Links from documentation to blog entries

This blog is running for for over 10 years already. We have a ton of articles here and now we link them to our plugin documentation, FileMaker and Xojo.

In the documentation, when you find a function or class, which has been mentioned in an article, the maximum 10 newest articles will be listed for you to jump right into the blog and read it.

Earlier this year we got the links to CURL documentation, DynaPDF documentation and all our example projects into the documentation.

And with a documentation browsing tool like Dash, you would even find the blog entries there.

For dash documentation we added Interfaces and Plugin parts to the index.
Get the dash docset here for FileMaker and here for Xojo.

Cleanup your C code for MacOS and remove FSCreateFileUnicode

This is a blog article to remind everyone writing application in C to no longer use FSCreateFileUnicode function because it is very slow on APFS in our tests.

Speed tests show a 50 times slower result with APFS and FSCreateFileUnicode function:

Time needed for NSData writeToURL: 0.350506
Time needed for fopen & fwrite: 0.218125
Time needed for FSCreateFileUnicode: 11.721211

each for 1000 files to be created & written in a Xcode project.

For creating the file (not opening and writing!), you get a 11 second wait for 1000 files. Using fopen, the standard C library, you get a much better performance.

For Xojo, it looks like they use FSCreateFileUnicode for TextOutputStream and BinaryStream classes. We got one project run in 5 minutes instead of 2h by just changing the code to write output files. This tool writes something like 100000 files in a run and heavily benefits from any optimization. Reported as feedback case 54276.

By the way our LargeBinaryStreamMBS class in MBS Xojo Util Plugin still uses the old APIs, too. We need it mainly to read/write resource forks on Mac, but as that is going away, it may be good to deprecate that in favor of an optimized BinaryStream from Xojo in a future release?

The problem seems in Apple's implementation to emulate older and deprecated FSCreateFileUnicode with the newer Apple File System. For years they told us to move away from FSRef and really it is time to move. I also reported this to Apple (case 46302303) to let them know that it's slow than they can help to keep old applications performance well by improving it.

MBS FileMaker Plugin 8.5 - More than 5500 Functions In One Plugin

Nickenich, Germany - (November 27th, 2018) -- MonkeyBread Software today is pleased to announce MBS FileMaker Plugin 8.5 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 8.5 has been updated and now includes over 5500 different functions, and the versatile plugin has gained more new functions:

Our SSH functions got a new tunnel feature. Beside file transfers over SSH (SFTP), running remote shell commands on another computer via SSH, we now finally got a tunnel feature. You can tunnel for example a MySQL database connection through the SSH tunnel to reach a database server in the data center, which is not available directly via the internet.

New smartcard functions for APDU protocol allow you to read data from various smart cards. This includes reading swiss health insurance cards, belgian identity cards and many more.

Our new Text.MergeFields function can merge field values, variables and evaluate expressions to fill values into a text.

For MacOS we got a new function to remember column widths in the dialog for custom functions. Our preferences dialog got new checkmarks to enable/disable this feature. File dialogs for MacOS can now operate as sheets with script trigger when done to process files selected. For all lists shown in FileMaker, you can click on them to set focus, press command-option-C to copy the content of the table. With Command-+ or - you can zoom in the lists, which is great for presentations.

To better track errors returned by MBS plugin calls, you can use our Plugin.SetErrorScriptTrigger function. When a plugin function returns an error, we will schedule a script trigger to report the error with a JSON object. The JSON contains details like script name, MBS call with parameters, result and some more details.

A couple of functions got ported for more platforms. The Windows.Scrollbar functions now work for MacOS, iOS and Windows. The WebView.Screenshot and Window.Screenshot got ported to iOS. We implemented Files.GetNodeID and Files.GetPathFromNodeID for WIndows. And with WebView.Scrollbar functions you can scroll a web viewer in FileMaker 16 with MacOS and iOS.

We updated the Amazon S3 example to do upload, download, delete and listing for files in the buckets. FTP file listings can now be returned as JSON to process easier. Webview.ClearBrowserSession function allows you to end browser session for Windows and clear session cookies.

As we now build the plugins with Xcode 10.1 for 64-bit and Xcode 9.4 for 32-bit, we moved the minimum MacOS version required up to MacOS 10.9.

Finally we upgraded CURL to version 7.62.0, DynaPDF to version 4.0.25.63, OpenSSL to version 1.1.1 for all targets, SQLite to version 3.25.2, SQLAPI library to version 4.2.4 beta 2, and zlib to version 1.2.11.

See release notes for a complete list of changes.

MonkeyBread Software Releases the MBS Xojo Plugins in version 18.5

Nickenich, Germany - (November 27th, 2018) -- MonkeyBread Software today is pleased to announce MBS Xojo Plugins 18.5 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 18.5 have been updated and now includes over 2500 classes and 63000 documented features, and the versatile plugins have gained more new functions:

This version provides new classes for SmartCards. The new CryptoTokenKit plugin part wraps the framework from Apple to handle smart cards on Mac OS for 64-bit applications. New functions for APDU protocol allow you to read data from various smart cards. This includes reading Swiss health insurance cards, Belgian identity cards and many more. The same functions got added to SmartCardMBS class to do the same cross platform for Mac and Windows with the PCSC libraries.

The ChartDirectory library got updated to version 6.3 with resource loading from memory as well as a lot of bug fixes. We improved our Xojo plugin to better handle HiDPI and return pictures with proper resolution setting.

For MacOS we have new NSTextFinderMBS class and related classes to show search panel. This works for NSTextViewMBS based controls and standard Xojo textarea controls. In both you can show the user search and replace controls like in TextEdit application.

As we now build the plugins with Xcode 10.1 for 64-bit and Xcode 9.4 for 32-bit, we moved the minimum MacOS version required up to MacOS 10.9.

For Windows, we got a few enhancements: New date properties help you in the WindowsFileInfoMBS class. For HTMLViewer control, you can now end browser session with IEClearBrowserSessionMBS and clear session cookies. MAPI Email sending got improved to work better.

The new SGLockMBS module allows you to use dongles from SG Intec. The new KeychainAccessControlMBS class helps with TouchID on MacOS, InstallNSAccessibilityPatchMBS fixes a crash with NSAccessibility and menu classes in Xojo, we got a new CURLSURLMBS class for URL parsing and CIFilter classes updated for MacOS 10.14 Mojave.

Finally we updated CURL to version 7.62.0, DynaPDF to version 4.0.25.63, OpenSSL to version 1.1.1 for all targets, SQLite to version 3.25.2, SQLAPI library to version 4.2.4 beta 2, LibXL 3.8.3, and zlib to version 1.2.11.

See release notes for a complete list of changes.

Neues MBS FileMaker Plugin 8.5 - Über 5500 Funktionen in einem Plugin

27. November 2018 - Monkeybread Software veröffentlicht heute das MBS Plugin für FileMaker in Version 8.5, mit inzwischen über 5500 Funktionen eines der größten FileMaker Plugins überhaupt. Hier einige der Neuerungen:

Unsere SSH Funktionen haben jetzt eine neue Tunnel Funktion. Neben Dateitransfers via SSH (SFTP) und dem Ausführen von Shell Befehlen auf einem entfernten Computer via SSH haben wir jetzt SSH Tunnels eingebaut. Sie können beispielsweise einen Tunnel aufbauen ins Rechenzentrum und eine MySQL Datenbankverbindung durch leiten, wenn der MySQL Server nicht direkt über das Internet erreichbar ist.

Neue SmartCard Funktionen für das APDU Protokol erlauben Ihnen Daten von verschiedenen SmartCards zu lesen. Das funktioniert unter anderem mit den Schweizer Krankenversicherungskarten und den Belgischen Personalausweisen.

Unsere neue Text.MergeFields Funktion kann Platzhalter im Text durch Werte ersetzen. Dabei können Sie Feldwerte, Variablen und sogar Formeln verwenden.

Für MacOS merkt sich das Plugin jetzt die Spaltenbreite für den Eigene Funktionen Dialog. Unser Voreinstellungsdialog hat für diese Möglichkeit und andere Funktionen neue Häkchen bekommen zum Ein- und Ausschalten. Dateidialoge können bei MacOS asynchron laufen und später ein Skript triggern mit dem Ergebnis. Für alle Listen in FileMaker selber bietet das Plugin die Möglichkeit den Inhalt mit Befehl-Alt-C in die Zwischenablage zu kopieren. Mit Befehl-+ oder - können Sie in den Listen die Ansicht vergrößern bzw. verkleinern, ideal für Präsentationen.

Mit der neuen Funktion Plugin.SetErrorScriptTrigger können Sie Fehler bei Pluginaufrufen leichter mitschreiben. Sollte ein Pluginaufruf einen Fehler melden, wird ein voreingestelltes Skript getriggert mit einem JSON Block an Informationen. Darunter dann der Name vom Skript, welche Funktion mit welchen Parametern aufgerufen wurde und welche Fehlermeldung zurück kam. So können Sie Fehler aufzeichnen mit Kontextinformationen.

Einige Funktionen sind jetzt auf anderen Platformen verfügbar. Die Windows.Scrollbar Funktion unterstützt nun MacOS, iOS und Windows. Die WebView.Screenshot und Window.Screenshot Funktionen unterstützen zusätzlich iOS. Die Funktionen Files.GetNodeID und Files.GetPathFromNodeID laufen jetzt bei Windows. Und die WebView.Scrollbar Funktion scrollt bei FileMaker 16 mit MacOS und iOS.

Das Amazon S3 Beispiel kann Dateien hoch- bzw. runter laden, löschen oder die Dateien auflisten. FTP Dateilisten gibt es jetzt als JSON Block zum Parsen. Die Webview.ClearBrowserSession Funktion erlaubt Ihnen eine Browser Session für Windows zu beenden und das löscht die Session Cookies.

Da wir nun die Plugins mit Xcode 10.1 für 64-bit und Xcode 9.4 für 32-bit bauen, haben wir die minimale MacOS Version auf 10.9 gesetzt.

Außerdem haben wir noch die CURL Bibliothek aktualisiert auf Version 7.62.0, DynaPDF auf Version 4.0.25.63, OpenSSL auf Version 1.1.1 für alle Platformen, SQLAPI library auf Version 4.2.4 beta 2, SQLite auf Version 3.25.2 und zlib auf Version 1.2.11.

Alle Änderungen in den Release Notes.

MBS Workshop @ Denkform

In Zusammenarbeit mit der DenkForm GmbH bieten wir eine Schulung zum MBS Plugin an. Am 6. Dezember 2018 (auch 7. März 2019) können Sie in Wiesbaden-Igstadt an einer eintägigen Schulung teilnehmen. Lernen Sie die über 5500 Funktionen einmal näher kennen und wie Sie sie effektiv einsetzen. Sammeln Sie Ideen und verbessern Sie ihre FileMaker Lösungen durch den Einsatz unseres Plugins.

Das Monkeybread Software Plugin für FileMaker stellt eine vielseitige Erweiterung der eigenen Datenbank dar. Der Kurs bietet nicht nur einen tiefgreifenden Überblick in die Benutzung und Entwicklung, sondern bietet auch die Chance das Plugin günstiger zu erstehen.
  • Einführung in das MBS Plugin
  • Überblick über die Funktionsbereiche
  • Neues im MBS Plugin dieses Jahr und in der dann aktuellen Version 8.5
  • Rundgang durch ausgewählte Beispiele
  • Gemeinsames Implementieren von Plugin Funktionen in eine Datenbank:
  • Upload/Download mit CURL auf einen HTTP/FTP Server
  • Ausfüllen eines Formulares auf einer Webseite
  • Bilder bearbeiten
  • PDF Verarbeitung
  • Druckerfunktionen
  • Adressbuch und Kontakte abfragen bei Mac OS X.
  • Fragen und Antworten
Die Teilnahme kostet 99 Euro inkl. MWSt. und Verpflegung. Trainer ist der Plugin Entwickler und Monkeybread Software Geschäftsführer Christian Schmitz persönlich.

Details und Anmeldung bei der Denkform.

Im Anschluss besteht die Möglichkeit zum FileMaker Rhein-Main Stammtisch zu kommen. Bei einem leckeren Abendessen im Restaurant Bella Bari in der Nähe der Denkform können Sie sich mit anderen FileMaker Entwicklern aus der Gegend austauschen.

Passing an UUID to each app download

There is a lovely trick in GateKeeper and code signing on Mac to pass through an identifier with the download of an application from your website. So for each download, you can associate an UUID with the download, which the app can read after unpacking. You know the UUID on the website, so you can put it in a database and link it to the account of the current user. This way when the app runs within minutes after download, you can link the application to the account without having the user login in the application. You may have seen that with a couple of apps you downloaded before for meetings.

The extended attribute with the UUID is named com.apple.application-instance and put into the application. You read it in Xojo with our ExtendedAttributesMBS.GetRawAttribute plugin function. When you sign the app, you zip the app to an archive. Next you add an "._name.app" file to the archive with the name of your app containing the encoded metadata with extended attributes. We got such a file with zipping an application with the extended attribute using ditto command line tool. Than we extracted the metadata file from the archive without applying it. Than we add this file now with the application zip without compression, so one dummy UUID is there without compressing. On the website, you would have a php script to replace the given UUID in the zip archive with whatever UUID you need for the user.

In short the idea is to have the zip on the server. When someone loads it, you switch the UUID to the new one. Than you let the user download, run the app within minutes and auto login them for their account. A seamless experience for the user!

And the great thing: Changing the UUID in com.apple.application-instance extended attribute will not break the code signing as you can read in TN2206.

MBS Xojo Plugins, version 18.5pr9

New in this prerelease of the 18.5 plugins:
  • Fixed bug with SQLAPI on finding the MySQL libraries.
  • Fixed problem with ? not encoded for email subject line.
Download: monkeybreadsoftware.com/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/.
Or ask us to be added to our shared Dropbox folder.

MBS FileMaker Plugin, version 8.5pr9

New in this prerelease of version 8.5 of the MBS FileMaker Plugin: Download at monkeybreadsoftware.de/filemaker/files/Prerelease/ or ask for being added to the dropbox shared folder.

Xojo Black Friday Offers

After Thanks Giving in the USA a lot of companies do give some discounts. So currently you can benefit from this Xojo related offers:
  • Save 20% on Xojo licenses in Xojo Store
  • Save 20% on XDC tickets ($799 instead if $999)
  • Save 20% on XDC Videos
  • Save 20% on all third party items in Xojo Store.
  • Save 20% on all MBS Plugins on our website
  • Save 20% on all Xojo Developer Magazine subscriptions and back issues with coupon CYBERMONDAY.
  • Save 20% on all digital books, articles, tutorials at XDevLibrary with coupon CYBERMONDAY.
  • Save 30% on all products from aprendexojo.com with coupon code BF2019.
  • Save 27% on StackView and CSTrueColors from Ulrich Bogun. See forum
  • Save $50 on piDogScrollingCanvas at pidog.com
All savings should be available from Friday to Monday.

We encourage every Xojo developer to add another year to their license, even if it expires in the future.

Survey about European MBS Xojo Conferences 2019

We are checking options for another Xojo related conference in 2019.

Again we look for a place in Germany, but this time we consider whether we go to Cologne instead of Koblenz. Cologne could be a city where people may go for additional days for some sight seeing and entertainment. Cologne will definitive be more expensive than Koblenz, and maybe same as Munich. But if we go there, we need to make that decision soon to reserve the space in advance to get good rates.

Date could be somewhere in October 2019 as spring is taken by Xojo Inc. for their Xojo Developer Conference in May 2019.

If you have time, please fill this survey with just 10 questions. Please leave name/email for further questions. For additional comments, please email us or comment here. Please don't do the survey twice. Thanks.

MBS Xojo Plugins, version 18.5pr8

New in this prerelease of the 18.5 plugins: Download: monkeybreadsoftware.com/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/.
Or ask us to be added to our shared Dropbox folder.

MBS FileMaker Plugin, version 8.5pr8

New in this prerelease of version 8.5 of the MBS FileMaker Plugin:
  • Changed GraphicsMagick functions to pass file name from container to image when reading, so we can save again with same name in output container value.
  • Updated DynaPDF to version 4.0.25.63.
  • DynaPDF now uses FreeType library and dropped Mac 32-bit target. We still include latest 32-bit dynapdf library for your convenience, but that is now deprecated.
  • Improved ImageCapture.RequestSelectFunctionalUnit to better track which unit is selected and skip the request if the device is already selected.
  • Fixed bug in Font.CalculateTextWidth with loading font.
  • Changed GMImage.NewImagesFromFile to reject .PDF file as GraphicsMagick doesn't really read PDF files.
  • Added timeouts for ImageCapture functions so the plugin doesn't wait endless. 30s for opening session, 20s for closing, 30s to select unit, 60s to scan.
  • Changed ImageCapture.RequestSelectFunctionalUnit to return error directly if you request an unavailable functional unit.
Download at monkeybreadsoftware.de/filemaker/files/Prerelease/ or ask for being added to the dropbox shared folder.

Xojo Black Friday Sale!

Xojo Inc. runs a sale for Black Friday with 20% off:

The biggest sale of the year for developers!
Everything Xojo is 20% off for one weekend only! That means new licenses, renewals and upgrades are all 20% off this Friday, November 23rd through Monday, November 26th. Also, all 3rd party products and Xojo Developer Conference videos are 20% off! No coupon required.

Save on new licenses, renewals and upgrades.
Xojo licenses are available in the following options:

  • Xojo Pro - Get one license for Desktop, Web, iOS, Raspberry Pi and Android (in development - read an update), plus many extras like priority support and beta access. Also, your Xojo Pro license will work on up to 3 of your own machines.
  • Xojo Desktop - Develop and build apps for macOS, Windows and Linux.
  • Xojo Web - Build web apps that can run on Linux, Windows or macOS servers and support Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer.
  • Xojo iOS - Create native iPad and iPhone apps.
  • Xojo Raspberry Pi Desktop - Build Linux/Pi-native desktop apps you can distribute to others.
Interested in upgrading to Xojo Pro?
You can check your upgrade price here and come back during the sale to save an additional 20%. Upgrades from Xojo Lite to full Desktop are available by contacting Customer service at hello@xojo.com.

Tell Your Friends
Help spread the word about Xojo - tell your friends about this sweet deal to get them started with Xojo. Xojo comes with a 90-day money back guarantee.

XDC 2019 Special Offer
We have already reached the end of our early bird pricing, but we will still offer the special $799 discounted price during this sale! Save $200 though Cyber Monday.

Auto Renew
If your license is set to auto-renew during the sale, you don't need to do anything. Your auto-renewal will automatically process with the Black Friday discount.

*Xojo Cloud is not included in the sale.

If you prefer buying directly from us, please use coupon code ... in the webshop to get the same 20% discount. If your license is up to date, you can still buy an update to add a year of maintenance.

Windows on ARM in 64-bit

With Visual Studio 15.9, Microsoft now supports ARM64 processor architecture as target for Windows software. So Windows now runs currently on 4 architectures: x86 for Intel 32-bit, x64 for Intel 64-bit, ARM in 32-bit and 64-bit. In history Windows NT also run on IA-64, MIPS, Alpha, PowerPC, PC-98 before, so they keep it quite cross platform viable.

Now the big question is whether Xojo Inc. and/or FileMaker Inc. will support the new architecture anytime soon. But if they would, we would of course try to build the plugins for the new platform.

See blog entry from Microsoft.

MBS Xojo Training

Looking back this year we had two group trainings this year for Xojo and seven individual trainings. Alone this November I visited two companies to train them on Xojo. At the MBS Xojo Conference in Munich, Ulrich Bogun did the beginner training, so I could concentrate on the advanced training. If you are looking for training here in Germany, you could ask Ulrich or me for help. Others developers may be available if you ask on the Xojo forum.

Looking on topics, there may be different cases:
  • Getting started in Xojo, starting with a walk though the IDE and building an example application live in front of audience.
  • Kickstart a project by building a prototype together with me. We setup the basics, do a little part so your developer learns how to do it and than adds more similar pages or windows.
  • We debug your application to try to fix a list of bugs.
  • Reviewing your project for possible problems and security holes and make sure you have less problems in future.
  • Learn from the experts advanced features like declares, delegates or interfaces.
  • Learn what we have available in the plugin toolbox to help your applications.
  • Kick start your project by implementing a new feature based on a plugin where you like to have help from the guy who wrote the plugin.
  • Connect a new device (e.g. USB) to your application by creating the interface via plugin.
  • We may even work on a plugin of your company or in a project add a new function to MBS plugins to help you.
  • Assist a new employee and help them developing in Xojo.
To give a few samples, a company flew me in to review the project for two years to fix possible issues before it went public. Another company invited me and we spoke a whole day about what our plugins can do and they took a lot of notes. Second day we implemented a few of the most wanted features directly into their solution. A few clients came to our office and we started a new web app together and put a first version on the server the very same day. Some projects turned out into bigger consulting projects as I wrote the app for them instead of just training. Other clients turned into regularly booking training and providing a todo list of each meeting, so I come for a visit every few months and we work on a todo list of problems they couldn't solve themselves.

Training is available as one to one or group training. It can be organized in your company, in our office or in some hotel. While I may work via phone & screen sharing for some things, I may often need to connect to a database or physical device, so physical presence is sometimes easier than getting a hole in the firewall.

If you are interested in any of this, please get in touch.

FMnext Experience II in Meilen, Schweiz und MBS Plugin Schulung

Am kommenden Dienstag, den 20. November 2018 veranstaltet die Medio-Ingeno AG einen FileMaker Event in Meilen am Zürichsee:

FMnext Experience II

Zahlreiche FileMaker Vorträge am Abend, Empfang und einem unterhaltsames Special am Ende.
Bitte bald anmelden, denn der Platz is begrenzt. Das Programm startet gegen 17:30 Uhr und der Eintritt kostet 50 CHF.

MBS Plugin Schulung

Wir bieten eine MBS Plugin Schulung für den gleichen Tag um ca. 9 Uhr im gleichen Hotel an. Für unsere Kunden haben wir ein Programm zusammengestellt speziell für die Anforderungen in der Schweiz:
  • MBS Plugin Überblick für 2018.
  • QRCodes für Schweizer Einzahlungsscheine nach ISO 20022.
  • FileMaker Migration Tool
  • MBS Shell Funktionen um das Tool zu automatisieren
  • SmartCards auslesen am Beispiel der Schweizer Krankenversichertenkarte
  • Audit Funktionen
  • Word-Serienbriefe aus FileMaker
  • Fragen & Antworten
Weitere Themenwünsche bitte baldmöglichst an mich schicken.
Kostenbeitrag: 150 CHF inkl. Mittagessen.

Anmeldung FMnext Experience II und Anmeldung für MBS Schulung

Noch wenige Restplätze vorhanden, also bitte schnell noch anmelden, falls es terminlich passt.

SetApp for Xojo Apps

In the last week we made a new Xojo plugin for a client. The plugin allows the integration with the SetApp service. As you may know SetApp allows you to subscribe for $9.99 to a pool of various Mac apps. The money is split each month to the developers based on what percentage of users have the app installed and in use.

When you offer a Mac application though SetApp, you receive your own custom library to link into your app (or a plugin). The library offers functions to report usage, ask user for email and present login or release notes. As the library is different for each vendor, we just build a new plugin for each of them.

If you like to try SetApp as Xojo developer, please visit their developer website.

FileMaker Roadmap for 2019

Did you see the webinars for the roadmap and the updated website?
You can check it here: FileMaker Roadmap and the Video

To give a few comments for the questions I got immediately from a few FileMaker developers:

FileMaker Next

MBS Plugin 9.x will be available at launch next year when the next FileMaker version ships. We will use the new plugin SDK and make a few changes to get the plugin working well in the new version. To ensure the plugin works well, we'll test the beta version of FileMaker. If you see an issue, please report it soon to us.

As FileMaker will probably ship again in mid May, we may have our March release ready for the new version and fix any outstanding problems with our May release a week after FileMaker's release.

Code Signing

MBS Plugin is code signed for a few years now for MacOS and Windows. Occasionally there may have been a beta version without signature, but the release versions should all be signed.

File functions

The new data file functions are certainly welcome in the community, especially as you will be able to use them in FileMaker Go. Still the plugin provides an alternative for reading and writing files with more options and outside a script as the plugin can be used in all calculations.

JavaScript in Webviewer

As you know we have a function WebView.RunJavaScript function in our plugin. We are curious to learn what FileMaker plans for future versions to do similar things in FileMaker directly. This is certainly welcome for Web Direct, where our plugin can't provide that feature. For FileMaker Pro desktop on Windows we wonder if they switch away from Internet Explorer as engine (Webbrowser ActiveX control) and use something like embedded Chromium instead. Another curious thing is how FileMaker Inc. will provide an unified interface for both JavaScript to FileMaker and FileMaker to JavaScript. What we have, can be read in this blog article: FileMaker and WebViewer communication

FileMaker Cloud 2

The new version 2 of FileMaker Cloud may ship with or without plugin support. Not sure if a new plugin SDK will be ready for the release or whether existing plugins can be used there. Once we get a newer SDK, we'll look into how to make plugins there and see what will be possible.

While vs. FM.Loop function

It looks like the product idea for a loop function was welcome both to FMI and to us. We implemented in March 2018 our FM.Loop function. It allows you to have a loop in a calculation counting a variable up or down. The FileMaker version can do a bit more as you can include several commands directly in the function call with square brackets like in a Let function. The plugin interface doesn't allow us to do the same. But we do have a second expression to evaluate which lets you define an exit conditions independent of the counting up or down the variable. While MBS Plugin function returns a list of all the results from the various expression, in FileMaker you collect the values yourself and return them in the result expression. If needed

FileMaker Marketplace

We look forward to add our plugin to the marketplace and encourage our users to add solutions there, which use our plugin. Some clients have integrations ready using MBS Plugin, e.g. for receiving emails in FileMaker and showing them like a mail application.

Thanks FileMaker Inc. for their ongoing investments into FileMaker and the impressive features coming to the platform. Having modules as XML files ready to integrate in solutions with a market place to get them, will bring the platform to a new level. Imaging a world, where a consultant can build a solution for a client by combining several modules from Marketplace and have something ready to use within minutes.

Machine ID

As you may know we offer MachineID function in our SystemInformationMBS module. That ID is a MD5 of some values of the computer like the Mac serial number, Mac model, CPU Brand string and hard disk serial. But that is not very stable as some people may have seen values change. Especially hard disk serial may sometimes be available and other times not.

So we got a better way as a Xojo project. Our new Machine ID example project uses a SQLite database for preferences and to keep a list of configurations. We use the following 10 values for a configuration: MACAddress, MacModel, HardDiscSerial, MacUUID, WinProductKey, ComputerName, CPUBrandString, Platform, PhysicalRAM and ProcessorCount.

The CheckMachineID method checks if the current values for all of them matches an existing configuration. If yes, we have a perfect match. Otherwise if 9 of 10 values match, we add the new configuration to the database. This way we learn all the configuration and user can change RAM or swap hard disk without breaking the licensing. Only if 2 or more values changed, we would ask for license key or activation via web and than store the new configuration.

Download: MachineID.zip
The example will be included in next plugin prerelease. You may want to fine tune this to your needs.

Please provide back feedback and we can update our example.

MBS Xojo Plugins, version 18.5pr7

New in this prerelease of the 18.5 plugins:
  • Added IEClearBrowserSessionMBS global method.
  • Changed how timeout is passed to LDAPMBS.Search function.
  • Updated SQLAPI library to version 4.2.4 beta 1.
  • Changed CDDataSetMBS.setDataSymbol, CDThreeDScatterGroupMBS.setDataSymbol and CDPolarLayerMBS.setDataSymbol to retain the CDDrawAreaMBS object to keep it alive.
  • Changed DecompressZLibMBS to auto detect the size of output data.
  • Bugfixes in ChartDirector 6.3:
    • In contour and surface charts, the color axis is not drawn correctly if smooth coloring is and the number of ticks on the color axis are significantly less than the number color stops. For example, there are only 2 ticks, the color axis will draw itself by using a smooth gradient to vary colors between the two ticks, ignoring the other color stops in between.
    • In contour and surface charts, if the color axis is of logarithmic scale, and smooth coloring is used, the colors are still interpolated using linear scale. As a result, the coloring may look good.
    • For the color axis, if auto-scaling is used, the setColorScale always results in linear scale, even if setLogScale has already been called for the color axis.
    • Vector layer crashes if setArrowHead(0) is called.
    • In a vector layer, the setLineWidth has no effect if setArrowStem is used.
    • In a vector layer, the stem is visible even if the line width is 0.
    • In a vector chart, the legend icon disappear if the head size is 0 (that is, the vector chart shows stems).
    • In a vector chart, the image map is not natural if the stem width is thicker than the arrow head.
    • FinanceChart can produce too many x-axis labels in some cases.
    • ChartDirector can crash if the SurfaceChart has no data
    • DrawArea.setOutputOptions has no effect for SVG.
    • ArrowShape does not work in CDML <*IMG*>.
Download: monkeybreadsoftware.com/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/.
Or ask us to be added to our shared Dropbox folder.

MBS FileMaker Plugin, version 8.5pr7

New in this prerelease of version 8.5 of the MBS FileMaker Plugin: Download at monkeybreadsoftware.de/filemaker/files/Prerelease/ or ask for being added to the dropbox shared folder.

Version number reported it 8.5.04, sorry.

Xojo Script Warning Enumeration

One of our apps uses XojoScript to compile and run scripts on the fly. We log warnings and errors. There is a list of all warnings in Xojo documentation. Today I had to figure out which warning is a specific number, so I started building a table. Here it is:
XojoScript EnumerationDescriptionValue
ConversionPrecisionConverting from %OriginalType to %NewType causes a possible loss of precision, which can lead to unexpected results.5
ConversionSignConverting from %OriginalType to %NewType causes the sign information to be lost, which can lead to unexpected results.6
CustomA custom warning displayed with Pragma Warning.8
Deprecated%Name is deprecated.1
DeprecatedWithReplacement%Name is deprecated.  You should use %Replacement instead.2
FloatingPointComparisonPerforming a %Operator comparison on floating-point values can yield unexpected results due to their inexact binary representation.7
NameLookupChangeBefore 2014r3, this would have referred to the %OldPath but now it refers to the %NewPath.14
OldStyleConstructorOld-style constructor methods are no longer supported.  You should use "Constructor" instead.3
ShadowedConstantThis constant shadows one already defined by %Superclass.13
ShadowedPropertyThis property shadows one already defined by %Superclass.12
UnknownPragmaWarningUnknown pragma name.4
UnusedEventParameter%Name is an unused event parameter.11
UnusedLocal%Name is an unused local variable.9
UnusedMethodParameter%Name is an unused method parameter.10

Welcome Stefanie

Monkeybread Software proudly presents our new junior software developer Stefanie Juchmes. Last month Stefanie finished here Bachelor of Science in Informatics. And she accepted our employment contract, so 1st January she will start at Monkeybread Software.

We are looking forward to a lot of new content from here including tutorials, examples, videos and presentations related to our plugins. And as she knows some C++, we may even involve here in some plugin programming. But first, I've given her my library of books about FileMaker and Xojo to read.

You may have seen Stefanie at a few conferences this year and we may bring here to a few more conferences in 2019 so she can meet our clients.

Bugs fixed in ChartDirector 6.3

With MBS Xojo Plugins 18.5 we include the new ChartDirector 6.3 version for all platforms. The main new feature are embedded resources:

ChartDirector can use images for the chart background, pattern colors, scatter symbols, CDML icons, … In previous versions of ChartDirector, these images have to be provided using file system paths. ChartDirector 6.3 allows these images to be embedded in executables as resources, and uses "resource paths" to access them. This eliminates the need to redistribute image files with the executable. Apart from images, font files can also be embedded as resources.

Beside the new resources functions, it also includes the following bug fixes:
  • In contour and surface charts, the color axis is not drawn correctly if smooth coloring is and the number of ticks on the color axis are significantly less than the number color stops. For example, there are only 2 ticks, the color axis will draw itself by using a smooth gradient to vary colors between the two ticks, ignoring the other color stops in between.
  • In contour and surface charts, if the color axis is of logarithmic scale, and smooth coloring is used, the colors are still interpolated using linear scale. As a result, the coloring may look good.
  • For the color axis, if auto-scaling is used, the setColorScale always results in linear scale, even if setLogScale has already been called for the color axis.
  • Vector layer crashes if setArrowHead(0) is called.
  • In a vector layer, the setLineWidth has no effect if setArrowStem is used.
  • In a vector layer, the stem is visible even if the line width is 0.
  • In a vector chart, the legend icon disappear if the head size is 0 (that is, the vector chart shows stems).
  • In a vector chart, the image map is not natural if the stem width is thicker than the arrow head.
  • FinanceChart can produce too many x-axis labels in some cases.
  • ChartDirector can crash if the SurfaceChart has no data
  • DrawArea.setOutputOptions has no effect for SVG.
  • ArrowShape does not work in CDML <*IMG*>.
The new version can be tested now with 18.5pr6 or newer.

MBS Plugin @ FileMaker Conference in UK

ThumbnailWe got a new video for you:

MBS Plugin @ FileMaker Conference 2018
Presentation from FileMaker DevCon UK.

An overview of what changed in our MBS FileMaker Plugin since the last conferences. Optionally watch the DevCon 2018 video first.

File dialogs with sheets for FileMaker

A client asked for using file dialogs as sheets, a Mac feature to show a dialog attached to a parent window. Once the user made a choice, we trigger a script of your choice and allow you to check the list of files selected.



Before showing the sheet, please call FileDialog.SetSheetScriptTrigger to set script trigger and use FileDialog.SetUseSheet function to enable sheets. Be aware that the script must be different. The first script shows the sheet and exits. Later another script runs and processes results as the process is asynchronously.

New plugin with updated example database is comming soon.

Correct Image Orientation in FileMaker

Sometimes you may see pictures in FileMaker with wrong orientation. But in your image editing application, the orientation is correct. So you may wonder what is going on?
 
Image files like JPEG, PNG and TIFF have all metadata which describes the orienation of the image in 8 different ways. So the pixels in the picture come in the orientation they are read from the sensor chip. But you may hold your camera rotated, so the pixels flow into the file and the camera marks the image to be taken rotated and writes that in metadata. 

Sadly not all applications handle this and show the image in the right orienation. For all 8 ways, we change the orientation to always be in mode 1 and save the image with the new orientation, so all applications will show the image correctly: 
 

# load image

Set Variable [ $Image ; Value: MBS( "GMImage.NewFromContainer"; Correct Image Orientation::Input ) ] 

If [ MBS("IsError") = 0 ] 

Set Variable [ $orientation ; Value: MBS( "GMImage.GetOrientation"; $Image ) ] 

If [ $orientation > 0 ] 

If [ $orientation = 1 ] 

# TopLeftOrientation = 1, (Line direction: Left to right, Frame Direction: Top to bottom) 

# nothing to do

Else If [ $orientation = 2 ] 

# TopRightOrientation = 2, (Line direction: Right to left, Frame Direction: Top to bottom) 

# Flip horizontally

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "GMImage.Flop"; $Image ) ] 

Else If [ $orientation = 3 ] 

# BottomRightOrientation = 3, (Line direction: Right to left, Frame Direction: Bottom to top) 

# Rotate 180°

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "GMImage.Rotate"; $Image; 180 ) ] 

Else If [ $orientation = 4 ] 

# BottomLeftOrientation = 4, (Line direction: Left to right, Frame Direction: Bottom to top) 

# Flip vertically

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "GMImage.Flip"; $Image ) ] 

Else If [ $orientation = 5 ] 

# LeftTopOrientation = 5, (Line direction: Top to bottom, Frame Direction: Left to right) 

# Rotate 90° and flip horizontally

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "GMImage.Rotate"; $Image; 90 ) ] 

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "GMImage.Flop"; $Image ) ] 

Else If [ $orientation = 6 ] 

# RightTopOrientation = 6, (Line direction: Top to bottom, Frame Direction: Right to left) 

# Rotate 90° 

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "GMImage.Rotate"; $Image; 90 ) ] 

Else If [ $orientation = 7 ] 

# RightBottomOrientation = 7, (Line direction: Bottom to top, Frame Direction: Right to left) 

# Rotate -90° and flip horizontally

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "GMImage.Rotate"; $Image; -90 ) ] 

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "GMImage.Flop"; $Image ) ] 

Else If [ $orientation = 8 ] 

# LeftBottomOrientation = 8 (Line direction: Bottom to top, Frame Direction: Left to right) 

# Rotate -90° 

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "GMImage.Rotate"; $Image; -90 ) ] 

End If

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "GMImage.SetOrientation"; $Image; 1 ) ] 

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "GMImage.SetEXIFOrientation"; $Image; 1 ) ] 

End If

#  Write back to new field

Set Field [ Correct Image Orientation::Output ; MBS( "GMImage.WriteToJPEGContainer"; $Image; GetAsText(Correct Image Orientation::Input)) ] 

# free memory

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "GMImage.Destroy"; $Image) ] 

End If

 
The example database will be included in future plugin releases.

PS: Since version 9.0 we got the GMImage.AutoOrient function, which does this automatically for you.


MBS FileMaker Plugin, version 8.5pr6

New in this prerelease of version 8.5 of the MBS FileMaker Plugin:
  • Fixed edge case for filename in CURL.GetResultAsContainer function.
  • Improve DynaPDF.Initialize to better reject invalid license keys.
  • Updated to Xcode 10.1.
  • Added a lot of GameKit functions to work with Game Center on Mac and iOS.
  • Changed SendMail functions to no longer turn TO to CC if you have several TOs.
Download at monkeybreadsoftware.de/filemaker/files/Prerelease/ or ask for being added to the dropbox shared folder.

Version number reported it 8.5.04, sorry.

MBS Xojo Plugins, version 18.5pr6

New in this prerelease of the 18.4 plugins: Download: monkeybreadsoftware.com/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/.
Or ask us to be added to our shared Dropbox folder.

Fix for missing accessibilityIsAttributeSettable function

For one of our Xojo app, we got crash reports for missing accessibilityIsAttributeSettable function in various classes:

-[NSMenuItem accessibilityIsAttributeSettable:]: unrecognized selector sent to instance 0x600001ffea00
Please report to the application developer.

0 CoreFoundation 0x00007fff3cc54fa5 __exceptionPreprocess + 256
1 libobjc.A.dylib 0x00007fff68d4befb objc_exception_throw + 48
2 CoreFoundation 0x00007fff3ccd2c8d -[NSObject(NSObject) __retain_OA] + 0
3 CoreFoundation 0x00007fff3cbf65de ___forwarding___ + 1468
4 CoreFoundation 0x00007fff3cbf5f98 _CF_forwarding_prep_0 + 120
5 AppKit 0x00007fff3a7aea33 NSAccessibilityPerformEntryPointBOOL.llvm.11937614488442194757 + 16
6 AppKit 0x00007fff3a545d63 NSAccessibilityEntryPointIsAttributeSettable + 86
7 AppKit 0x00007fff3a61a460 -[NSCarbonMenuImpl _carbonIsAccessibleAttributeSettableEvent:handlerCallRef:axElement:] + 185
8 AppKit 0x00007fff3a409778 NSSLMMenuEventHandler + 1009
9 HIToolbox 0x00007fff3be26b79 _ZL23DispatchEventToHandlersP14EventTargetRecP14OpaqueEventRefP14HandlerCallRec + 1502

The name of the class and functions related in the stack trace changes, but the problem is always the same. Same function in Apples framework wants to call deprecated accessibilityIsAttributeSettable function, but that one is no longer implemented in Apple's own classes. It's a code path which doesn't happen for all users, so only a few get the crash and maybe this is related to some accessibility setting.

Anyway, via a new InstallNSAccessibilityPatchMBS function in our plugin, we'll patch it and install a accessibilityIsAttributeSettable function to just return false every time. If the class has such a method, the class method is preferred, but we install a fallback to avoid the crash.

So when you see such a crash, you can soon try our MBS Xojo Plugins in version 18.5 and call InstallNSAccessibilityPatchMBS method on start of the application.

Write formatted text with DynaPDF

As you may know you can use MBS Plugins with Xojo and FileMaker to write PDFs with DynaPDF functions. The WriteFText functions accept formatting commands in the text, so you can create various formats. We got a few examples in the following Xojo source code:
  • Change text rise and size to get footnote references
  • Change font to get e.g. a bold font
  • Change color
  • Create lists with hierarchies, numbered entries or multiline entries.
Check the sample code here:

// set font call pdf.SetFont "Helvetica", 0, 12.0, true, pdf.kcpUnicode dim y as Double = 50 // change font size and raise for foot note references text = "\FS[12]Hello World\FS[6]\TR[6]123\TR[0]\FS[12] Just a test." call pdf.WriteFTextEx(50, y, 200, -1, pdf.ktaLeft, text) y = y + 20 // change font to get bold text = "\FT[Helvetica]Hello \FT[Helvetica-Bold]World \FT[Helvetica]everyone." call pdf.WriteFTextEx(50, y, 200, -1, pdf.ktaLeft, text) y = y + 20 // change color in the text text = _   "\FC[" + str(DynaPDFMBS.RGB(255, 0, 0)) + "]Red "+_   "\FC[" + str(DynaPDFMBS.RGB(0, 255, 0)) + "]Green "+_   "\FC[" + str(DynaPDFMBS.RGB(0, 0, 255)) + "]Blue "+_   "\FC[" + str(DynaPDFMBS.RGB(0, 0, 0)) + "]Black " call pdf.WriteFTextEx(50, y, 200, -1, pdf.ktaLeft, text) y = y + 20 // make list text = _   "\LI[0]First"+EndOfLine+"with two lines\EL#"+_   "\LI[0]Second\EL# "+_   "\LI[0]Third\EL#" call pdf.WriteFTextEx(50, y, 200, -1, pdf.ktaLeft, text)
The same formatting texts can be used in FileMaker, Xojo and any other development tool supported by DynaPDF like C++, VB, PHP and Delphi.

Use root certificates included with FileMaker

If you like to have SSL with security, you need to verify the certificate. FileMaker comes with a root certificate file, so we can refer CURL to that file and enjoy the checks against the given list of root certificates:

 

Set Variable [ $curl ; Value: MBS("CURL.New") ] 

If [ MBS("IsIOS") ] 

# look for path to certificate file

Set Variable [ $path ; Value: Substitute(MBS("Folders.UserDocuments"); "/Documents"; "/Library/Application Support/FileMaker/iOS/1.0/root.pem") ] 

If [ MBS("Files.FileExists"; $path) ] 

# use in CURL

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "CURL.SetOptionCAINFO"; $curl; $path) ] 

Else

Show Custom Dialog [ "File not found." ; $path ] 

End If

Else If [ MBS("IsMacOSX") ] 

# look for path to certificate file

Set Variable [ $path ; Value: Substitute(MBS("Folders.UserDocuments"); "/Documents"; "/Library/Application Support/FileMaker/Shared/17.0/root.pem") ] 

If [ MBS("Files.FileExists"; $path) ] 

# use in CURL

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "CURL.SetOptionCAINFO"; $curl; $path) ] 

Else

Show Custom Dialog [ "File not found." ; $path ] 

End If

Else If [ MBS("IsWindows") ] 

# look for path to certificate file

Set Variable [ $path ; Value: Substitute(MBS("Folders.UserDocuments"); "\Documents"; "\AppData\Local\FileMaker\FileMaker Pro Advanced\17.0\root.pem") ] 

If [ MBS("Files.FileExists"; $path) ] 

# use in CURL

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "CURL.SetOptionCAINFO"; $curl; $path) ] 

Else

Show Custom Dialog [ "File not found." ; $path ] 

End If

Else If [ MBS("IsLinux") ] 

# look for path to certificate file

Set Variable [ $path ; Value: "/FileMakerData/Extensions/OpenSSL/root.pem" ] 

# use in CURL

Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS( "CURL.SetOptionCAINFO"; $curl; $path) ] 

End If

# Start new session

Set Variable [ $URL ; Value: "https://www.filemaker.com" ] 

# Set URL to load (HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, SFTP, etc.)

Set Variable [ $result ; Value: MBS("CURL.SetOptionURL"; $curl; $URL) ] 

// Set Variable [ $result ; Value: MBS( "CURL.SetOptionCertInfo"; $curl; 1 ) ] 

# Do transfer now:

Set Field [ PlaceHolder::result ; MBS("CURL.Perform"; $curl) ] 

# Check result

Set Field [ PlaceHolder::Container ; MBS("CURL.GetResultAsText"; $curl; "UTF8") ] 

Set Field [ PlaceHolder::result ; MBS("CURL.GetDebugAsText"; $curl) ] 

// Set Field [ PlaceHolder::result ; MBS("CURL.GetCertinfo"; $curl; "UTF8") ] 

# Cleanup

Set Variable [ $result ; Value: MBS("CURL.Cleanup"; $curl) ] 

This script works fine with MacOS, Windows, Linux and iOS. If needed you can request certificate information via CURL.SetOptionCertInfo and see all the details from certificates in the text given by CURL.GetCertinfo function.


ChartDirector 6.3 Released

We got the announcement of an update to ChartDirector:

Advanced Software Engineering is pleased to announce the immediate availability of ChartDirector 6.3.

ChartDirector 6.3 adds support for embedded resources in executables. As embedded resources are mostly used in desktop GUI applications (as opposed to web or command line scripts), so ChartDirector 6.3 is only released for C++ and .NET (C#, VB).

ChartDirector can use images for the chart background, pattern colors, scatter symbols, CDML icons, … In previous versions of ChartDirector, these images have to be provided using file system paths. ChartDirector 6.3 allows these images to be embedded in executables as resources, and uses "resource paths" to access them. This eliminates the need to redistribute image files with the executable.

Apart from images, font files can also be embedded as resources.

More details can be found in the ChartDirector 6.3 Release Notes.

We'll update our MBS Xojo ChartDirector Plugin soon, when we get the libraries and header files.

Root certificates coming with FileMaker Go

We got a list of the root certificates coming with FileMaker Go:
  • AddTrust External CA Root
  • COMODO Certification Authority
  • COMODO RSA Certification Authority
  • Entrust Root Certification Authority
  • Entrust Root Certification Authority - EC1
  • Entrust Root Certification Authority - G2
  • Entrust Root Certification Authority - G3
  • Entrust.net Certification Authority (2048)
  • FileMaker Root Authority
  • GeoTrust Global CA
  • GeoTrust Global CA 2
  • GeoTrust Primary Certification Authority
  • GeoTrust Primary Certification Authority - G2
  • GeoTrust Primary Certification Authority - G3
  • GeoTrust Primary Certification Authority - G4
  • GeoTrust Universal CA
  • GeoTrust Universal CA 2
  • Go Daddy Root Certificate Authority - G2
  • Go Daddy Root Certificate Authority - G3
  • Go Daddy Root Certificate Authority - G4
  • Symantec Class 1 Public Primary Certification Authority - G6
  • Symantec Class 2 Public Primary Certification Authority - G6
  • Symantec Class 3 Public Primary Certification Authority - G7
  • thawte Primary Root CA
  • thawte Primary Root CA - G2
  • thawte Primary Root CA - G3
  • thawte Primary Root CA - G4
  • Thawte Timestamping CA
  • The Go Daddy Group, Inc.
  • VeriSign Class 1 Public Primary Certification Authority - G3
  • VeriSign Class 2 Public Primary Certification Authority - G3
  • VeriSign Class 3 Public Primary Certification Authority - G3
  • VeriSign Class 3 Public Primary Certification Authority - G4
  • VeriSign Class 3 Public Primary Certification Authority - G5
  • VeriSign Class 4 Public Primary Certification Authority - G3
  • VeriSign Universal Root Certification Authority
  • VeriSign, Inc.
As far as we know you can only connect to servers which use a certificate based on one those root certificates. Depending on the version of FileMaker Go/Pro, the list for you may be different.

IconFamilyMBS class deprecated

In our Xojo plugins we have the IconMBS and IconFamilyMBS classes. They use Apples frameworks with icon functions, but those are not well maintained the last few MacOS releases and we see more and more issues. Probably as a lot of functions are based on the deprecated QuickDraw framework. So we deprecate IconFamilyMBS class for the next prerelease plugin.

So please change code and move to newer functions. For example instead of IconFamilyMBS class to get an icon in various sizes, you can use NSWorkSpaceMBS class methods. IconForFile functions returns the icon for a file and than you can use NSImageMBS class to scale down. With the following code you can quite easily get a 2x picture for a FolderItem:

const SizeWanted = 256
dim file as FolderItem = SpecialFolder.Desktop.Child("test.rtf")

dim n as NSImageMBS = NSWorkspaceMBS.iconForFile(file)
// set size we want
n.setSize SizeWanted*2, SizeWanted*2

// make picture
dim p as Picture = n.CopyPictureWithMask

// make 2x picture here:
dim q as new Picture(SizeWanted, SizeWanted, array(p))

If you need an icon for a file type, you can use the IconForFileType function. If you need to add an icon to a file, please use SetIcon method in NSWorkSpaceMBS class.

The folderItem.IconMBS function is still working well and was upgraded in MBS Xojo Plugins in version 14.2 to use NSWorkspace methods to get the icon.

By the way, NSWorkspace's icon functions internally use the same functions as our IconMBS class, which is not deprecated!

Xojo Stammtisch in Zürich, Schweiz

On my next visit to Zurich, I'd love to make another Xojo developer meeting:

Wer hat Interesse an einem Xojo Entwicklertreffen am 21. November in Zürich?



Einfach gemütlich zusammen sitzen und über Xojo schnacken.
Gerne zeige ich auch neue Pluginfunktionen oder helfe bei Problemen mit Xojo Projekten. Einfach Computer mitbringen und was zeigen.

Bei Interesse bitte anmelden: Anmeldung

Wer Interesse hat an einem Termin mit mir für Softwareentwicklung, Schulungen, Entwicklungshilfe, Plugin Empfehlungen, assistierte Fehlersuche, Code-Review und IT-Beratung, der darf sich gerne melden für eine baldige Terminfindung.

MBS FileMaker Plugin, version 8.5pr5

New in this prerelease of version 8.5 of the MBS FileMaker Plugin: Download at monkeybreadsoftware.de/filemaker/files/Prerelease/ or ask for being added to the dropbox shared folder.

Version number reported it 8.5.04, sorry.

MBS Xojo Plugins, version 18.5pr5

New in this prerelease of the 18.4 plugins: Download: monkeybreadsoftware.com/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/.
Or ask us to be added to our shared Dropbox folder.

Notarize apps for MacOS

While FileMaker runtimes are deprecated, they are still a great tool to give away a test copy of your fabulous solution. Apple now recommends you to notarize your app. This is a step further than normal code signing as the app is actually uploaded to a test system which scans it for malware. Looks like for next year this may be required for apps to launch without a warning dialog.

The following steps work for us with the test.app on Desktop. File paths, names, bundle and Apple IDs will be different for you:
  1. Install Xcode and run it once to get the command line tools installed.
  2. Build a runtime app in FileMaker Pro Advanced.
  3. Adapt our SignScript FM 17 (included with MBS Plugin download).
    Please change name of certificate, the path and the name of the app. For codesign lines, please add --options runtime as command line parameters after the -f command line parameter. Run the script and watch for the last lines saying accepted and Developer ID.
  4. Next build an disk image. With a GUI app or simply via terminal with right path:
    /usr/bin/hdiutil create -imagekey zlib-level=9 -srcfolder /Users/cs/Desktop/Test -fs HFS+ -volname Test /Users/cs/Desktop/Test.dmg
  5. Sign the disk image. e.g. via Terminal:
    codesign -f -vvvv -s "Developer ID Application: Christian Schmitz Software GmbH" /Users/cs/Desktop/Test.dmg
  6. Notarize the app. Run xcrun in terminal. The bundle ID is found in the info.plist file of the runtime app inside the bundle. Please pass your own Apple ID here for your Apple developer account:
    xcrun altool --notarize-app -f /Users/cs/Desktop/Test.dmg --primary-bundle-id com.filemaker.client.runtime12.test -u Developer@monkeybreadsoftware.de -p @keychain:"Application Loader: Developer@monkeybreadsoftware.de"
    This may take a while and return a RequestUUID.
  7. Wait for an email from Apple or periodically check the status of the notarization until it has completed. Please put in again your Apple ID and the request UUID from above.
    xcrun altool --notarization-info 193b7ad2-36e1-45d5-880c-c297250f77b2 -u Developer@monkeybreadsoftware.de -p @keychain:"Application Loader: Developer@monkeybreadsoftware.de"
    This may take a while till this tool returns success and you can run it several times. Otherwise you get an email when the app is done. Once done you get Package Approved in the call above. If you don't have password in keychain, you can alternatively create an application specific password and put it after the -p parameter as value.
  8. Add the staple ticket to the dmg:
    xcrun stapler staple -v /Users/cs/Desktop/Test.dmg
    This will add the notarization to the disk image.
  9. Now you can test the final app in the disk image:
    spctl -a -v /Applications/test.app
    This shows on 10.13.6 only "source=Developer ID", but on 10.14 shows "source=Notarized Developer ID", so it worked!
If you followed all steps, got the paths right and the Apple ID, bundle ID and file names, your app should show the notarized state and run without a warning dialog on MacOS 10.14 Mojave.

MBS is available for paid support to help you getting your app notarized if needed.

xDev 16.6 Issue

The November/December (16.6) issue of xDev Magazine is now available. Here's a quick preview of what's inside:

Munich 2018 by Marc Zeedar
The MBS Xojo Conference in Germany gets bigger every year. This fall it was held in Munich and Marc went so you could stay home and read all about it.

Upgrading Xojo by Jim Meyer
No doubt you have a few older Xojo projects you haven't upgraded to the current version. How much trouble will it be to get them working in the latest IDE? Will it be worth it? Jim shares his experience.

Road Work by Marc Zeedar
These days, programmers can work almost anywhere there's Internet. Marc spent a few weeks in France testing the theory and has tips for working on the road.

Building a Controller by JC Cruz
Jose shows how to build a data-entry controller.

PLUS: Clipboards, database rules, database transactions, Xojo 2018r3, and more!

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