Constructing a Complete FileMaker 16 CRM – Part 1

Find out more about FileMaker expert John Mark Osborne.

Information about how this tutorial is organized.

Why was a contact manager or CRM selected as the exercise for this tutorial?

A demonstration of the final contact manager so students can visualize the end game.

A description of how the example files are organized and presented.

FileMaker 16 is great but only adds a small percentage of features when compared to the entirety of FileMaker.

A brief overview of all the features added to FileMaker 16. Important features will be discussed at length throughout the videos series.

Creating a solution from scratch is the best way to learn the entire process of developing a FileMaker database.

Data entry fields allow the user to enter data about a contact.

Housekeeping fields track creation and modification information about records.

Themes are a collection of object styles that make developing a professional interface easier.

Let's import some sample data so we have information to find, sort and manipulate.

Determining the window size for a solution is a critical task in the early stages of development.

Let's apply a basic interface to our burgeoning solution.

Autosizing allows objects to move and/or grow as the window is resized.

Hiding extraneous FileMaker interface increases valuable screen real estate.

With the Status Toolbar hidden, features need to be recreated with scripts and other tools.

A list layout is critical to showing a user a hit list after a find is performed.

Perfecting the transition between form and list view is critical for a professional looking solution.

Column headers can have buttons attached to sort database.

Drop that mouse! A good plan always leads to a good outcome.

Data modeling is the process of translating a real life scenario into an electronic representation.

An ERD represents the structure of your solution in a visual manner.

Simple ERD examples to help you learn the process of determining cardinality.

The ERD that will be used for the solution in this video.

The formal document outlining your project.

Create the tables and fields for the contact manager.

A discussion of the variety of key fields that can be used for the backbone of your relationships.

Relationships allow your tables to communicate.

Understanding the variety of features in the Relationship Graph will assist you in efficiently creating FileMaker solutions.

Portals allow you to view the contents of the many side of a relationship.

There are a variety of options for relationships that allow you to control how they function.

A discussion regarding how cardinality is determined in the FileMaker Relationship Graph.

Value Lists allow for the creation of radio buttons, checkboxes and popup menus.

What is the separation model and how can it benefit my solution?

A method for optimizing the organization of relationship.

The new relational structure requires updating of the portals on the layouts.

Tips to make the most out of the Relational Graph.

With the relationships in place, it's time to create the company layouts.

Creating a popup menu to populate a foreign key.

Using a popover to enter a new company from the contacts layout.

Creating a portal on the companies layout to allow for the addition of contacts.

The Go to Related Record script step is crucial for translating a relationship into a found set of records.

An adaptive script for adding new portal rows.

A dynamic script for deleting rows from a portal.

Creating a self-join relationship to display contacts related by company.

Sorting portals can be done in two ways, each with distinct advantages.

Interface to filter contacts in a portal.

Working efficiently with the calculation dialog is the goal of this exercise.

The calculation dialog is attached to most features in FileMaker, increasing the power significantly.

Unstored calculations recalculate whenever the screen refreshes.

The Replace Field Contents feature places the same value on every record in the found set.

Save space by using Placeholder text to label a field.

Use the Filter function to remove formatting from a phone number field.

Auto-Enter and Validation fire in a certain order that determines how the two features work together.

The Let and Self functions aren't necessary but can drastically improve the adaptiveness of a calculation formula.

Centralizing calculation code makes a more efficient solution.

The Hide Object features allow for a professional interface.

Conditional Formatting changes font and other characteristics based on a calculation formula.

A Web Viewer can create a Google map with the right formula.

A URL constructed of name-value pairs can be recreated in FileMaker using a calculation.

FileMaker has a duplicate search operator but it can only be used on a single field.

The validation feature triggers differently for each validation type.

Object states are often overlooked but provide significant power over how an object appears.

An introduction to scripting including a definition and how scripts are triggered.

Familiarity with the Script Workspace dialog and menus is important for efficiency.

Adaptive scripts for navigating between form and list view layouts.

Scripts for creating, duplicating and deleting records.

A script to create a new contact with the current company attached.

Sending email from FileMaker with Mac Mail or Outlook.

The Open URL script step is crucial for connecting FileMaker with a web browser.

The Dial Phone script step makes it easy for you to dial a phone from the Windows operating system.

A better interface for sorting list view.

Finding contacts with birthdays in the upcoming month.

Finding by letter of the alphabet using a single adaptive script.

Organizing notes using the Set Selection script stipend the Get(CurrentTimestamp) function.

Fixing the Show Custom Dialog message.

Deleting duplicates using a looping script.

Two methods for deleting the oldest rather than the newest duplicate.

Converting the data that was imported from a flat file to the relational structure of the Contact Manager.

A script to parse the more complicated company information.

Consulting, Meta-Consulting, Training and Solutions.