MBS FileMaker Plugin 16.2 News

In this article we want to introduce you the new functions from the MBS FileMaker Plugin in version 16.2.

DynaPDF

This release includes new features for DynaPDF. With DynaPDF.Parser.Content, you can now retrieve the page content as JSON. In the parameters, you can limit the information in the JSON by specifying a filter. For example, the code snippet below retrieves only the DrawPath operators.

MBS Xojo Conference 2026 - MBS Plugins Update

We recorded the presentations at the MBS Xojo Conference in April 2026 and here is the MBS Plugin presentation with Christian Schmitz talking about what is new in MBS Xojo Plugins:

Watch on YouTube. All videos go into the playlist for the conference.

Make PDF certificates in calculation with DynaPDF

Today we like to make a certificate file in FileMaker with DynaPDF. And we have two ways to make this. First is a script to do the steps with Set Variable script steps. Second way is a Let() statement, where you make the PDF on the fly in a calculation. 

Bridge Day

Building a Smarter Search: Inside the MBS Script Search

Searching through FileMaker or the XML export can quickly become overwhelming. XML dumps are dense, deeply nested, and often inconsistent in formatting. That’s exactly the problem the MBS Script Search in MBS FileMaker Plugin was built to solve: a fast, flexible, browser-based search tool that makes large script collections actually usable.

This post walks through how the search works, what makes it different, and how to get the most out of it.

Understanding PDF Structure and Content Streams

MBS Xojo Conference 2026 - Xojo Update

We recorded the presentations at the MBS Xojo Conference in April 2026 and here is the keynote video with Geoff Perlman talking about what is new in Xojo:

Watch on YouTube. All videos go into the playlist for the conference.

Creating Custom Web Viewer Windows in FileMaker with MBS Plugin

The MBS FileMaker Plugin expands FileMaker's capabilities significantly. One particularly powerful feature is WebView.CreateWindow, which allows you to create fully independent web viewer windows with advanced JavaScript integration. Added in version 16.2.

Introducing Matrix.MBS: Dynamic Function Calls with Matrix Parameters

With version 16.2 of the MBS FileMaker Plugin, a powerful new function has been added: Matrix.MBS. This feature opens up a flexible way to dynamically call MBS functions using parameters stored inside a matrix.

If you’ve ever needed to construct parameter lists programmatically or pass variable-length arguments into MBS functions, this addition makes the process significantly cleaner and more scalable.

DynaPDF Content Parser

As PDF documents contain pages with content streams, you may be interested to inspect the content with our DynaPDFParserMBS class. You open a PDF document, you import pages into memory and then parse the page. Once you parse them page, you can access the content objects. That's great for a few things:

• Extract text or vector graphics
• Remove unwanted elements
• Modify drawings
• Get bounding boxes and coordinates from every item.
• Check which font is active for which text fragment.

A lot of properties in the classes are settable, so you can for example change a color easily. Or adjust a coordinate in some vector graphic or adjust the line width.

Or when you like to place a template on top of an existing page, you may need to modify the content to remove rectangle in the background, so you can see through the template to the content behind it.

Here is a sample, that marks all images for deletion and then writes the page back.

// remove all images
Var needWrite As Boolean
Var ContentParsingFlags As Integer = 0

If parser.ParsePage(page, ContentParsingFlags) Then
  
  var u as integer = parser.OperatorCount-1
  for j as integer = 0 to u
    Var content As DynaPDFParserContentMBS = parser.Content(j)
    
    if content.Operator = DynaPDFParserContentMBS.kopDrawImage then
      content.Delete
      needWrite = True
    end if
  next
  
  If needWrite Then
    Call Parser.WriteToPage
  End If
End If

Script Search in MBS Plugin: Finally, a Search That Works the Way You Think

If you've ever tried to find something inside a large FileMaker solution, you already know the pain: too many scripts, inconsistent naming, and not enough context in search results.

The MBS Plugin Script Search feature is designed to fix exactly that. It gives you a fast, full-text, cross-script search with a modern UI—and it integrates directly into Script Workspace.

MBS Plugin 16.2 for Claris FileMaker

Nickenich, Germany - (May 5th, 2026) -- Monkeybread Software today is pleased to announce MBS FileMaker Plugin 16.2 for Claris FileMaker for macOS, iOS, Linux and Windows, the latest update to their product that is easily the most powerful plugin currently available for Claris FileMaker produce line. As the leading database management solution for Windows, macOS, iOS and the web, the Claris FileMaker Pro Integrated Development Environment supports a plugin architecture that can easily extend the feature set of the application. MBS FileMaker Plugin 16.2 has been updated and now includes over 7800 different functions, and the versatile plugin has gained more new functions:

The DynaPDF Starter license now includes encryption, form fields and digital signatures. Previously these features were part of the Lite license. You may still need the Lite license level to read existing PDF files.

Use DynaPDF parser to inspect the content of a PDF page. The DynaPDF.Parser.Content function provides all drawing commands on a PDF as a big JSON block. You may use DynaPDF.Parser.Delete function to mark specific commands for deletion. When using tables in PDF documents, you can use DynaPDF.Table.SetColOrRowSpan function to merge cells.

We enhanced the script search over all scripts. The new search can find scripts by ID or group path, allow fuzzy and case-senstive search as well as regular expressions. You can customize search with a custom search.html in the extensions folder.

Create a window with a WebViewer using our WebView.CreateWindow function. This window and its WebViewer operate independent from FileMaker. Use FileMaker.PerformScript function in JavaScript to trigger scripts or use FileMaker.Evaluate to evaluate a FileMaker expression within JavaScript. This provides a never seen before integration of JavaScript inside FileMaker. We upgraded WebViewers created with Overlay.AddWebViewer, WebView.Create and WebView.CreateWithControl to do provide the same integration.

When using the Foundation Models on macOS, you can query the context size for the model. Use the FoundationModels.TokenCount function to query the tokens need for a given text.

We enhanced our Matrix functions. Use Matrix.MBS to call a MBS function dynamically and pass parameters using a matrix. Swap columns or rows with Matrix.SwapColumns and Matrix.SwapRows functions within a matrix. And Matrix.SearchAndReplace can search and replace text in a matrix.

Use JSON.FromToon to convert TOON formatted data to JSON. Query the parameters used in an failed SQL query with FM.ExecuteSQL.LastParameters function. Transform images with GMImage.AffineTransform function. Use Llama.LoadBackend function to load specific backends for Llama to run LLM models. And CURL.AddOptionHTTPHeader helps to add headers step by step for a CURL request.

Finally we updated DynaPDF to version 5.0.1.9, jsoncons to 1.6.0, libarchive to 3.8.7, libexpat to 2.7.5, mongo-c-driver to 2.2.4, openssl to 3.5.6, phidgets, SQLAPI to 5.4.2, Xcode to 26.4 and zxing to version 3.0.2.

See release notes for a complete list of changes and new functions in documentation.

MonkeyBread Software Releases the MBS Xojo Plugins in version 26.2

Nickenich, Germany - (May 5th, 2026) -- Monkeybread Software today is pleased to announce MBS Xojo Plugins 26.2 for macOS, Linux and Windows, the latest update to their product that is easily the most powerful plugin collection currently available for Xojo. MBS Xojo Plugins have been updated and now includes over 3000 classes and 85,000 documented features, and the versatile plugins have gained more new functions:

Our UIAutomation classes can help you to automate GUI applications on Windows. You can enumerate windows and their controls, read and write properties and react to events like focus changes.

The DynaPDF Starter license now includes encryption, from fields and digital signatures. Previously these features were part of the Lite license. You may still need the Lite license level to read existing PDF files.

Use DynaPDF parser to inspect the content of a PDF page. We have over 20 DynaPDFParserContentMBS subclasses to inspect the drawing commands and modify some of their properties. When using tables in PDF documents, you can use SetColOrRowSpan function in DynaPDFTableMBS class to merge cells.

When using the Foundation Models on macOS, you can query the context size for the model. Use the tokenCount function to query the tokens need for a given text.

We improved the search field classes on macOS. The searchFieldDidStartSearching and searchFieldDidEndSearching events in NSSearchFieldControlMBS control help to know when search starts and ends. The searchTextRectForBounds, searchButtonRectForBounds, and cancelButtonRectForBounds events allow you to customize the layout of the search field.

By updating the zxing library, we got support for more barcode formats in the ZXingReaderOptionsMBS class. Use FromJSON method in JSONMBS class to convert TOON formatted data to JSON. You can use raw compression mode for ZLibCompressMBS and ZLibDecompressMBS classes.

The new events for QLPreviewPanelMBS class lets you react on when the preview panel begins and ends. We added more properties to NSTextAttachmentMBS class. Use NLEmbeddingMBS class to work with embeddings.

Finally we updated DynaPDF to version 5.0.1.9, jsoncons to 1.6.0, libarchive to 3.8.7, libexpat to 2.7.5, mongo-c-driver to 2.2.4, openssl to 3.5.6, phidgets, SQLAPI to 5.4.2, Xcode to 26.4 and zxing to version 3.0.2.

See release notes for a complete list of changes and new functions in documentation.

Neues MBS Plugin 16.2 für Claris FileMaker

5. Mai 2026 - Monkeybread Software veröffentlicht heute das MBS FileMaker Plugin für Claris FileMaker in Version 16.2, mit inzwischen über 7800 Funktionen eines der größten FileMaker Plugins überhaupt. Hier einige der Neuerungen:

Die DynaPDF Starter-Lizenz umfasst nun Verschlüsselung, Formularfelder und digitale Signaturen. Bisher waren diese Funktionen Teil der Lite-Lizenz. Möglicherweise benötigen Sie weiterhin die Lite-Lizenz, um vorhandene PDF-Dateien zu lesen.

Verwenden Sie den DynaPDF-Parser, um den Inhalt einer PDF-Seite zu untersuchen. Die Funktion DynaPDF.Parser.Content stellt alle Zeichenbefehle einer PDF-Datei als großen JSON-Block bereit. Mit der Funktion DynaPDF.Parser.Delete können Sie bestimmte Befehle zum Löschen markieren. Bei der Verwendung von Tabellen in PDF-Dokumenten können Sie die Funktion DynaPDF.Table.SetColOrRowSpan nutzen, um Zellen zusammenzuführen.

Wir haben die Skriptsuche für alle Skripte verbessert. Mit der neuen Suche können Sie Skripte anhand ihrer ID oder ihres Gruppenpfads finden; außerdem sind unscharfe Suchen, die Suche unter Berücksichtigung der Groß-/Kleinschreibung sowie reguläre Ausdrücke möglich. Sie können die Suche mit einer benutzerdefinierten search.html-Datei im Extensions Ordner anpassen.

Erstellen Sie mit unserer Funktion WebView.CreateWindow ein Fenster mit einem WebViewer. Dieses Fenster und sein WebViewer arbeiten unabhängig von FileMaker. Verwenden Sie die Funktion FileMaker.PerformScript in JavaScript, um Skripte auszulösen, oder nutzen Sie FileMaker.Evaluate, um einen FileMaker-Ausdruck innerhalb von JavaScript auszuwerten. Dies ermöglicht eine bisher beispiellose Integration von JavaScript in FileMaker. Wir haben die mit Overlay.AddWebViewer, WebView.Create und WebView.CreateWithControl erstellten WebViewer aktualisiert, um dieselbe Integration zu gewährleisten.

Wenn Sie die Foundation-Modelle unter macOS verwenden, können Sie die Kontextgröße des Modells abfragen. Verwenden Sie die Funktion FoundationModels.TokenCount, um die Anzahl der Token abzufragen, die für einen bestimmten Text benötigt werden.

Wir haben unsere Matrix-Funktionen erweitert. Mit Matrix.MBS können Sie eine MBS-Funktion dynamisch aufrufen und Parameter über eine Matrix übergeben. Mit den Funktionen Matrix.SwapColumns und Matrix.SwapRows können Sie Spalten oder Zeilen innerhalb einer Matrix vertauschen. Und mit Matrix.SearchAndReplace können Sie Text in einer Matrix suchen und ersetzen.

Verwenden Sie JSON.FromToon, um Daten im TOON-Format in JSON zu konvertieren. Rufen Sie die in einer fehlgeschlagenen SQL-Abfrage verwendeten Parameter mit der Funktion FM.ExecuteSQL.LastParameters ab. Transformieren Sie Bilder mit der Funktion GMImage.AffineTransform. Verwenden Sie die Funktion Llama.LoadBackend, um bestimmte Backends für Llama zu laden, damit LLM-Modelle ausgeführt werden können. Und CURL.AddOptionHTTPHeader hilft dabei, Header Schritt für Schritt für eine CURL-Anfrage hinzuzufügen.

Schließlich haben wir DynaPDF auf Version 5.0.1.9, jsoncons auf 1.6.0, libarchive auf 3.8.7, libexpat auf 2.7.5, mongo-c-driver auf 2.2.4, openssl auf 3.5.6, phidgets und SQLAPI auf 5.4.2 aktualisiert, Xcode auf 26.4 und zxing auf Version 3.0.2.

Alle Änderungen in den Release Notes und neue Funktionen in der Dokumentation.

xDev Magazine 24.3

MBS @ FMTraining.TV - FileMaker MBS Plug-in Q&A

Check out the FMTraining.tv website. Richard Carlton and his team do a daily free live stream about FileMaker to watch.

A few days ago Christian Schmitz from Monkeybread Software joined a live episode to talk a bit about the MBS FileMaker Plugin. Watch it on YouTube.

We answer various questions about the MBS Plugin and got nine videos:

• "Debugger Features and the New WebViewer Window in the MBS Plugin" - FileMaker MBS Plug-in Q&A
• "Excel Functions in MBS with FileMaker" - FileMaker MBS Plug-in Q&A
• "Youtube API Integration in FileMaker using the MBS Plugin" - FileMaker MBS Plug-in Q&A
• "Importing Multiple Files to Repeating Fields with the MBS Plugin - FileMaker MBS Plug-in Q&A
• "Can You Anchor Graphics to Merge Fields in FileMaker with MBS?" - FileMaker MBS Plug-in Q&A
• "What is Regex?: RegEx Pattern Extraction with the MBS Plugin" - FileMaker MBS Plug-in Q&A
• "Send Multiple PDF Attachments with FileMaker and MBS" - FileMaker MBS Plug-in Q&A
• "Convert HTML Text to FileMaker Styled Text with the MBS Plugin" - FileMaker MBS Plug-in Q&A
• "SFTP with SSH Private Key Authentication with the MBS Plugin" - FileMaker MBS Plug-in Q&A

DynaPDF Starter license extended

We received notice from DynaForms GmbH, that their DynaPDF products got a change for the DynaPDF Starter license.

With DynaPDF version 5.0.1.9, the Starter license includes Encryption, Interactive Forms, and digital signatures. These three features previously required a Lite license.

When you create a PDF file from scratch with DynaPDF Starter, you can encrypt the file. We recommend the current 256 Bit AES Encryption. Older encryption standards are also available for compatibility.

You may include interactive form elements on the page and pre-fill the fields with values. Use buttons and connect actions to make your form interactive. This may include submit buttons to send the form data to your server as well as JavaScript actions to perform calculations or validations.

Add digital signatures to your PDF documents. This may be either a form field where the user can sign the PDF file after filling the form, or alternatively you can sign the PDF directly in your code with a digital certificate and a private key.

The lite license is still required for reading existing PDF files and importing pages. Great for merging PDFs or extracting images and text.

For details, please check the product feature matrix: DynaPDF Starter vs. Lite vs. Pro vs. Enterprise.

DynaPDF is made available for FileMaker and Xojo by Monkeybread Software. You can also use the same licenses with C/C++, C#, Delphi, Lazarus, PHP, VB, VBA, and VB .Net.

MBS Xojo Plugins, version 26.2pr5

• Added beginPreviewPanel and endPreviewPanel events to QLPreviewPanelMBS class.
• Updated DynaPDF to version 5.0.1.9.
• DynaPDF Starter gets more features: Encryption, Interactive Forms, and digital signatures are now already included in this version.
• Added SetColOrRowSpan function to DynaPDFTableMBS class.

New functions in documentation

Download Links: Download Mac dmg or Download Windows/Linux zip

Download: monkeybreadsoftware.de/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/.
Or ask us to be added to our shared DropBox folder.

You can subscribe to our Xojo mailing list to get notified for new pre-release and release versions.

MBS FileMaker Plugin, version 16.2pr5

• Added CURL.AddOptionHTTPHeader function.
• Added QLPreviewPanel.SetDismissTrigger function for macOS.
• Improved trace logging to better hide passwords.
• Improved threading for ImagePlayground.Present function on iOS.
• Updated DynaPDF to version 5.0.1.9.
• DynaPDF Starter gets more features: Encryption, Interactive Forms, and digital signatures are now already included in this version.
• Added DynaPDF.Table.SetColOrRowSpan function.
• Changed JSON.AddValueToObject, JSON.AddItemToObject and JSON.AddNumberToObject to replace existing items instead of adding a duplicate.

New functions in documentation

Download Links: Download Mac dmg or Download Windows/Linux zip

Downloads at monkeybreadsoftware.com/filemaker/files/Prerelease/:

You can subscribe to our FileMaker mailing list to get notified for new pre-release and release versions.

SQL error checking improved

We have various FMSQL functions in MBS FileMaker Plugin for years. You can execute some SQL command and pass parameters with FM.ExecuteFileSQL function. The function does the job and either returns OK or an error. But in case of the error, we like to log as much as possible.

After each call to our of our FileMaker SQL functions, you can query details: