David Weiner - Direct Impact Solutions

Record Locking: You cannot use this record until (FileMaker User) is finished

What is record locking? Why did my dashboard break? While working, have you ever been thwarted by a FileMaker dialog that reads: “David Weiner (David Weiner)” is modifying this record. You cannot use this record until “David Weiner (David Weiner)” is finished. Why can’t I use this record until someone is finished? This is caused …

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Five New FileMaker Themes!

Low-Code / By David Weiner

Five interchangeable colored themes for your FileMaker apps, suitable for mobile or desktop use Projects often begin with a custom theme. Sometimes that means taking a built-in theme provided by FileMaker and adjusting it, but more often it means taking an in-house theme and tailoring it to the needs of a project. I’ve been working …

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step-by-step guide to creating a JSON object in FileMaker

Easy Step-by-Step Guide to Building a JSON Object in FileMaker

Low-Code / By David Weiner

JSON has now become a FileMaker developer’s standard method to store and manipulate data in memory. In other words, when you want to create a variable to store anything more complex than a simple string, number, or return-separated list, JSON is the way to do it. If you’re not using it already, you must learn …

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How to Use the New Data File Script Steps in FileMaker 18

Low-Code / By David Weiner

FileMaker 18 offers a series of new script steps that add native file creation and manipulation to the developer’s toolkit. The utility of these new script steps will be fully realized once people start using them, but right away I can foresee some great use cases. Write records to a text file for import into …

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New version of fmMapping – Google Maps for FileMaker

Low-Code / By David Weiner

Today we offer a new minor update to our ever-popular fmMapping Module. If you’re not familiar with it, this is a simple-to-deploy, FileMaker-native module for integrating Google maps with your FileMaker application. It has the ability to map multiple address records on a single Google map, using a web viewer. fmMapping Update The updates today …

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FileMaker vs. Airtable

Low-Code / By David Weiner

“Do you even Airtable, bruh”? FileMaker, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Apple, is the venerable development platform that’s been improving business efficiency with custom software for more than 30 years. Airtable is a modern database/spreadsheet hybrid, first released in 2012, that’s been well-received in some of the same workplace environments in which FileMaker shines. There is …

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Non-Editable Text Selection for field data in FileMaker

Low-Code / By David Weiner

How to protect field data from being edited, while still allowing the fields to be selected for copy / paste functionality. One of the features that makes FileMaker so easy to use for field data entry is that there’s typically very low friction between the user and the data. Specifically, fields on a FileMaker layout …

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One Layout for both iPad and Desktop

Low-Code / By David Weiner

How to make a single layout in FileMaker that works (and looks good) on both desktop and iPad screens. Creating and maintaining two separate sets of application screens in FileMaker — one for mobile and one for desktop — has always been a pain in the butt. While there are definitely arguments to be made …

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Invisible Formatting for Button Bars

Low-Code / By David Weiner

In our first blog post on button bar techniques, I outlined why we love them so much (calculated labels!), and the main reason they’re so useful (calculated labels!). In our second post on Button Bar Techniques, I delve into the first of several button bar tricks we use. One thing that these techniques all have in common is …

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Techniques for FileMaker Button Bars!

Low-Code / By David Weiner

FileMaker button bars, for me, are the single most useful new feature introduced in FileMaker 14 (aside from the Script Workspace, which is a beautiful thing). Interestingly, the reason I find them so useful has nothing to do with their primary intended use case: the navigation bar. Most Useful Features of FileMaker Button Bars Sure, a …

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Author name: David Weiner