CS 200
Lecture 10 FileMaker Scripting
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Abbreviations
•aka Also Known As
•DBMS DataBase Management System
Miscellaneous Notes
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Administrivia
Please read and highlight BEFORE lab
• Assignment 11 •Lecture Notes
This week
•Scripting in FileMaker •Regular Expressions •Project Pearl
Please ask questions if there’s something you don’t understand
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• •
Assumptions
You have completed Assignment 9 and have an understanding of FileMaker.
You have an understanding of scripting and automating tasks in an application.
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Things to Think about
How do we manipulate the data objects with a script? Is there more than one way to create a script?
What are the deficiencies of the scripting interface? What are the efficiencies of the scripting interface?
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Application Scripting
Application scripting is a way
•to automate lengthy manual procedures
•to automate error prone manual procedures
eg sort & enter Preview Mode to display/print a report in FileMaker •to customize / extend an application
•to create a different interface
•for an application designer to hide details from an application user
Using a “textual representation” of every possible user action
•or at least most user actions…
“Digital player pianos”
Before we look at scripting in Filemaker…
•“why scripting again?” and •“what do we expect?”
•
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What do we expect to find? (“What’s our model of scripting?”)
Commands (statements) equivalent to user actions
Variables
Loops & Conditionals
•loops so we can do something repeatedly
•if-stmts so we can make decisions about what to do
The ability to invoke one script from another, so we can
•easily reuse scripts
•write small scripts to do simple things, & combine them
The ability to (manually) create and edit scripts Recordability
A way to attach scripts to buttons, menus, and/or keystrokes Debugging support
The ability to customize the user interface
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Control
Perform Script Pause/Resume Script Exit Script
Halt Script
If
Else If
Else
End If
Loop
Exit Loop If
End Loop
Allow User to Abort Set Error Capture
Set Variable
Install OnTimer Script
Navigation
Go to Layout
Go to Record/Request/Page Go to Related Record
Go to Portal Row
Go to Field
Go to Object
Go to Next Field
Go to Previous Field
Enter Browse Mode
Enter Find Mode
Enter Preview Mode
Editing
Undo/Redo Cut
Copy Paste Clear
Set Selection Select All
Perform Find/Replace
Fields
Set Field
Set Field by Name
Set Next Serial Value Insert Text
Insert Calculated Result Insert from Index
Insert from Last Visited Insert from URL
Insert Current Date
Insert Current Time
Insert Current User Name Insert Picture
Insert QuickTime
Insert Audio/Video
Insert PDF
Insert File
Replace Field Contents Relookup Field Contents Export Field Contents
Records
New Record/Request Duplicate Record/Request Delete Record/Request Delete Portal Row
Delete All Records
Open Record/Request
Revert Record/Request
Commit Records/Requests Copy Record/Request
Copy All Records/Requests Import Records
Export Records
Save Records As Excel
Save Records As PDF
Save Records as Snapshot Link
Found Sets
Perform Find Constrain Found Set Extend Found Set Modify Last Find
Show All Records Show Omitted Only Omit Record
Omit Multiple Records Sort Records
Sort Records by Field Unsort Records
Find Matching Records
Windows
New Window
Select Window
Close Window
Adjust Window Move/Resize Window Arrange All Windows Freeze Window Refresh Window Scroll Window Show/Hide Toolbars Show/Hide Text Ruler Set Window Title
Set Zoom Level View As
Files
New File
Open File
Close File
Convert File
Set Multi-User
Set Use System Formats Save a Copy as
Recover File Print Setup Print
Accounts
Add Account
Delete Account
Reset Account Password Change Password Enable Account Re-Login
Spelling
Check Selection Check Record Check Found Set Correct Word Spelling Options Select Dictionaries Edit user Dictionary
Open Menu Item
Open Edit Saved Finds Open Preferences
Open File Options
Open Manage Containers Open Manage Database Open Manage Data Sources Open Manage Layouts Open Manage Value Lists Open Find/Replace
Open Help Open Remote Open Sharing
Miscellaneous
Show Custom Dialog Allow Formatting Bar Beep
Speak
Dial Phone
Install Plug-In File Install Menu Set Set Web Viewer Open URL
Send Mail
Perform AppleScript Execute SQL
Send Event Comment
Flush Cache to Disk Exit Application
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FileMaker Scripting
FileMaker Script Steps (= “statements”)
Evaluation
A local variable can only be used in script steps in the currently executing script. The value in a local variable is cleared when the script exits.
A global variable can be used in a calculation or script anywhere in a file— for example, in other scripts or file paths. The value of a global variable is not cleared until the file is closed.
Variables
the clipboard
“Global Fields” (see last week’s assignment) “local variables” ($name)
“global variables” ($$name)
Loops & Conditionals
The ability to invoke one script from another
“Perform Script” does the trick
The ability to create and edit scripts
✔
Recordability
no (boo….)
A way to attach scripts to buttons, menus, and/or keystrokes
✔, ✔,✔ Debugging support
only in FileMaker Pro Advanced (sigh…)
Customize the interface
✔
Control
Perform Script Pause/Resume Script Exit Script
Halt Script
If
Else If
Else
End If
Loop
Exit Loop If
End Loop
Allow User Abort
Set Error Capture
Set Variable
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Creating and Editing Scripts in FileMaker
Let’s look at a script that
•starting in the Album table
•and assuming you’ve selected a song,
•opens the Song table and
•displays detailed information
about that selected song
To see the script, select Manage Scripts from the Scripts menu…
to open…
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The Define Scripts Dialog Box
It’s straightforward to deduce
•how to edit an existing script
•how to create & start editing a new script •how to delete a script
What’s the basic “interaction model” for this dialog?
Is there anything on this dialog that’s particularly worth remembering?
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Editing A FileMaker Script
What’s the basic “interaction model” for this dialog?
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Script Step Parameters
T
“Local Variables”
• last only until the script returns • are usable only in the same
script
• start with $
“Global Variables”
• last until the file is closed
• are usable only in the same file • start with $$
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FileMaker Scripting
Running A Script
Remember the menu checkbox in the Define Scripts dialog box?
Or, attach a script to a button
A useful button trick
•make the button transparent
•overlay it on another item
eg a picture, or the top portal row
•or place the button behind fields for which editing has been turned off in Browse mode,making it easier to manipulate those fields in layout mode
T
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Using the Transparent Button Trick in the Albums & Songs
The selected rectangle shown below is actually a transparent button
In Browse mode, the icon shown while hovering over a portal row
now indicates you’re over a button
•for this to work, however, the button must be in front of the portal fields,
or editing of the portal fields must be turned off (Inspector > Data > Behavior)
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Returning to the Correct Layout
We now have two layouts that use the DisplayClickedSongRecord script to display Song info
Here’s how we arrange to return easily to the Album layout whence we came
Note that we’ve had to use a global field because we need to save a value from this script and make it available in another (namely ReturnToAlbum).
T
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Debugging Techniques in FileMaker
“Print Statements”
•the Show Message script step
•the Beep script step
•create a global text field M on a visible layout
& use Set Field to write msgs / values into M
both append and replace are supported eg in the Marks Demo’s Choose layout
“Breakpoints”
•the Pause/Resume Script script step •the Show Message script step
•the Show Custom Dialog step
•or use FileMaker Pro Advanced
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FileMaker Scripting
FileMaker’s Scripting As Compared to Excel’s
Similarities
•you can automate most manual manipulations
•you can attach scripts to buttons & put them in a menu •so you can extend both applications
Differences
•in FM recording is non-existent •in FM editing is very constrained
is this good or bad?
•in FM you can pass parameters explicitly to user-defined scripts
but the mechanism is clumsy
see online help for the Get(ScriptParameter), Let(…) and Evaluate(…) functions if you’re interested
•Only FileMaker Pro Advanced has a step-by-step debugger like Excel’s •Excel has a larger set of script steps & functions
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Other Important DBMS Features (Not relevant to this week’s assignment)
Network access
Field- or record-locking
•prevent simultaneous modification by two users
Transaction support
•several steps treated as an “atomic action”
•eg: – $1000 from this account, + $1000 into that account •— all are executed (or not) as if a single step
Large amounts of data
•eg gigabytes (billions) or terabytes (trillions)
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The Project Pearl
It’s boring (and often overwhelming) to “sit down and learn a new application”
So a good strategy is to
• find a project you need to do for some (unrelated) reason,
• for which you can use the app (or feature) you want to learn, • that’s of suitable size and
• for which you can allocate a bit of extra time.
It helps if the project is small, so you can accomplish it quickly, before losing interest or enthusiasm
(This is how many of the CS 200 lab exams get set J.)
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