Die FileMaker Konferenz 2020 in Malbun (Liechtenstein) verschiebt sich leider auf Juni 2021.
Vom 28. bis 31. Oktober17. bis 19. Juni 2021 findet die elfte deutschsprachige FileMaker Konferenz im JUFA Hotel in Malbun, Liechtenstein statt. Ursprünglich geplant für Juni/Oktober 2020 muss die Veranstaltung leider in den Juni 2021 verschoben werden. Wir hoffen dennoch auf tolles Wetter, viele Interessante Teilnehmer und Gespräche.
Ein MBS Schulungstag ist für den Mittwoch vorher geplant: 16. Juni 2021. Bei Interesse kann man sich gerne bei uns anmelden. Die Ankündigung liegt hier: MBS Workshop
Die Veranstalter vom Verein FM Konferenz erwarten auch 2021 rund 120 Entwickler, Anwender, IT-Fachleute und Entscheidungsträger aus Wirtschaft, Bildung und Verwaltung. Rund um über 20 Fachvorträge und Workshops wird es viel Zeit zum Vernetzen in den gemeinsamen Pausen und beim Abendprogramm geben.
Für den Deutschsprachigen Raum ist diese Konferenz das Treffen des Jahres. Hier finden Sie vom Anfänger bis zum Profi Kontakte zu anderen Entwicklern. Lernen Sie was es neues gibt, nehmen Sie Impulse mit für die eigene Arbeit und erfahren Sie mehr zu FileMaker von deutschsprachigen Experten!
Bitte planen Sie wenigstens einen extra Tag ein für ihren Besuch in Liechtenstein, damit Sie die Natur in dem schönen Tal geniessen können. Den Aufstieg auf den Sareis können Sie bequem zu Fuß vom Hotel aus starten und die Turnastraße hinauf spazieren bis zum Restaurant am Gipfel. Oder alternativ die Seilbahn nehmen.
With latest MBS FileMaker Plugin 10.3 we tuned our dark mode support for FileMaker. While Filemaker's Script Workspace comes with some syntax highlighting features built-in, our MBS FileMaker Plugin can add more for macOS users:
On the left is pure FileMaker and on the right side is with MBS FileMaker Plugin. Below in light mode:
Ein erster Termin steht fest: Freitag Abend, 07.08.2020, 18 Uhr CET
Vielleicht hat ja der ein oder andere Deutschsprachige Xojo Anwender Lust mit zu machen?
Bitte vorher gerne im Forum vorbeischauen für die aktuelle URL und falls sich der Termin verschiebt.
Die Teilnahme läuft via Jitsi und Sie können bequem per Browser teilnehmen.
We are about 1400 Claris Business Alliance partners. Claris reported a growth in sign-ups, so hopeful the number will go up over years.
About 1350 devices on the YouTube stream live for the keynote watching, but probably several people per screen in a lot of watch parties.
Web Authoring makes progress. Quick layout changes like adding a field could be possible soon via browser on a FileMaker Server.
Cloud Smart sounds much better than Cloud First.
An update for FileMaker 19 is coming within weeks. They showed a few nice add-ons, but no promise on which of them will ship and when.
Webviewer will get an upgrade on Windows. Internet Explorer is on the way out! No timeframe given, but I expect they use Microsoft's WebView2 control based on Edge with Chromium and that one is scheduled to come Q4 2020 (or later). Once that ships with Windows 10, Claris may be able to use it. You may be able to install it on Windows 8.x, too.
Warning: When this switch happens, MBS WebView functions would need a rewrite to support it and we may review that when needed to determinate whether this is possible and what features may be worth to carry on.
Claris puts priority on the server to be first stable and second have great performance.
They still work on page locking for server and may provide a better locking than file or page locks we have currently with something between to make it simpler and faster. They played with sorting with threads and sort on server.
You may join ETS program to try various features, you can turn on/off.
Linux server will be finished end of summer and released! They are very enthusiastic about it.
And for the conference week, you can use coupon code ClarisEngage for 20% off for new licenses in our web store. See pricing page and pick the new licenses. Make sure the coupon code is entered and the amount deducted. If you missed to enter it, we may not be able apply discount later and can only offer to extend the license with additional months.
For years we build the DLLs for Windows with Visual Studio 2008 for our plugins. The reason we didn't upgrade for a long time was Windows XP. But now we can skip that behind and move to a newer Visual Studio version. Now the minimum is Windows 7 and we relay on the universal runtime. That is a newer version of the Visual Studio Runtime since Visual Studio 2015, which is automatically installed on Windows 10 and used by FileMaker Pro and Xojo.
See Windows App Requirements in Xojo blog and Windows Universal Runtime in Xojo developer guide.
If Windows update didn't install it for you, you can install it manually. The installers are included with the FileMaker or Xojo download, but you can also load it on the Microsoft website as redistributable installers.
By switching from a 10 year old compiler to current one, we gain a lot of new features, so we hope to extend our plugins in the next months with a couple of new Windows based features.
There is a little new feature in Visual Studio 2019, which reduces the space needed for the metadata used for exception handling. But that causes an extra dependency to VCRuntime140_1.dll, which is new since 2019. But as that DLL may be missing on client computer, we disable this feature. This removes the dependency and allows us to relay on the DLLs you already need to have. If FileMaker Pro or your Xojo application runs, the plugin should also load just fine.
For developers the dependency is for __CxxFrameHandler4 function in VCRuntime140_1.dll. You can disable it by using -d2FH4- as a compiler option and -d2:-FH4- for linker option. Also it looks like you have to not use std::nothrow as that also depends on that DLL.
The important thing: Please try one of the pre-releases soon and let us know if you see anything not working. We'll try ourselves 100s of example projects, but you can help to try a few more things.
PS: The MBS Xojo XMP Plugin may have the VCRuntime140_1.dll dependency as we can't build it without currently.
In this article I want to introduce you the new functions from the MBS FileMaker Plugin in version 10.3.
LibXL
Let's start with a few innovations with LibXL, that allows you to edit Excel files. You now have functions with which you can identify the area of the table where data is filled in. You can determine the first row or column in an existing Excel document and which one is the last row or column that is filled. This simplifies your work. For example, you want to enter data in an existing table. You first determine the last filled row and then you enter the new values in the next row
There is the new XL.Sheet.CellWriteTextAsNumber function that writes a number into an Excel spreadsheet, which is passed as text. This prevents rounding errors for decimal numbers
Audit
The Audit component can log changes in a database. Under the new Filemaker Pro, we create fields for each table that make this logging possible. With the new function Audit.SetIgnoreRepetitions you can set whether repeating fields should be checked. If you want to know if the check is deactivated, you can use the appropriate Get function Audit.GetIgnoreRepetitions.
GraphicsMagick
Let's take a look at the new features in the GraphicsMagick component. With the new ping functions, GMImage.Ping and GMImage.PingContainer we can load image data from a file or container field. Ping is similar to functions that read the data, but we read only enough to determine the image columns, rows, and file size. That means we can only read the metadata.
Another function, GMImage.GetZPL, returns the hexadecimal ZPL value for an image. The picture is taken as black & white image and build the hex string, you can send this hex string to a receipt printer, which generates an image with this hex sting and prints it out.
Files
In the Files component we have added a very powerful function that standardizes the path for you. For example, you have got back the following path from an application under Windows: %HOMEPATH%\test.txt. This is converted with the function Files.StandardizePath into the standardized path C:\Users\Name\test.txt
Under MacOS the tilde is extended. The empty components, references to the current directory and symbolic links are reduced.
On Windows we resolve environment variables and get the full path.
For Linux, symbolic links are resolved, empty components are reduced and relative paths are resolved.
Hotkey
We have a new function for the hotkeys on Windows and Mac. With HotKey.UnregisterAll you can unregister all Hotkeys. This enables you to reset the complete assignment of the hotkeys instead of having to do this with HotKey.Unregister for each hotkey individually.
In this article I want to introduce you the new functionalities from the MBS Xojo Plugins in version 20.3.
Dynamic Declares
The classes of this topic handle the loading of dynamic C libraries and calling functions within them. Currently there are three classes.
The DeclareLibraryMBS class Allows you to load a DLL on Windows, a dylib on MacOS and shared object on Linux. It inspects the available functions and load functions by name. You can enter a path or pass a folderItem when you create an instance of this class.
TheDeclareFunctionMBS class give you the possibility to call C functions. In comprehension to the built-in declares in Xojo, those functions allow a much more dynamic calling of functions with various calling conventions. We support also the possibility to define declares at runtime.
With the DeclareCallBackMBS class you can create callback functions dynamically. In the parameters you pass the function pointer to a C function which later calls back your callback.
Java
In the JavaVMMBS class we have two new methods, named DefineClass,that allow us to load a class with raw class data from the buffer. In the parameters, we specify the class name and the data either as a string or a memory block.
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Changed Email.Verify to have flags as second parameter. We keep 1 for network check and add 2 as an option to return the name of the mail server domain.
Noch drei Monate bis zur FileMaker Konferenz 2020 in Malbun (Liechtenstein).
Vom 28. bis 31. Oktober findet die elfte deutschsprachige FileMaker Konferenz im JUFA Hotel in Malbun, Liechtenstein statt. Ursprünglich geplant für Juni muss die Veranstaltung leider in den Oktober verschoben werden. Wir hoffen dennoch auf tolles Wetter, viele Interessante Teilnehmer und Gespräche. Eventuell könnte das die einzige Konferenz rund um FileMaker in diesem Jahr werden, die vor Ort stattfindet.
Ein MBS Schulungstag ist für den Mittwoch vorher geplant. Bei Interesse kann man sich gerne bei uns anmelden. Die Ankündigung liegt hier: MBS Workshop
Die Veranstalter vom Verein FM Konferenz erwarten auch 2020 rund 120 Entwickler, Anwender, IT-Fachleute und Entscheidungsträger aus Wirtschaft, Bildung und Verwaltung. Rund um über 20 Fachvorträge und Workshops wird es viel Zeit zum Vernetzen in den gemeinsamen Pausen und beim Abendprogramm geben.
Für den Deutschsprachigen Raum ist diese Konferenz das Treffen des Jahres. Hier finden Sie vom Anfänger bis zum Profi Kontakte zu anderen Entwicklern. Lernen Sie was es neues gibt, nehmen Sie Impulse mit für die eigene Arbeit und erfahren Sie mehr zu FileMaker von deutschsprachigen Experten!
Bitte planen Sie wenigstens einen extra Tag ein für ihren Besuch in Liechtenstein, damit Sie die Natur in dem schönen Tal geniessen können. Den Aufstieg auf den Sareis können Sie bequem zu Fuß vom Hotel aus starten und die Turnastraße hinauf spazieren bis zum Restaurant am Gipfel. Oder alternativ die Seilbahn nehmen.
In the current version 20.3 we added support for ClearRectangle and FillPath methods, one of the changes for API 2.0 in Xojo. We set Helvetica 12 in point as default font for every new PDF document. If you change the font, this font reference will be discarded on saving as DynaPDF cleans up the object tree when writing the PDF. But new users may not run into an error, because no font is set.
Earlier in 20.2 we added support for ignoring ClearRect calls in graphics class to be able to draw over an existing PDF page and not fill all the space with white color. With our own DynapdfGraphicsPathMBS class we got even support for drawing paths with the new Xojo methods to do so. In DynaPDFPageMBS class we got properties visible in the debugger, so you can directly inspect the boxes for the page. The SetCellPicture method for DynaPDFTableMBS class takes directly a picture to make this easier for developers to pass pictures. In DynaPDFMBS class we deprecated all the Ansi versions of the functions. Unicode support got better over the years and nobody should need those any more. And when you call SetFont without passing an encoding, we default to unicode.
Changes like the above may help to make use of the plugin more easier. For next version 20.4 we have a few more little changes to improve the plugin. First we have the problem that not everyone implements an Error event to catch problems. We add DynaPDFErrorExceptionMBS class to raise an exception if either the Error event is missing or you return the new constant kErrorEventRaise in the Error event. The error event can be implemented by subclassing DynaPDFMBS class or by using addHandler command. By using exceptions, you will not miss an error. But you may still want to use the Error event to ignore warnings, which could raise an exception otherwise.
Another change we thought about is to add more properties. A first one to add is ActiveFontInfo as DynaPDFFontInfoMBS to the properties. This allows you to see the current font set in the debugger. Let us know if you have ideas for properties we could add to make your live easier.
A DynaPDF Starter license is included in OmegaBundle and can be updated to DynaPDF Lite license at a discounted price.
Did you know you can use XML functions in MBS FileMaker Plugin to split your Database Design Report XML files into smaller XML files and put them in a GIT repository?
First parameter is 1 to enable XML. Second parameter is folder path, but that is ignored on Windows or macOS Catalina, so please manually make a XML first and point to desktop, so you have always the same folder. Next parameter allows to not open the file and last parameter is to select which files to use for DDR.
Once you have a XML, you may want to split it to put it in version tracking. We got a sample script for next plugin for you. We use Text.ReadTextFile to read the XML file, then use XML.SubTree to get the XML. We loop over all the XML nodes with XML.NodeNames, use XML.SubTree again to get the part and write it to a new XML file. This gives you all the XML files on the top level on the right picture.
Next we did walk over layouts, scripts, tables and themes to write individual files for each item. This includes calling a script for each type to walk over the nodes and write them in files. If there is a group, we can create a folder and call the script again with output going to the new folder. To pass arguments we use JSON to pass XML block and path.
Once you regularly start to write those XML files automatically for all your databases into folders and check them in to GIT or any other version tracking, you can keep track of changes on the databases over times.
The file Split DDR.fmp12 will be included with next 10.4pr1 in a few days. Please do not hesitate to contact us with your questions.
Please use option on connection to point to the libpq.dylib for MacOS or libpq.dll for Windows.
You can just include the dylibs/DLLs in same folder as the application and point to them. For macOS you may need to code sign for redistribution as we just signed it with our code signature. The macOS libraries are changed to look for the crypto and ssl libraries in same folder as libpq.dylib file.
First the version distribution for FileMaker Server. As this data is gathered from version numbers included with our license checks, this does exclude Site and ProDeveloper licenses. Some servers may have a firewall configured to disallow the plugin from connecting to our server. But the sample we have here is still quite representative. There is some fluctuation in the data, so watch the trends and not the individual months.
As you first notice, the diagram always looks this way over the years. New versions are added on the top and crush the older versions down as servers get upgraded. Version 17 used about a year to get to 25%, but version 18 managed that in about 6 month. In a few month 18 and 19 will be the majority.
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Nickenich, Germany - (July 21st, 2020) -- MonkeyBread Software today is pleased to announce MBS FileMaker Plugin 10.3 for macOS, iOS, Linux and Windows, the latest update to their product that is easily the most powerful plugin currently available for FileMaker Pro. As the leading database management solution for Windows, macOS, iOS and the web, the FileMaker Pro Integrated Development Environment supports a plugin architecture that can easily extend the feature set of the application. MBS FileMaker Plugin 10.3 has been updated and now includes over 6200 different functions, and the versatile plugin has gained more new functions:
As Apple announced their move to Apple Silicon processors, we are already working on an update to our plugin to support it. For now we already defined function SystemInfo.isBigSur to return whether the newer macOS version 11.0 is running. The SystemInfo.isARM function returns 1 if you run on an ARM based CPU and this currently returns 1 on iOS, but will in future return 1 if FileMaker runs on newer Mac hardware with Apple Silicon. And the function SystemInfo.isTranslated will tell your solution whether it runs Intel code on Apple Silicon in emulation.
To share files, images, links, text or URLs on macOS, you can now show a standard menu from macOS to pick a service to share. In a script you can pick the service and provide additional parameters. This includes passing subject and recipients for email and chat messages. Beside a few standard targets like Airdrop, Apple Mail, Photos and iMessage, you can install various third-party software to use their sharing services.
With WebView.Create and WebView.CreateWithControl you can create a custom web viewer. For MacOS you can choose between WebKit 1.x and 2.x. For iOS you always get WebKit 2.x and for Windows the Internet Explorer engine. As our web viewer is independent of FileMaker's layout engine, you can place it on top of other controls and it stays visible without reloading when switching between different records.
With our new CLibrary functions you can load shared libraries written in C/C++ and list their functions. You pick a function and use the CFunction functions to prepare a call and then run the function. Parameters are automatically converted to the right datatypes and the result converted to a value for FileMaker. This function allows to directly call various functions of the OS directly as well as device SDKs with their interface libraries.
Our Audit functions got a rewrite using SQL parameters internally. This allows us to support Emojis in the logged text. The plugin can now monitor repeated fields for changes. If needed you can disable that with Audit.SetIgnoreRepetitions function.
The CURL functions can now pass SSL certificates via fields instead of referencing files. We rewrote CURL.UseSystemCertificates function to work better on newer macOS versions.
For Windows we added support to load DebugBar into a Webviewer. This is a third-party add-on for Internet Explorer to inspect the DOM tree, run JavaScript and see CSS properties. Use our WebView.ShowDebugBar function to load DebugBar and use it in FileMaker. We improved DragDrop functions to better accept picture data on Windows. For the Shell functions, you can use Shell.SetBufferSize to set the buffer size for capturing output of the command line tool.
On macOS press Command-Shift-F to directly jump to FileMaker's search field to find scripts in Script Workspace. Use Command-F for our script search field. When you copy a script text, we add the script name as comment on top. In the data viewer, set focus to the list and press Command-Option-g to hide global variables, press Command-Option-F to hide fields or press Command-F for the find bar.
We added Base64URL as an option to various hash and encryption functions. With the improved RSA.Sign you can do JWT RS256 signatures.
We added named color and alpha support on macOS for ColorPanel functions, upgraded Font.Activate for newer macOS versions, Java.DefineClass and Java.FindClass functions for Java, a new JSON.ToXML function to convert JSON to XML and we have improvements for LDAP functions using JSON to pass binary data.
Finally we update CURL library to version 7.71.1, DynaPDF to 4.0.40.116, LCMS to 2.11, LibXL to 3.9.1, SQLAPI to 5.1, SQLite to 3.32.0 and Xcode to version 11.5.
This year we have no physical booth for 
New in this prerelease of version 10.4 of the MBS FileMaker Plugin:
New in this prerelease of the 20.4 plugins:
Did you know you can use 
