Why should I modernize my apps? What is a legacy app? There are a few factors that, when combined, constitute a legacy app. Apps carrying technical debt and using outdated technologies that are critical for day-to-day operations are what we call legacy apps. They cause pain for their users constantly and, for that reason, are …
Ultimate Guide to Modernizing a FileMaker Legacy Application Read More »
Variable scope is a key concept in Claris FileMaker. This article will explain the differences between the three variable scopes and introduce some common use cases for each. Also, did you know FileMaker secretly introduced a fourth scope type with the introduction of the While () function? Once upon a time, when things were simpler, …
Have you ever wondered which tables in your database are taking up storage space on your server? Perhaps you want to monitor how fast your table size is increasing in order to work out an archiving strategy for controlling storage space consumption. This article will demonstrate a technique that creates a modular, portable script that …
This article will show examples of good comments vs. bad comments, and how you can improve your code readability by following a few key principles. In our previous blog posts on code readability, we showed how to enhance code readability by using spacing and meaningful naming without adding comments. Some of you might be wondering, what’s wrong with comments? …
Code Readability: Good Comments vs. Bad Comments Read More »
Of all the FileMaker features introduced in the past five years, many feel that being able to specify cURL options for the Insert from URL script step is the most impactful. Why might that be? With this feature, all third-party web services with APIs can be extensions of our FileMaker solutions, which expands what our …
Card windows weren’t supported on WebDirect until FMS 19 The card window was first introduced in FileMaker 16. Since then, many of us have incorporated it into our design. At the time, it was supported on FileMaker Pro (FMP) but not on WebDirect. If we try to open a card window on WebDirect with FileMaker …
This article explains the technique known as a single-pass loop, and why it is part of my script template. If you do a lot of error trapping or exception handling, this is a great technique to master. The single-pass loop technique is inspired by the Try-Catch statement found in many programming languages. In a Try-Catch …
Beginning in FileMaker 16, many developers have used JSON functions to pass script parameters and script results, which can be a very convenient way to pass multiple parameters at once. However, it can be tedious to write many Set Variable script steps just to parse out values from the script parameter. This blog will show …
Do you have a FileMaker solution composed of multiple files? This blog will show how to easily manage accounts for a multi-file solution. Account Management in FileMaker FileMaker’s accounts are set up within each file. This means every time you need to add/delete a user, or reset a password, those changes need to be made …
Naming Conventions in FileMaker Implementing reliable naming conventions in FileMaker has the potential to save developers both time and frustration. This is the second installation in our blog series on code readability. According to Wikipedia, a naming convention is “a set of coding rules for choosing software identifiers (names of program elements) in source code and …
The Impact of Naming Conventions on Code Readability Read More »
