “The Kid,” but this kid doesn’t kid around with her passion and enthusiasm for technology. Fluent in English and Spanish, Martha brings her fresh perspective and keen sense for nuance in developing FileMaker databases. Her customers include Apple, Inc., Baylor College of Medicine, and Maneri-Agraz. She is the creator of the “11 Days of FileMaker 11″ video series and a speaker at the road shows for FileMaker 10 and 11 for FileMaker, Inc. She is both a FileMaker 11 Authorized Trainer and Certified Developer.

RSVP here.

Off to Paddy Coyne’s for drinks and a bite after the meeting.

Martha Zink MightyData

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September Meeting Wrap Up

Thanks to all who attended our September meeting. It was obvious to me that people are getting to know one another and enjoying the time to discuss FileMaker. People came early and stayed late! I’m happy that local FileMaker developers are able to connect with one another in this manner.

A special thanks to Gordon Shewach of Desktop Services in Ann Arbor for his presentation on Common Database Elements. Also, thanks to Tom Lewis for sharing his DevCon 2011 experience and to Brad Bechstein for bringing the projector!

Our next meeting is Tuesday, October 4. Tom Lewis and Brad Bechstein will discuss FileMaker and External SQL Sources (ESS).

Scott Adams’ nod to, um, us

While humorous, yesterday’s Dilbert was not entirely complimentary to us database solution-mongers. Scott Adams, Dilbert’s counterpart in meatspace, makes the point that it is hard to be objective when you’re presenting yourself as a consultant and as a supplier.

I love the saying, “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” I have been known to use it to put other people’s products and services in their place. The problem is that I am guilty of the same thing. I can see a FileMaker-shaped nail in every business I look at. I can see that FileMaker is the solution to every business’ data/workflow/management information issues. I can see the need for solutions that save money, improve efficiency, supercharge the bottom line, whatever, where oftentimes the business owner doesn’t even know they need one.

That begs the question, “Am I being objective?” or am I just a FileMaker fan-boy. Do I really think that the need is there, or am I just trying to sell something.

Every consultant needs to ask themselves that about any of their favorite solutions. FileMaker is a great tool for a myriad of jobs, but I still need to step back once in a while and ask the hard question: Has it become my hammer?

—jonathan fletcher

September Meeting

I hope your summer is going well.  September is around the corner and that means that we will once again meet monthly for our Northwest Ohio FileMaker Pro Users Group (NWFMPUG).  Our next meeting is in two weeks on Tuesday, September 6, 5-7pm at the Wingate Hotel in Sylvania.    

Agenda:
1. A discussion of DevCon, the FileMaker Developer Conference recently held in San Diego.  Did anyone go?
2. A discussion of a recent challenge you had with FileMaker and how you solved that challenge. 
3. Common Database Elements - Gordon Shewach

Our main presenter will be Gordon Shewach of Desktop Services in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Gordon has worked as an independent FileMaker consultant for 17 years and has been involved in a vast array of projects.  Gordon is also a regular member of our FileMaker user group.

———————————————————————
Common Database Elements by Gordon Shewach

While custom database development is just that — custom, there are certain elements that are common to most of my databases, including:

• a single record table to maintain settings and preferences
• date and time fields for record creation/modification that can be disabled prior to a developer performing global changes
• scripts for printing, privilege testing, establishing a cross-platform file path for saving files, etc.
• relationship graph legend

I’ll demonstrate these techniques and bring a sample database for distribution that includes these techniques.

———————————————————————

Please register early so we know how many people plan to attend.  Also, you may recall that the Wingate hotel fee is $85/meeting.  Therefore a free will offering is welcome, though not required.

Finally, help spread the word about our user group.  Certainly let other FileMaker users know about the group.  FileMaker may also be a great discovery for people storing data in spreadsheets or word processing documents or even people using enterprise systems who need something for smaller projects and/or reporting.

Upcoming Meetings (always the first Tuesday of the month, from 5-7pm, currently at the Wingate Hotel):
Tuesday, September 6
Tuesday, October 4
Tuesday, November 1

Mark your calendars!