Welcome to FileMaker Pro 10!

FileMaker Pro 10
Editorial Reviewers Guide
Meet the fresh new face of FileMaker Pro 10

Contents
Welcome to FileMaker Pro 10! .................................................................................................... 3
Fast facts......................................................................................................................................... 4
U.S. reseller pricing..................................................................................................................... 4
System requirements ................................................................................................................... 4
About FileMaker ......................................................................................................................... 5
Part 1: New features drilldown.................................................................................................... 7
Create databases from existing Excel or Bento 2 files................................................................ 7
Updated Starter Solutions............................................................................................................ 8
10 new themes............................................................................................................................. 8
Status Toolbar ............................................................................................................................. 9
Re-use saved and recent Finds .................................................................................................. 10
Find omitted records.................................................................................................................. 11
Dynamic reports ........................................................................................................................ 11
Script triggers ............................................................................................................................ 12
Send mail via SMTP ................................................................................................................. 14
Modify Table View on the fly................................................................................................... 15
More great features.................................................................................................................... 15
Part 2: Hands-on exercises ......................................................................................................... 16
Exercise 1: Create a new FileMaker Pro database from a Bento 2 or Excel file ...................... 16
Exercise 2: Find records and save your Find to re-use later ..................................................... 24
Exercise 3: Create a dynamic report with subgroups................................................................ 26
Exercise 4: Add script triggers based on ordinary user actions ................................................ 35
© 2008 FileMaker, Inc. All rights reserved. FileMaker and Bento are trademarks of FileMaker, Inc.
registered in the U.S. and other countries. The file folder logo and the Bento logo are trademarks of
FileMaker, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The screen shot
examples, including people, companies, domain names, and email addresses are purely fictitious, and
any resemblance to existing people, companies, domain names and email addresses are coincidental.
2

Welcome to FileMaker Pro 10!
You’ll immediately notice two major changes in FileMaker® Pro 10:
• A sleek, intuitive new interface: We’ve redesigned the interface so that you can perform
common tasks with the fewest mouse clicks and to unlock even more of the hidden power
of FileMaker without sacrificing any of the product’s inherent ease-of-use.
• New features that make FileMaker Pro 10 applications more powerful. One example
is Dynamic Reports, which allows you to make changes as you’re viewing them, without
switching modes. Another is the ability to trigger FileMaker Pro Scripts (which are
similar to spreadsheet macros) based on user actions, such as exiting a field or loading a
layout.
To save you time in writing your review, we have summarized only those features that are
new since FileMaker Pro 9. If you’re new to FileMaker Pro, we recommend that you start with
the FileMaker Pro 9 Reviewers’ Guide, which has installation instructions and other fundamental
information you’ll need to get going. If you are already familiar with FileMaker and just want to
see what’s new, dive in!
We are very interested in your feedback on the new features and how we can make this guide
even more helpful to you. Please contact Kevin Mallon for additional information, including
access to technical support.
Kevin Mallon
(408) 987-7227
kevin_mallon@filemaker.com
3

Fast facts
FileMaker Pro Product Family
FileMaker Pro
10
Sleek new
intuitive interface;
Dynamic
reporting; Script
Triggers; Faster
SMTP direct
emailing; Saved
Finds; and more.
$299/Upgrade
$179 *
FileMaker Pro
10 Advanced
Wide set of tools
(debugging
scripts, custom
menus, runtime
engine and more)
for higher end
users and
developers.
$499/Upgrade
$299*
FileMaker
Server 10
Fast, reliable,
easy-to-manage
server software
for groups of
FileMaker Pro
users that lets
users securely
share databases
over a network,
or on the web
$999/Upgrade
$599*
FileMaker
Server 10
Advanced
All the features in
FileMaker Server
10 plus Instant
Web Publishing
capabilities,
ODBC/JDBC
connectivity and
higher FileMaker
Pro connection
limits.
$2999/Upgrade
$1799*
*U.S., SRP, Volume License Agreement (VLA), Education Volume License Agreement
(EVLA) and Non-Profit pricing is available.
System requirements
Operating System Requirements
Windows XP SP2 Pentium III 700MHz or higher
256MB RAM
CD and hard disk drive
Super VGA (1024 x 768) or higher-resolution
video adapter and display
Windows Vista SP1, “Works with Windows
Vista” achievement
Pentium III 800MHz or higher
512MB RAM
CD and hard disk drive
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Super VGA (1024 x 768) or higher-resolution
video adapter and display
Mac OS X 10.4.11 Tiger PowerPC, G4 or G5
Intel -based Mac
256MB RAM
CD and hard disk drive
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard PowerPC G4 (867MHz+) G5 Intel-based
Mac - 512MB RAM
CD and hard disk drive
Changes in system requirements since FileMaker Pro 9
FileMaker Pro 10 and FileMaker Pro 10 Advanced require:
• Super VGA (1024 x 768) video
Additional New Features in FileMaker Pro 10
The following are additional new features offered in FileMaker Pro 10 but are not detailed in
this Guide:
For End Users
•Enhanced Quick Start Screen
•Bento 2 integration
•New Resource Center with video tutorials
•Supports Excel 2007 data (.xlsx)
For Developers
•More SQL Support
•File Recovery Enhancements
•Set Field By Name
•IPv6 support
•Insert Tab order
•Set field by name script step
About FileMaker
FileMaker, Inc. develops award-winning database software. Its products include the legendary
FileMaker Pro product line for Windows, Mac and the Web, and Bento®, the personal
database for Mac. FileMaker Pro won 49 awards, more than its next eight competitors
combined, from 2003-2008 in the U.S., and a total of 130 awards worldwide during this time.
Millions of customers, from individuals to large organizations, rely on FileMaker, Inc.
software to manage, analyze and share information. FileMaker, Inc. is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Apple Inc.
Contact information
FileMaker, Inc.
5201 Patrick Henry Drive
Santa Clara, CA 95054-1171
Sales: 800-325-2747
5

Switchboard: 408-987-7000
General: www.filemaker.com
Web store: store.filemaker.com
Media resources: filemaker.com/company/newsroom/news/press.html
Year founded
1998
Relationship to Apple
FileMaker is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple Inc.
Media contact
Kevin Mallon, Senior Public Relations Manager
408-987-7227
Kevin_mallon@filemaker.com
6

Part 1: New features drilldown
Create databases from existing Excel or Bento 2 files
Summary
FileMaker Pro 10 makes it easier to create a database from an Excel spreadsheet, and also lets
you start with a Bento 2 file.
What’s Changed
In previous versions of FileMaker Pro, you had three choices for starting a database:
• Use a Starter Solution
• Define the schema by providing field names, table names, and more. Many new
users didn’t have the time or inclination to learn how to do this.
• Drag an Excel spreadsheet icon over the FileMaker Pro icon. But who knew?
• Create a new database or import records from the File Menu
Now, right at launch, you can just click a button to start with an existing Excel or
Bento 2 file. By leveraging organizational and data entry work already done in Excel
or Bento 2, FileMaker Pro has become more useful to more people.
Where to Find the Quick Start Screen
Just launch FileMaker Pro.
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Updated Starter Solutions
All of 30 Starter Solutions in the new FileMaker Pro 10 now have a fresh look to match the
newest browsers and productivity applications.
In addition, FileMaker made significant enhancements to 13 of the most popular Starter
Solutions, including Contact Management, Inventory, and Expense Report. For example, the
Contact Management Starter Solution now includes a built-in Web Viewer for URLs in your
database, Google Maps for your addresses, and mailing labels for addresses. These features
were introduced in FileMaker Pro 9, but you had to learn how to add them. Now they’re builtin
to the popular Starter Solutions, making them accessible even to novice users.
Where to Find:
To look at the Starter Solutions, choose File > New Database, and select the button for Starter
Solutions. Starter Solution names appear in the left of the dialog box. They also can be
accessed from the “Create Database” tab in the Quick Start Screen.
10 new themes
FileMaker Pro 10 has 10 new themes for colors and fonts that you can use to make your
forms visually appealing—with just a couple of clicks.
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Where to Find:
To see the new Themes, go to Layout Mode, choose Layouts > New Layout/Report, and then
click Next a couple of times.
Status Toolbar
The redesigned Status Toolbar puts commonly used FileMaker Pro features, previously only
accessible from the main menu, right at your fingertips, for streamlined navigation, better
workflow, and timesaving shortcuts.
It looks just like the toolbars on the newest browsers, email, and productivity applications,
making FileMaker Pro more familiar or novice users.
Full layout name
appears
Pie Chart for found
records
Record View, List
View, Table View
Click here to change the
fields that appear in Table
View without affecting
your layouts.
Details
Highlights of the new Status Toolbar include:
• Room for longer names in the Layout pull-down menu: Previous versions only
displayed the first eight characters.
• List View: Just click an icon to go directly to List View instead of unearthing it from
the File menu. List View lets you scroll through your records in Record format rather
than clicking through them one by one.
• Customization: You can customize the toolbar by dragging and dropping the features
you use most from a screen that has all of the icons. If you frequently save reports in
PDF format, for example, you can drop the Save as PDF icon right onto the Status
Toolbar. (Try it Out: View > Customize Status Toolbar)
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• Pie charts showing found/unfound records: When you perform a find, a clickable
pie chart shows the percentage of records found. You can just click the pie chart again
to see all records not found.
Why It’s Important
Common FileMaker Pro commands are now right in front of you on the Status
Toolbar. When you’re in Browse Mode, you see icons for New, Delete, Find, and
Sort. When you’re in Preview Mode, you see icons for Print, Page Setup, Save as
Excel, and Save as PDF. Layout Mode also has a Manage Database icon on the
Status Bar for all the functions that you used to have to get to with File > Manage.
Fewer mouse movements save time!
Experienced FileMaker Pro users can continue to use menu commands the same
way they always have, even while new users have a more intuitive option. It’s part of
FileMaker’s mantra: “Work the way you like to work.”
Where to Find:
The Status Toolbar appears at the top of all databases, including all 30 Starter Solutions.
To customize the Status Toolbar, choose View > Customize Status Toolbar.
Re-use saved and recent Finds
Summary
Now you can easily save any Find request so that you can use it again later. This is great for
doing routine Finds. For example, maybe you want to save a Find for customers in California
who have spent more than $1000 in the past year but have not ordered in the last three
months. Or all assets in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose maintenance contract
will expire before December 31.
Details
• Click the Find icon on the Status Toolbar.
• You’ll see a list of fields in your database, each with a magnifying glass. Enter search
criteria in one or more fields.
• Click the Perform Find icon.
• Click Saved Finds icon on the Status bar to name your find. Perform the same find
operation again at any time by clicking the Saved Finds icon and choosing the name.
The 10 most recent Finds also appear in that menu, whether or not you saved them.
Each Saved Find is designed specifically for the file you designed it for. Saved Finds are by
account, so you only see the finds you save and use.
What’s Changed
With previous version of FileMaker Pro, to re-use a set of Find criteria you’d have to
create a script, a prospect that could scare off new users. Now you can save Finds
with a simple menu command and reuse them whenever you want.
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Find omitted records
Summary
When FileMaker Pro returns the results of the Find, a pie chart showing the percentage of
your records that met the criteria is presented. Sometimes it’s just as interesting to see the
omitted records. Just click the pie chart to see the records that did not match the criteria.
Toggle back and forth.
The sample screen shot below shows the results of a Find for customers who paid their
membership fee. If you clicked the pie chart, you’d get another list of customers who have not
paid.
Where to Find:
Click the Find icon on the Status Toolbar and type in your search criteria. When you get your
results, the pie chart will be at the upper left, as shown.
Dynamic Reports
Summary
Now FileMaker Pro 10 provides dynamic reporting capability, a huge time saver. When
you’re in List View or Table View, you can make changes to your grouped data on the fly and
your change will show up immediately, without your even having to switch views.
Say you have a grouped report sorted by a contact’s state or an asset’s value. If you change a
value while in Table View or List View, the record will immediately move to the appropriate
section of the report. Your records are updated live as you manipulate the data.
Details
• You can choose the fields whose contents you want to sort by. In Exercise 3, you’ll
sort contacts by State and by Company. When you add a new record to a sorted found
set, or when you change a record, it appears in the correct position as soon as you
commit the record.
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• Optionally keep your records sorted. In Exercise 4, you’ll add a script trigger so that
loading a new layout triggers a grouped report that you created earlier.
What’s Changed
FileMaker Pro has been able to create grouped (sub-summary) reports since several
versions ago. However, you could only view them in Preview mode and, as a result,
could not interact with the data by clicking buttons or changing field values. If you
wanted to change a record, you had to find it, change it, and then return to Preview
mode to see how the report looked.
Now you can make changes on the fly and see them take effect immediately.
Where to Find This Feature
When you are looking at a grouped report in List View or Table View, you’ll notice the
feature when you edit fields.
Script Triggers
Summary
Now you can specify that a FileMaker Script (akin to a spreadsheet macro) should run
whenever users take a specified action in Browse Mode or Find Mode, such as clicking in a
field or exiting a viewing mode. FileMaker Pro comes with five object-based Script Triggers
and seven layout-based Script Triggers.
Object-based Script Triggers Layout-based Script Triggers
Click in a field
Click out of a field
Modify a field value
Save a field value
Press one or more specified keys
Load a record
Commit a record
Revert to the previous record
Press one or more specified keys, not in an
object
Load a layout
Enter a new mode
Exit a mode
Script Triggers are especially powerful for grouped reports. In the past, users had to go to
Preview mode, and then click a button or choose a menu command to see the report. Now,
with Format > Set Script Triggers, you can specify that the report will be regenerated
whenever the user changes data in a particular field. They were going to do this anyway, so
both the developer and user save time.
What’s Changed
With previous versions, developers had to do a lot of work to set up triggers, such as
adding buttons and text to make them noticeable. There was always a chance the
user wouldn’t take the hoped-for action. Now you can trigger scripts from actions that
users would take anyway, such as clicking in fields or changing viewing modes.
Let’s say you develop a database with a Find function. You can add a Script Trigger
to perform the find whenever the user enters the information (OnObjectSave). There’s
no need to add a Find button or Find command.
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Where to Find:
To set Layout object triggers, go to Layout mode, select the object, then choose Format >Set
Script Trigger.
To set Layout-level triggers, go to Layout mode and then choose Layouts > Layout Setup and
select the Script Triggers tab.
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Send Mail via SMTP
Summary
If you have a database containing email addresses, you can now save time by sending email
directly from FileMaker Pro instead of having to open your email client. This is convenient
whether you’re sending a single email from a current record, such as when a customer
requested a follow up, or you’re sending one email for each record in a found set, such as
when you’re announcing an event. For example, say you use FileMaker Pro as the back-end
database for a commercial website where customers place orders. You can create a script to
check for new orders every 30 minutes and send confirmation emails.
What’s Changed
Before, emails were pushed into your email outbox one by one, which could take a
long time for big distribution lists. Now email is sent directly to your email server,
bypassing your email client. In fact, you don’t even need an email client to send email
from FileMaker Pro!
FileMaker Pro 10 also makes it easier to automate email distribution to your contacts
and customers. Say you want to find records that meet your criteria and then send
emails to those contacts at midnight. Before, you would need to know how to use
AppleScript or ActiveX. Now you can just write a script in FileMaker Pro to find the
records that meet your criteria, and then send the email using the new SMTP email
option.
Where to Find
File > Send Mail
14

Modify Table View on the fly
Summary
Now you can modify Table View on the fly by deleting fields, without switching to Layout
View. In Table View, just click the Modify button at the upper right of the screen to see a list
of fields, and then deselect the fields you don’t want in your layout. The modifications do not
appear in Form View, which means a user can’t accidentally make unwanted changes to a
layout.
What’s Changed
Previously, if you wanted to change a field name or whether it appeared, you had to
switch to Layout View and then come back to Table View. And you needed edit
privileges to do this. Now you can just click the Modify button and add or delete fields
until the report looks just right for your purposes. It’s a much friendlier approach for
new users.
Where to Find
In Table View, click the Modify button in the upper right corner of the window.
More great features
• Support for additional External SQL Sources (ESS): Now you can display, access,
and use data from even more SQL sources, including SQL tables in Microsoft SQL
Server 2008, Oracle 11g, and MySQL 5.1 Community Edition. Define value lists
using fields in ODBC data source tables. Use Windows authentication (single sign-on)
to access ODBC data from Microsoft SQL Server. And accurately access SQLsupported
timestamp data from ODBC data sources.
• File recovery enhancements: Perform a consistency check on files you suspect might
be damaged, select specific file components to be recovered, and view information
about the file’s status. View a detailed file recovery log both during and after the file
recovery process.
• Windows platform deployment enhancements for SMS (Software Management
Services): Now you can remotely deploy FileMaker Pro to multiple users’ desktops
rather than installing it on each user’s workstation individually.
• Set field by name: Use a calculation to dynamically specify a field name in a script
instead of specifying each possible field name in an if-else construction.
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• IPv6 support: Most FileMaker dialog boxes that ask for IPv4 addresses now also
support IPv6 addresses as well. IPv6 is the "next generation" protocol designed by the
to replace the current version Internet Protocol, IP Version 4 ("IPv4").
Part 2: Hands-on exercises
Exercise 1: Create a new FileMaker Pro database from a Bento 2 or
Excel file
What you’ll do:
• Create a new FileMaker Pro database from an existing Bento 2 source or Excel file (.xls or
.xlsx).
• Customize the Status Toolbar by adding an icon to create a new layout.
• Apply a new visual theme to your new database.
• View your data in Form, List, and Table View.
What you’ll need: For this exercise you’ll need an existing Bento library or an Excel
spreadsheet (either .xls or .xlsx) containing contacts. If you don’t already have contacts from
three different states, each with three different companies and three different job titles, go
ahead and add a few records to use for this exercise.
1. Start FileMaker Pro and select the Create Database icon at the left of the Quick
Start screen.
2. Select the button for “Create a database from an existing:” and choose one of the
following:
• Bento Source
• Excel workbook (.xlsx)
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• Excel 95-2004 workbook (.xls)
Click OK.
Continue with Step 3 if you are starting with a Bento file. If you are starting with an
Excel file, skip to Step 4.
3. Bento found all your libraries and collections without your having to specify their
location. Select a Bento Library from the list at the left of the dialog. (If you are
starting with an Excel file, not a Bento 2 file, skip to step 4.)
• At the left of the dialog, select either Address Book or Contacts.
• At the right of window, select the Entire Library or one of your collections. Make
sure the Library or Collection contains contacts from three or more states and three
or more companies.
• Click Continue.
• Now go to Step 5.
4. If you are starting with an Excel file, select your Excel Contacts file and click Open.
17

• In the First Row Option dialog, indicate whether the first row of your spreadsheet
contains field names or data, and then click OK.
The remaining steps in this exercise are the same whether you started with a Bento 2 or
Excel file.
5. When prompted, name your new FileMaker Pro file and click Save.
6. Admire your new FileMaker Pro 10 database, which took advantage of the work you
already did when you created your Excel or Bento 2 file!
You’ve saved yourself all the trouble of creating a new schema.
18

Choose
your
layout from
this menu.
7. See how easy it is to switch between Layouts
• Right now you’re in Layout #2, Table View. You can click any column heading to
sort based on the values in that field.
• Choose Layout #1 to see your records in Form View. You saved time by not
having to first go to the View menu and then choose Go to Layout, which had
been necessary in previous versions of FileMaker Pro. You can also click to
choose the view you want by clicking on the new View icons on the toolbar.
19

8. Experience how easy it is to customize the Status Toolbar.
You can add your frequently used FileMaker operations to the toolbar so that you
don’t have to take the time to choose them from menus. To try it out, add an icon to
create a new layout.
• Choose View > Customize Status Toolbar.
• Drag the New Layout/Report icon next to the Sort icon in the Status Toolbar area.
Add other icons, too, if you’d like.
• Click Done.
• The interface will look different depending on whether you’re using a Mac or PC,
as shown below.
20

9. Since you now have the New Layout/Report icon right in front of you, go ahead and
try it out.
• Click the New Layout/Report icon. You’ll see the New Layout Report dialog.
• In the Layout Name field, enter a name like “Contacts.” Keep the default
“Standard Form” for the layout type, and click Next.
• Select each field you want to appear on the layout and then click Move. To
complete the remaining exercises you’ll want at least the First Name, Last Name,
Company, Title, and State fields.
• Click Next.
21

10. Now choose one of the 10 new visual themes added in FileMaker 10.
• Select any theme to see a preview.
• When you find one you like, click Finish.
• Click the Exit Layout button in the upper right of the window.
11. Now check out how easy it is to look at your data in Form, List, and Table Views.
• After the last step you should be in Form View.
• Click the forward and back arrows at the top left to navigate between records.
22

• Click the middle of the three View As icons to see your database in List View. Use
the scroll bar at the right to scroll through all of your records. Or use the
navigation controls at the top to navigate one record at a time.
• Click the rightmost View As icon to see your records in Table View.
You’ve now completed Exercise 1, to create a new FileMaker Pro database from an existing
Excel or Bento source.
23

Exercise 2: Find records and save your Find to re-use later
What You’ll Do:
• Enter search criteria and view the found records.
• Also view the records omitted from the search, in one click!
• Save and name the Find.
• Perform the Find from Browse mode, without even taking the time to switch to Find mode.
1. Open the same database you created in Exercise 1.
2. From any view, click the Find icon in the Status Toolbar.
A magnifying glass appears in every field.
3. Enter the data you want to match in one or more fields. How about entering a State
or Company name that you know is in your database. Then click Perform Find on
the Status Toolbar.
• Look at the records that match your criteria. You can switch between Form View,
Table View, and List View.
• Notice the pie chart in the upper left of the window, which shows how many
records your search found out of all records.
• Now click the Pie Chart icon to see all the records omitted from the search, a
useful feature. If you searched for all records in California, clicking the Pie Chart
will show you all the records outside of California.
24

• Click the Pie Chart icon again to return to the found set of records.
4. Save your search.
• Return to Find mode by clicking the Find icon in the Status Toolbar.
• Click the Saved Finds icon in the top right corner of
the Status Toolbar and take a look at the menu that
appears:
• Select one of the Recent Finds that you entered during this exercise.
• Click the Saved Finds icon again.
• Choose Save Current Find.
• Enter a name for the Find in the dialog box that appears and click Save.
5. Try out your new saved Find.
• Click the Cancel Find icon on the Status Toolbar to return to Browse mode.
• Hold down the mouse on the Find icon to see the Saved Finds menu.
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• Choose your Saved Find from the menu to see the records right away, without
having to go to Find mode first.
You’ve now completed Exercise 2, saving Finds and reusing them with a simple menu
command.
Exercise 3: Create a dynamic report with subgroups
What you’ll do:
• Create a grouped report.
• Organize your contacts by State and Company.
• Add a Summary field to the report to show the number of records for each State.
• Add headers and footers
• Create a script for the report, in just one click!
1. Create a grouped report
• From Browse mode, click the New Layout/
Report icon at the top right of the Status Toolbar.
You added this icon to the toolbar in Exercise 1.
• Name your report “Contacts by State.”
• Select the List/Report layout type and click Next.
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• For the report layout type, select “Report with grouped data” and select the
checkbox to include subtotals. Click Next.
The icon shows
the groupings on
your report
• Select the fields you want to appear in your new report and click Move. For this
exercise, you can just click Move All. Click Next.
27

3. Now indicate how you want to group your records.
For this exercise, group your records by State.
• Select State and click Move.
• Click Next.
Preview of
report
groupings
• You could stop with grouping records by State, but to show the power of this
feature, let’s also create Title subgroups within each State. This would be helpful
if you wanted to mail a product or service offer to all engineers in the northwest,
for example.
• Select Title and click Move.
28

• Click Next again. You’ll see the following dialog.
29

4. Now create a Summary field that will show subtotals for each State.
• Click the Specify button at the top left of the dialog box to call up the Specify
Field dialog:
• If you already had a State Summary field in your database you could just select it
from the list. But since it’s not in your database, you can conveniently create it
now.
• Select the pop-up menu at the top of the Specify Field dialog box and choose
Manage Database.
• Type “State Summary” in the Field Name field near the bottom.
30

• Choose Summary from the “Type” menu at the bottom right, and then click the
Create button at the bottom left. You’ll see a dialog box where you can select
summary field options:
• Select the “Count of” button and choose State in the Available Fields list. Keep the
other options as they are and click OK. You’ll see the Manage Database dialog
again, this time showing your new “State Summary” field.
• Click OK. You’ll see the Specify Field dialog.
• Select the new Contacts by State field and click OK.
• Click OK again and you’ll see the Specify Subtotals dialog.
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5. Now specify where the new State Summary field will appear on your report.
• Select the State Summary field you just created and click OK. You’ll see the
Specify Subtotals dialog again.
• From the “Subtotal placement” pop-up, choose “Above record group.”
• Click the Add Subtotal button.
• Click Next.
6. Select a visual theme for your report and click Next.
7. Add headers.
Here we’ve chosen Large Custom Text for the top left header. Type the header name,
such as Contacts by State. Click OK.
8. Create a script for the report—in just one click!
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The script name will already be suggested (Contacts by State). Select the Create a
Script button and click Next. You’ll use the script in the next exercise..
9. You’re finished!
• Click Finish to view your new grouped report in Browse mode.
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10. Admire your report, with contacts grouped by State and Company. The number of
records appears at the top right of each category, as you specified.
State
groupings
11. Add, edit, and delete records without even leaving Browse mode.
Why it’s Important
FileMaker 10 is the first version with Dynamic Reports. You no longer need to switch
to Find Mode to locate the records for the data you want to change and then re-run
the report. Instead, you can make changes right from Browse mode and see them
take effect instantly. This is a big time-saver and makes FileMaker easier to learn.
• Change the State for one of your contacts and then click outside of the field.
You’ll see the record automatically move to the appropriate place in the report.
• Change the State back to the original name and see it move again.
• Try the same thing with Company names.
You’ve now completed Exercise 3 to create a Dynamic Report with subgroups. Instead of
going to Find mode to change a record, you can make changes on the fly and see them take
effect immediately.
Count for each
grouping
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Exercise 4: Add Script Triggers based on user actions
What you’ll do:
• Add a script to check spelling.
• Set it up so that saving a record triggers the check-spelling script.
• Set it up so that loading a layout triggers the Dynamic Report you just created.
1. Create a script to check spelling.
• Open the database you’ve been working with in the previous exercises.
• Choose Scripts > Manage Scripts. You’ll see the name of the script you set up in
the last exercise when you created the Contacts by State report.
• To create a new script, click the New button at the bottom left of the dialog.
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• Choose a script from the list at the left of the dialog. For this exercise, scroll way
down to the Spelling section, select “Check Selection,” and click Move.
• Name your script something like “Check Spelling” in the Script Name field.
• To specify the field whose spelling you want to check, click the Specify button at
the right side of the dialog. You’ll see a list of fields in your Contacts database.
• Select the Title field and click OK.
• With the Edit Script dialog still open, choose Scripts > Save Script.
Close the Edit Script dialog.
2. See the names of your two scripts—Contacts by State and Check Spelling—and then
close the dialog.
3. Now specify the Script Triggers, which are the actions that will trigger your scripts.
• First specify the trigger for the Spell Check script. From your Contacts by State
layout in List View, click the Edit Layout button on the far right of the Status
Toolbar.
• Select the Title field.
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• Choose Format > Set Script Triggers.
• Select the OnObjectSave checkbox. The Specify Script dialog box appears:
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• Select the Check Spelling script and click OK. The Set Script Triggers dialog
appears. Click OK.
• You have just attached the Script Trigger to the Title field.
• Click the Exit Layout button at the top right of the Layout Status Toolbar.
• When prompted to save changes to the layout, click Save.
4. Try out the spelling Script Trigger.
• In the Title field, edit somebody’s title so that it’s misspelled. In the screen shot
below we have typed “Techh Support.”
• Now trigger the script by clicking somewhere else on the layout.
• You’ll see the Spelling dialog box.
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You have just created a script, attached it to a trigger, and tried it out. You can end this
exercise here, or you can continue on to attach a trigger to the Contacts by State script.
5. First take a look at how your application behaves without the Script Trigger.
• From the same Contacts by State layout you’ve been
working with, go to Find mode.
• Navigate away from your Reports Layout. Here’s one way: Search for all titles in
your contacts by typing an asterisk (*) in the Title field and then clicking the
Perform Find icon in the Status Toolbar.
• You’ll see that your Contacts by State report no longer appears.
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6. Now set up a Script Trigger to display your Contacts by State report every time you
load the Contacts by State layout.
• Click the Edit Layout button at the far right of the Status Toolbar.
• Click the Pencil icon at the left of the Status Toolbar, just next to the Layout popup
list. You’ll see the Layout Setup dialog.
• In the Layout Setup dialog box, select the Script Triggers tab and select
OnLayoutLoad.
• When the Specify Script dialog appears, select the Contacts by State script and
click OK.
• Click OK again on the Script Trigger Layout Setup dialog.
• Click the Exit Layout button at the top right portion of the Layout Status Toolbar.
When prompted to save changes to the layout, click Save.
• Your Contacts by State layout will appear automatically because reloading the
layout triggered the script to display your grouped report.
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7. Put your new Script Trigger to the test! Whenever you navigate away from your
Contacts by State Layout and back, your grouped report will always reappear.
• Choose another layout from the Layout pop-up menu. Then choose Contacts by
State again.
• Try it a different way. Click the Find icon in the Status Toolbar and find all
records (by entering * in one of the fields) or a subset of records, such as those
from a particular state. Whatever you do, your contacts will continue to appear in
groups by state because loading a new layout triggers the script.
You’ve now completed the final exercise. Adding Script Triggers based on user actions gives
developers more control over how their applications behave and helps people save time when
using FileMaker Pro 10. This concludes the hand-on exercises.
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