NightWing Enterprises — Demo for FileMaker Pro™ 9 **
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To mark the release of the FileMaker Pro 9 Bible!
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Dynamic Layout Technique
Use a single layout for a myriad of different screen and print requirements.
For FileMaker Pro 9 **
As a courtesy to fellow developers and potential clients, the
following demonstration file is provided for free download.
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Your data entry layouts need a variety of elements that aren't suitable for a printed report - and different reports (even from the same data) are required to present the data in radically different ways. So do you create seven or eight different layouts based on the same table to meet the differnt needs - or do you reach deeper into the FileMaker toolkit and build a single dynamic layout to adapt to each requirement dynamically?!
This demonstration file was first shown during the "Reporting For Duty" session at the 2008 FileMaker Developer Conference (Phoenix, Arizona, July 2008) and brings together a number of advanced techniques described in the FileMaker Pro 9 Bible (Ref: Chapter 10 - Building Advanced Interfaces - pp320-324). The demo is now available for free public download.
The demo file has only two layouts, one of which is a static information screen (that isn't part of the demo as such). All the functionbality the file provides is delivered by a single list layout that provides a screen view and up to six markedly different report views. By extension, the technqiues shown in the file can be used to generate dozens of radically different reports from a single layout.
When you open the file, the opening script will display a sequence of six report previews (each of which is generated from the same layout). When you view the demo layout, six buttons provided at the lower right provide access to each of the six output configurations. Holding the Shift key down while clicking on one of the buttons (or while selecting the corresponding script from the Scripts menu) creates the report as a dynamically named pdf file on the user's desktop (and opens the resulting file).
The techniques shown in this file require a working familiarity with all the aspects of FileMaker discussed in the first two parts of the FileMaker Pro 9 Bible. If you're entirely new to FileMaker, this demo is *not* the place to start (read the book and work with the application for a while first). But do come back to the demo when you're ready to push the envelope a little!
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The demo is designed to operate in FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Pro Advanced v9.
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NB: The system shown in this demo builds upon a technique that is described in the FileMaker Pro 9 Bible (Chapter 10 - Building Advanced Interfaces, pp320-324).
This demo file is unlocked and password-free, compliments of NightWing Enterprises.
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NB: If you may require assistance implementing procedures such as those shown in our
example files, please consider establishing an account with us for developer support.
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