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Add a WebViewer to an Overlay window

Earlier this year we added the Overlay functions to our MBS FileMaker Plugin. You can use them to show a graphic on screen outside or on-top of the FileMaker windows on macOS and Windows. This is great for showing splash screen with your logo when the solution starts, some navigation or arrows for a tutorial. What you show is up to you and some people just use it as a notification banner.

For version 14.5 we add a new function called Overlay.AddWebViewer to the plugin. Use this function to add a web viewer to the overlay instead of a picture. The web viewer can load some HTML plus CSS to show a webpage with transparency. This may include showing images, an animated GIF or even a movie. The website could also have some JavaScript to do some animation.

Let's start with a script to create an overlay with a web viewer. The Overlay.AddWebViewer function takes the overlay and adds a web viewer using WebKit on macOS or Microsoft's WebView2 control on Windows. Once we have it, we can load an URL with a HTML Page from our website and show the overlay. Loading the webpage from our website allows us to adjust it later.

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MBS FileMaker Plugin 14.5 for Claris FileMaker

Nickenich, Germany - (November 12th, 2024) -- Monkeybread Software today is pleased to announce MBS FileMaker Plugin 14.5 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 14.5 has been updated and now includes over 7500 different functions, and the versatile plugin has gained more new functions:

For this release we updated our Barcode detection code. The Barcode.Detect function can now better detect barcodes, e.g. find a small QR Code on an full page. The Barcode.DetectAsJSON function can find multiple barcodes and return them all as JSON with details like their position on page.

On macOS we have plenty of enhancements to FileMaker Pro for developers. We added auto complete for custom functions to offer you table occurrences, field, operator, function and parameter names. We even make suggestions for Get() functions.

We add a comment field to the manage database dialog. To put in a comment, you create a field named _TableComment and add a comment there. Commit your changes by closing the dialog. The next time you select the table in the dialog, the plugin will show the comment below the table name.

We added tooltips to show field comments in the debugger, export dialog, script workspace and calculation dialogs.

For DynaPDF we have new parser functions to list and then delete images on a PDF page. You can query the color and text alignment and bounding box for annotations. The DynaPDF.GetGlyphOutline function queries the outline of a glyph used to draw a character.

On macOS and iOS you can now use the Vision.RectifyDocument function to align and rectify an image. The same feature as used in the DocumentCameraScan functions, but now available on its own.

Our overlay windows can now show content based on a web viewer. Use Overlay.AddWebViewer to create the web viewer inside the Overlay. Load some HTML and CSS to show content with transparency in the overlay.

The Process.List function got implemented for Linux, we have a Math.Rate function to calculate interest like Excel, Text.FilterSwissQRCode function to filter text for use in Swiss payment QR-Codes, new WordFile functions to read and write metadata in Word files and a new List.Intersection function.

Added CURL library to version 8.10.1, discount to 2.2.7d, DynaPDF to 4.0.94.265, jpeg to 9.6, libarchive to 3.7.6, LibXL to 4.4.0, OpenSSL to 3.3.2, SQLite to 3.47.0, libxml2 2.13.4, libxslt 1.1.42, Xcode to version 16.0 and the plugin SDK.

See release notes for a complete list of changes.


MonkeyBread Software Releases the MBS Xojo Plugins in version 24.5

Nickenich, Germany - (November 12th, 2024) -- Monkeybread Software today is pleased to announce MBS Xojo Plugins 24.5 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 have been updated and now includes over 3000 classes and 82,000 documented features, and the versatile plugins have gained more new functions:

We provide WebView2ControlMBS control to use the WebView2 control from Microsoft in your Xojo application as an alternative to HTMLViewer control. You can use AddBrowserExtension function to load browser extensions into the control. The IsDocumentPlayingAudio property informs you whether audio is playing and the IsMuted property allows you to mute the audio.

The Webkit browser control for macOS and iOS got similar functions to query the media playback state and methods to pause audio.

For DynaPDF we have new parser functions to list and then delete images on a PDF page. You can query the color and text alignment and bounding box for annotations.

We upgraded the toolbar classes for macOS to include new properties in macOS Sequoia. We add NSMenuToolbarItemMBS, NSSearchToolbarItemMBS and NSTrackingSeparatorToolbarItemMBS classes. These allow you to add a separator tracking, a menu or search toolbar item to your toolbar.

On macOS and iOS you can now use the VNDetectDocumentSegmentationRequestMBS class to align and rectify an image. The same feature as used in the VNDocumentCameraScanMBS class, but now available on its own.

For macOS Sequoia and the Apple Intelligence features we have new properties and methods for writing tools. Use showWritingTools method to show the tools on a text view. Use isWritingToolsActive to check whether tools are visible and configure options with writingToolsBehavior and allowedWritingToolsResultOptions properties. The textViewWritingToolsWillBegin and textViewWritingToolsDidEnd events inform you when writing tools start and end.

We added more properties for ArchiveEntryMBS class, the SQL connection handles the option MYSQL_OPT_LOCAL_INFILE for MySQL, we added AVVideoCodecTypeJPEGXL for AVFoundationMBS class to use JPEG XL as format, new WordFileMBS methods to read and write metadata in Word files and more events for NSComboBoxControlMBS control.

Finally we updated the CURL library to version 8.10.1, discount to 2.2.7d, DynaPDF to 4.0.93.262, jpeg to 9.6, libarchive to 3.7.6, OpenSSL to 3.3.2, SQLite to 3.47.0, libxml2 to 2.13.4, libxslt to 1.1.42 and Xcode to 16.0.

See release notes for a complete list of changes.


Neues MBS Plugin 14.5 für Claris FileMaker

12. November 2024 - Monkeybread Software veröffentlicht heute das MBS FileMaker Plugin für Claris FileMaker in Version 14.5, mit inzwischen über 7500 Funktionen eines der größten FileMaker Plugins überhaupt. Hier einige der Neuerungen:

Für diese Version haben wir unsere Barcode-Erkennung überarbeitet. Die Funktion Barcode.Detect kann nun Barcodes besser erkennen, z.B. einen kleinen QR Code auf einer vollen Seite finden. Die Funktion Barcode.DetectAsJSON kann mehrere Barcodes finden und sie alle als JSON, mit Details wie ihrer Position auf der Seite, zurückgeben.

Auf macOS haben wir viele Verbesserungen für FileMaker Pro für Entwickler. Wir haben die Autovervollständigung für benutzerdefinierte Funktionen hinzugefügt, um Ihnen Tabellenvorkommen, Feld-, Operator-, Funktions- und Parameternamen anzubieten. Wir machen sogar Vorschläge für Hole-Funktionen.

Wir fügen ein Kommentarfeld zum Dialogfeld „Datenbank verwalten“ hinzu. Um einen Kommentar einzugeben, erstellen Sie ein Feld namens _TableComment und fügen dort einen Kommentar ein. Bestätigen Sie Ihre Änderungen, indem Sie das Dialogfeld schließen. Wenn Sie das nächste Mal die Tabelle im Dialog auswählen, wird das Plugin den Kommentar unter dem Tabellennamen anzeigen.

Wir haben Tooltips hinzugefügt, um Feldkommentare im Debugger, im Exportdialog, im Skriptarbeitsbereich und in den Berechnungsdialogen anzuzeigen.

Für DynaPDF gibt es neue Parser-Funktionen zum Auflisten und anschließenden Löschen von Bildern auf einer PDF-Seite. Sie können die Farbe, die Textausrichtung, die Position und die Größe für Anmerkungen abfragen. Die Funktion DynaPDF.GetGlyphOutline fragt den Umriss einer Glyphe ab, die zum Zeichnen eines Zeichens verwendet wird.

Unter macOS und iOS können Sie nun die Funktion Vision.RectifyDocument verwenden, um ein Bild auszurichten und zu begradigen. Das ist die gleiche Funktion wie in den DocumentCameraScan-Funktionen, aber jetzt ist sie als eigenständige Funktion verfügbar.

Unsere Overlay-Fenster können jetzt Inhalte basierend auf einem Web Viewer anzeigen. Verwenden Sie Overlay.AddWebViewer, um den Web Viewer innerhalb des Overlays zu erstellen. Laden Sie HTML und CSS, um Inhalte mit Transparenz im Overlay anzuzeigen.

Die Funktion Process.List wurde für Linux implementiert, es gibt eine Math.Rate-Funktion zur Zinsberechnung wie in Excel, die Funktion Text.FilterSwissQRCode zum Filtern von Text für die Verwendung in Schweizer Zahlungs QR-Codes, neue WordFile-Funktionen zum Lesen und Schreiben von Metadaten in Word-Dateien und eine neue List.Intersection-Funktion.

CURL-Bibliothek auf Version 8.10.1, discount auf 2.2.7d, DynaPDF auf 4.0.94.265, jpeg auf 9.6, libarchive auf 3.7.6, LibXL auf 4.4.0, OpenSSL auf 3.3.2, SQLite auf 3.47.0, libxml2 2.13.4, libxslt 1.1.42, Xcode auf Version 16.0 und das Plugin-SDK hinzugefügt.

Alle Änderungen in den Release Notes.


MBS @ FMTraining.TV - Unlocking the Power of PDFs in FileMaker with the MBS Plugin

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 check out the various DynaPDF functions in our plugin. Since developers in Germany work on electronic invoices in ZUGFeRD format as well as French developers work on Facture-X, we show functions related to embedding XML data for an invoice in a PDF file. Then we go through merging PDFs, signing them, doing layouts with DynaPDF, drawing barcodes, work with forms and finding text in a PDF.

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Please upgrade your FileMaker Server

Since you have a MBS Plugin license for server from us, I assume you run a FileMaker Server somewhere.

There was a security problem in FileMaker Server, which would allow anyone to query data from a server without authentication and without any logging.

Please make sure you use version 19.6.4, 20.3.2 or newer.

Learn more about this security problem: FMS, bypass authorisation



Or watch this video on YouTube: FileMaker Server HACKED

I thought I should let you know. Thanks to Alex Dubov for reporting this issue to Claris.

MBS Plugin bei der FMK 2024

Mitschnitt des MBS Plugin Vortrags von der FileMaker Konferenz in Liechtenstein im Oktober 2024. Christian Schmitz präsentiert neue Funktionen im MBS Plugin für 2024.

Man sieht sich auf der FileMaker Konferenz in Hamburg, vom 15. bis 17. September 2025.

Mehr videos in der YouTube Playlist.


Define a hotkey to copy field name for layout objects in FileMaker

Let's help a few FileMaker developers using FileMaker a lot to edit layouts. Sometimes you may want to get the field name for a layout object. Whether you like to paste it to ChatGPT to use the names or you just need to know what field to use for a calculation, a hotkey to get the field name into the clipboard can be very useful.

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MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr8

New in this prerelease of the 24.5 plugins:
  • Fixes a crash in Python functions when using older Python 3.9.x version.
  • Fixed a bug in the Gamutcheck for lcms2.
  • Added LinuxWebViewMBS method for DesktopHTMLViewer class.
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 14.5pr8

New in this prerelease of version 14.5 of the MBS FileMaker Plugin: Download at monkeybreadsoftware.com/filemaker/files/Prerelease/

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


WebView2 for Xojo upgrades

For the upcoming 24.5 we got a few upgrades for our WebView2ControlMBS control. We upgraded the SDK we use to a newer version and started to add a few new things. If you need more, please let us know.

The WebView2ControlMBS control allows any Windows application to use the Chrome based Edge browser as a control within your application. Enjoy all the latest JavaScript, HTML and CSS features and replace use of Internet Explorer or Chromium.



For 24.5 we have a few new things: (more)

Tooltips in FileMaker

The MBS FileMaker Plugin adds various tooltips to FileMaker on macOS. These show very useful information to help writing scripts, calculations and to debug your scripts. Over the years we added more and more details and more locations where we show these tooltips. Let us show you where you find tooltips:

Script Workspace and Debugger

You can hover the mouse over a field name and the plugin will show you the tooltip. The tooltip shows the field value, type and the field comment. The same works for showing tooltips for a variable.

This works both for fields that appear as buttons as well as fields in a text. And you can use it for variables, too. But in the Script Workspace the variables are normally empty unless a script is running in the debugger.

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FileMaker 2024, second release

Claris released today FileMaker 2024 in version 21.1.1. Works fine with MBS FileMaker Plugin 14.4.

You get a few cool new things. Let me point to these:

  • The HTTP Tunneling for macOS and Windows will make a few IT departments happy. They can close port 5003 and run everything over 443.
  • Limits removed for Data-API and OData. No longer clients need to worry about data caps and now you can fully use these APIs to build web front-ends to your FileMaker database.
  • Concurrent backups should increase performance if you have multiple solutions on a server, that can be backups independently.
  • The changes to script defaults is small, but if you write a script, you may enjoy them. No longer you accidentally create endless loops as the "Exit after last" option is now set by default.
  • Use Perform Script on Server in a server script to start a new session and run another script. You may have a small script called via PSoS to start a longer PSoS script and quickly return the information, that it started. Then the second script can do work for a few minutes and later store the result in some field of a job table.
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MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr7

New in this prerelease of the 24.5 plugins:
  • Added NSTrackingSeparatorToolbarItemMBS class.
  • Added NSSearchToolbarItemMBS class.
  • Added NSMenuToolbarItemMBS class.
  • Added toolbarImmovableItemIdentifiers and canBeInsertedAtIndex events to CustomNSToolbarMBS class.
  • Added centeredItemIdentifiers method to NSToolbarMBS class.
  • Added possibleLabels, copy, NSToolbarToggleInspectorItemIdentifier and NSToolbarInspectorTrackingSeparatorItemIdentifier methods to NSToolbarItemMBS class.
  • Deprecated fullScreenAccessoryView, fullScreenAccessoryViewMinHeight, fullScreenAccessoryViewMaxHeight and centeredItemIdentifier properties for NSToolbarMBS class.
  • Deprecated NSToolbarSeparatorItemIdentifier and NSToolbarCustomizeToolbarItemIdentifier in NSToolbarItemMBS class.
  • Added more methods and properties to NSToolbarItemGroupMBS class.
  • Fixed a problem on Windows with shared memory objects not accessible for other users.
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 14.5pr7

New in this prerelease of version 14.5 of the MBS FileMaker Plugin:
  • Improved tooltips for field names to work better with field names containing spaces.
  • Fixed a registration issue caused in pr6.
  • Fixed a problem on Windows with shared memory objects not accessible for other users.
Download at monkeybreadsoftware.com/filemaker/files/Prerelease/

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


MBS @ FMTraining.TV - Adding ChatGPT to the ScriptWorkspace Context Menu with the MBS Plug-in

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 show the ChatGPT example using our CURL functions. Then we walk through the Script Workspace Context Menu Commands example to add ChatGPT to the Script Workspace in FileMaker on macOS. Then we check the Snippets database to add snippets to the Script Workspace for Windows, too.

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xDev Magazine 22.6

The November/December (22.6) issue of xDev Magazine is now available. Here's a quick preview of what's inside:

Beware of Intelligence by Marc Zeedar
So-called "artificial intelligence" is nothing new, and previous uses of "AI" have issues. The rush to incorporate "AI" into everything is dangerous, however, and poses some serious questions about how we design software.

Ambient & Infrared Temperature Sensor by Eugene Dakin
Eugene shows how to use your Raspberry Pi to detect the ambient temperature. This is useful for temperature monitor devices and many other practical tasks.

Testing Preemptive Threading by Marc Zeedar
After decades of only offering "cooperative" threading, Xojo has finally added support for "preemptive" threads. These are bits of code that run indepent of the rest of your code, on their CPU core, finally bringing true multitasking to Xojo apps.

Developing Mobile Apps by Tim Dietrich
Tim launches a new series on the business of Xojo! He begins by addressing how to write a mobile app development proposal. What should you include? What should you leave out?

Plus: Topics such as how to use ChatGPT to correct your grammar, embedding a vCard into a QR code, retro gaming with Xojo, an interview with Alyssa Foley, and more!

MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr6

New in this prerelease of the 24.5 plugins: 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 14.5pr6

New in this prerelease of version 14.5 of the MBS FileMaker Plugin: Download at monkeybreadsoftware.com/filemaker/files/Prerelease/

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


Building for 12 platforms supporting Xojo

Did you know that MBS Xojo Plugins are available for 12 targets inside Xojo?

OSArchitectureBits
LinuxARM32-bit
LinuxARM64-bit
LinuxIntel32-bit
LinuxIntel64-bit
MacOSARM64-bit
MacOSIntel64-bit
WindowsIntel32-bit
WindowsIntel64-bit
WindowsARM64-bit
iOS DeviceARM64-bit
iOS SimulatorARM64-bit
iOS SimulatorIntel64-bit
(more)

Older blog entries:

2024-10-30 25 Years Monkeybread Software Party
2024-10-29 Simplifying Debugging in FileMaker with MBS Plugin on macOS
2024-10-28 MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr5
2024-10-28 MBS FileMaker Plugin, version 14.5pr5
2024-10-26 The failure of Digital River's MyCommerce platform
2024-10-25 MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr4
2024-10-25 MBS FileMaker Plugin, version 14.5pr4
2024-10-24 Auto Complete Feature for Custom Functions
2024-10-23 Segment documents in images for Xojo
2024-10-22 Rectify document rectangle in images in FileMaker
2024-10-18 Using ChatGPT in Xojo
2024-10-17 MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr3
2024-10-17 MBS FileMaker Plugin, version 14.5pr3
2024-10-16 Using ChatGPT in FileMaker
2024-10-15 News from the MBS Xojo Plugins Version 24.4
2024-10-14 Security tidbits for FileMaker
2024-10-11 Validating schema for electronic invoices with ZUGFeRD
2024-10-09 MBS @ FMTraining.TV - 14.4 MonkeyBread FileMaker Plug-in Release
2024-10-08 Little tidbits from the FileMaker conference
2024-10-07 MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr2

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