You saw the Webinar today about the FileMaker Roadmap?
You learnt what is coming next summer and what is coming or not coming for summer 2018.
In the webinar, they talked about external script steps and plugins for iOS SDK. While I already have learnt about those at DevCon and made changes to my codebase already, I'd love to hear ideas from you. If you participate in a FileMaker beta program, feel free to contact me if you like to test plugins.
So please let me know your wishes:
Ideas for MBS Script Steps. Which function is important enough to offer it as a simple to use script step?
Which functions would you like to use in the apps built using the iOS SDK?
Which features from the roadmap could be made available via plugin today in FileMaker 15 or older?
Selected wishes may show up in future plugin releases, some maybe before Christmas!
Just a few days left for the really early bird offer for our MBS Xojo Conference in Berlin from 4th to 5th May 2017. Join now for only 299 Euro plus VAT.
In the evenings we meet for dinner so you can meet other attendees. Registration is available and we already have over 40 people coming from ten countries.
The early bird offer available till 4th December is just 299 Euro plus VAT. Attending the conference costs regularly 499 Euro plus VAT, including food and beverage in the Ellington Hotel as well as an accompanying social program.
Am 16. Dezember 2016 treffen sich ab 15 Uhr FileMaker Entwickler im Restaurant Bärenblick im Alternativer Wolf- und Bärenpark Schwarzwald in Bad Rippoldsau-Schapbach.
Es empfiehlt sich etwas früher zu kommen und eine Runde durch den Park zu machen und den Bären zuzuschauen.
Der Eintritt in den Park ist obligatorisch und kostet 5 €.
Ich versuche selber dabei zu sein bei diesem Termin. Wer kommt noch?
Xojo Inc. is running a black friday sale on their Xojo Store. This is your chance to renew any pending Xojo licenses with a 20% discount. Any license which is already expired or will expire later this year, should be updated now to use this discount:
Xojo, Inc. creator of Xojo, a multi-platform development tool for desktop, web, iOS and Raspberry Pi apps, today announced that their entire Xojo store will be on sale from Black Friday, November 25, 2016, to Cyber Monday, November 28, 2016, the biggest shopping weekend of the year. All new Xojo licenses, renewals and upgrades will be discounted to 20% off of their original price. Xojo 3rd party products and XDC 2015 Training Videos are also included in this sale.
If you like to get books and magazines for Xojo, please visit xDev Magazine and xDevLibrary websites. They offer 20% on all items, too. Use the coupon code CYBERMONDAY there.
While you can buy your MBS Plugin licenses from Xojo Inc. third party store, we offer you the same discount from us. For orders via Share-It, simply use coupon code BlackFriday2016. For everything else like paypal or invoices, please contact me. Especially if you are interested in bundles which allow even bigger savings.
just call for each Webviewer the MBS Plugin function called Webview.SetSilent and pass the reference to webviewer (e.g. it's object name) and the new state. 1 to block errors or 0 to show them. Showing may help to find javascript errors when developing, but in a batch automated website query, you don't want a dialog to block your script.
Just updated the installation decision graph for FileMaker 15:
This got much more complicated with 15 being 64-bit only on Mac and 14 available in 32/64bit on Windows. We even got a new Linux target with FileMaker Cloud.
And I added two new graphs to decide what license to be ordered:
I hope those help you! Please send me your comments, so I can improve them in future and fix any mistake.
As usual, if the license options don't fit your use case, maybe we can define something special for you.
Wir empfehlen allen FileMaker Anwender ein Abo vom Magazin und den Kauf der alten Ausgaben. Das FileMaker Magazin ist eine excellente Quelle von Informationen, Anleitungen und Profitips.
As I travel to Spain soon, I want to organize a Xojo developer meeting in Madrid.
The meeting with be 2nd December 2016 somewhere in Madrid.
We meet in a nice restaurant somewhere central, so we can shop talk about Xojo and have dinner together. Time will probably be around 18 to 23 o'clock or later and you can of course come later or leave earlier. Dinner will be ordered around 20:30 o'clock, so please be there by than.
I plan to bring some presents to raffle:
Two Xojo T-Shirts, a Xojo drinking bottle, a XDC coupon and a XDC year book. Worth over 100 Euro in total.
To win, you must show up in person and stay for dinner.
Yesterday I visited an meeting from the Apple Store business team in Frankfurt about backups. Very basic stuff, but I learnt a few little details I missed before and got a few new business contacts.
But please take a moment to check your backup situation. Here is my recommendation:
1. Bootable USB SSD drives
Get 2 or more USB SSD disks. Size should be bigger than your internal hard disk.
Using an application like Carbon Copy Cloner, you regularly create a clone of your boot disk (and other important data). Keep one of them at home and take one with your when traveling. In case your Mac is stolen, you can get a new one and simply boot from that disk without restoring first. Back at work in minutes!
For this you keep them separated. e.g. disk in jacket with you while laptop stays in hotel room. Just keep the separated, so one can be stolen.
And Carbon Copy Cloner can be configured to copy whenever the disk is attached. This way you can attach it before you do something else and go away.
2. Time Capsules or NAS
Get 2 or more Time Capsules or some similar NAS systems. We want automatic backups as they happen automatically and we don't need to start them manually. I recommend having at least two separate Time Capsules located in different rooms. Just to avoid having them die in the same water event. And of course having two makes it more likely that one actually is usable for restoring.
The Time Capsules can store 100+ backups from last months or years easily. And as they are local and you can use them over Ethernet, restore can be quick with 40 MByte/s copied. For restoring a folder you deleted last week that will be much faster than a download via Internet!
3. Remote Backup
Having a backup which works everywhere and even provides restoring when your house burns down, is a key element. You an either use a service like BackBlaze or crashplan or in Germany maybe Cloud Backup from Domainfactory or Telekom to do online backups.
Or be your own backup provider and use a software like Arq and provide your own hosting with your own Amazon, Google, Dropbox or SFTP storage account. This eliminates the middle man for management and can be less expensive, especially if you have that storage already. With Arq you can backup to several services in parallel. For SFTP storage in Germany, I can recommend the storage box from Hetzner with up to 20 TB.
The good thing is that even in an Internet Cafe you can work on a document and regularly it is uploaded.
4. Test Recovery
A backup is only as good as recovery. A good exercise when you buy a new Mac is to take the chance and try to restore to that new Mac for a test. Just to see if you remember the required login data, password and procedures to get back the last version of the data.
Backup should be mandatory for everyone. At least for business in Germany you can get penalties if you loose some tax relevant data. And some things I learnt over time: Have always at least two disks. When restoring, the disk is used heavily, so it is likely to die soon. And please encrypt all disks! And for software developers, additionally use version control.
If you like our FileMaker SDK extension and you like to modify it for your needs, you can get a license for it.
For 499 Euro or 599 USD (plus VAT If needed) we offer you a package including full source code, up to 2 hours of online training to help with setting up your copy and you contribute to the development of this project.
We would help you to install Xcode if needed, modify the project with paths to build for you. And change the scripts to build the final SDK copy for you. And of course we change the branding so it has your name, URL scheme and function names. And if time permits we may start and add your own functions.
Of course you can also request custom functions to be added and just pay for the creation.
Sometimes the compiling process in Xojo causes errors like "Can't find a class with this name" although the plugin is loaded and autocomplete sees the class. In other cases the compiler reports a plugin not being 64-bit compatible although all of MBS Plugins for a couple of versions do support 64-bit.
To clear the cache, please locate your user folder. on Windows inside that folder is an invisible AppData folder. On Mac you look into the Library folder, also hidden by default. On Windows you find the Local/Temp folder with the xojo scratch folder as well as Roaming/Xojo with the version specific cache folders. While the IDE is not running you can just delete the scratch folder and the version folders. Please leave the other Xojo folder there as it contains your license key files. For Mac in ~/Library/Caches is the Xojo cache folder and in ~/Library/Application Support/Xojo you find the same version specific folders.
You can always delete the scratch folder, the precompiled and project cache folders. Often that fixes the problems. We would be happy to find the reasons with Xojo Inc. to fix this for future releases.
Changed EventMonitor to detect Control-Click with left mouse button and report it as right click.
Improved localization for features like variable detection, search boxes, contextual menu. Now supporting all languages FileMaker supports (cs, de, en, es, fr, it, ja, ko, nl, pl, pt, ru, sv, tr and zh)
The heise company published a new magazine issue specialized for Mac:
c't Special Mac 2016
This includes a couple of free software titles: Xojo Desktop Lite, FotoMagico, BeaTunes, Little Snitch, GraphicConverter, PhotoSweeper, StarMoney, Boxcryptor and a few coupons for other titles.
To get it, you need to go on the heise shop. Click on the green button to add to shopping card. Than click on checkout (Zur Kasse). Take the tab for guests (Gast) or create an account. Fill the order form, enter credit card, check the first and last checkbox and use the buy button (Jetzt kaufen) on the bottom. You should get a PDF and some instructions including a code for receiving licenses. For Xojo you need to send the code to an email address and the answer contains your activation code which you can activate on the xojo website to get a Xojo for Mac desktop license.
So if you have a friend, a kid or you need a license yourself, this is just 9 Euro for a Xojo Mac desktop license. Enjoy!
Today I recorded my session from the XDC 2016 in Houston again.
This version is shorter and lacks probably a few details and has no questions.
But you can in a few weeks probably watch the original recording on the Xojo website.
For the next prerelease we add a windows print switch feature. The plugin will trigger the print or print setup dialogs in FileMaker, set the values you may want to have and closes the dialog for you:
Do you like to meet other Xojo users and go to conferences? Well, you are in luck! In 2017 there is a conference being organized by Monkeybread Software. Xojo developers from all over the world will meet the first week in May 2017 in metropolitan Berlin, Germany. In the center of western Berlin at the Ellington hotel, next to the nearby Kurfürstendamm, the Zoo and KaDeWe. We selected this central location in Europe for easy traveling for developers from east and west.
Beside the two conference days, we have an accompanying social programme with dinner events and an optional two training days. For the evenings we have casual get-togethers in the hotel bar and beer garden.
We are happy to have Xojo engineers join our conference. Geoff Perlman, CEO of Xojo Inc. will talk about what is new and coming in Xojo. Stéphane Pinel and Travis Hill, engineers at Xojo Inc. as well as Carol and Bob Keeney will present something. Jens Boschulte, our PDF specialist and creator of the DynaPDF library will be available for questions. And of course we have a few other well known Xojo developers coming.
All Xojo conferences are a great places to learn about Xojo, see what is new for Xojo IDE itself as well as for third-party products. You can meet other developers and get a lot of new contacts. Ask questions and discuss how you solve problems, learn from others and discover new techniques. Feel free to present yourself and your projects, so others can give you tips and learn from you. As you depend on Xojo for your business, please use this to talk to the Xojo people about what you need from them in the future.
The schedule:
May 3rd: Xojo Training in English
May 4th: Conference, first day with dinner event
May 5th: Conference, second day
May 6th: Xojo Training in German
In the evenings we meet for dinner so you can meet other attendees. Registration is available and we already have over 30 people coming from eight countries.
The early bird offer available till 4th December is just 299 Euro plus VAT. Attending the conference costs regularly 499 Euro plus VAT, including food and beverage in the Ellington Hotel as well as an accompanying social program.
Sessions are to be held in English. Our conference is conceived as a networking event for the Xojo community. The conference is an ideal opportunity for sharing your thoughts and your own development experience with fellow users and developers. If you like to give a presentation, please contact us as soon as possible.
Today I discovered that FileMaker is available in Czech, Polish, Russian and Turkish versions. So I updated my texts for the MBS Plugin and for the next prerelease our additions to the script workspace should be localized in 15 languages. See this screenshot in Russian:
A lot of work and probably not everything correct with all those languages and different grammar/translations. So please, if you see something wrong, tell me soon.
The search field should show localized text as well as copy button. Contextual menu should detect "Perform Script" calls in all languages and correctly figure out the script name. The detection of variables should correctly identify the "Set Variable" script steps. Also the if/loop detection should find the matching entries in all languages.
We meet in a nice restaurant somewhere central in Madrid, so we can shop talk about Xojo and have dinner together.
Time will probably be around 18 to 22 o'clock and you can of course come later or leave earlier.
[German/Deutsch]
Auf der Monkeybread Software Webseite gibt es jetzt die Videos zur MBS FileMaker Plugin Schulung bei der Denkform.
Jede Schulung hat andere Schwerpunkte und auch wenn das Thema immer das MBS Plugin ist, so haben wir jedes mal andere Fragen und neue Funktionen.
Diesmal habe ich das ganze aufzeichnen lassen und zusammen geschnitten. Ich hoffe die Aufnahme ist interessant für euch!
Zusätzlich gibt es noch die Aufzeichnung von der 2015er Konferenz in Hamburg und die Aufzeichnung von der DevCon 2016 in Las Vegas.
Weiter Schulungstage gibt es bei der Denkform am 2. März und 7. Dezember 2017. Zusätzlich sind natürlich noch weitere Schulungstage möglich, wenn sich hierfür einige Teilnehmer finden, gerne auch als private Schulung in Ihrer Firma.
If several people are interested in an english training day, we may organize one. This can include having a custom training day in your company for your employees only. Please contact us if you are interested.
(more)
With next plugin version, we add scanner windows. So you can show the following panel to select a device:
and a second panel to show the full scanner interface:
The user can scan and you get a script triggered when a new picture arrives. The user can of course scan several pictures and you may want to display them in FileMaker before the starts a script to process the images.
PS: We have the same controls available for Xojo, so you can have similar windows there, too.
Next Wednesday, 9th November 2016, the German Xojo evangelist Ulrich Bogun organizes a Xojo programming workshop/meeting. Everyone is welcome to learn about Xojo and chat with other Xojo developers.
They meet about once a months at 19:00 o'clock in the Lernwerkstatt, Karl-Kunger-Straße 55, Alt-Treptow in Berlin.
Today I enjoyed the training day with a group of enthusiastic FileMaker developers and our plugin at the DenkForm office. We checked recent features and walked through dozens of example databases to explain how things work.
Please visit your local FileMaker user group and connect to local developers to exchange knowledge and learn what is new in FileMaker.
The next training day will be 3rd March 2017, see events section.
If there is a group of interested people for an english speaking training day in an area, we may organize one.
Or one in your company for your staff?
Since its start the Xojo Developer Magazine has published over 80 issues with over 5000 pages. A huge library of Xojo related knowledge you won't want to miss.
The magazine is the longest available source of news, tutorials, xojo related product reviews and tips & tricks for Xojo, Real Studio and REALbasic. I still remember 13 years ago the emails from Marc Zeedar about the beginning of the magazine. I think it was a big adventure for him. How long are you subscribed?
If you have something to publish as an article or some xojo related news, be sure to email Marc Zeedar, the publisher of the magazine. For the first years I had a regular intel column with tipps about declares, windows and linux targets. Later I had an inside REALbasic column and today I publish from time to time articles around plugin features.
I recommend everyone using Xojo to subscribe as this is a valuable resource for the community and deserves our support. And if you write from time to time about an interesting topic, e.g. a blog article, think about submitting it as a short article. The community will recognize you.
Please comment, follow, retweet and like this article. On all those who refer to his article within the next fives days, we raffle three free Xojo developer magazine subscriptions off. And if you know exactly how many issues of the magazine were published, we double your chance to win!
Hier die Lobrede vom Klemens Kegebein von der FileMaker Konferenz 2016 in Salzburg:
Der vierte und letzte Preisträger des heutigen Abends studierte Informatik an der Universität Koblenz-Landau und gründete im April 2000 seine eigene Firma. Seitdem entwickelt er erfolgreich Software.
2006 - vor nunmehr 10 Jahren - entdeckte er zu unser aller Vorteil FileMaker und begann, sein Wissen auch in der FileMaker Welt anzubieten: Er
programmierte ein Plugin für FileMaker.
In unfassbarem Tempo setzt er die Anregungen von Kollegen, individuelle Wünsche seiner Kunden und Anpassungen an neue FileMaker Versionen um. ln manchen Bereichen hat er das Produkt, für das er seine „Erweiterung” anbietet, nahezu überholt und zeigt, was man mit FileMaker noch alles erreichen kann.
Selbstverständlich schrecken ihn weder MacOS noch Windows - auch die Ankündigung, dass FileMaker in bälde auf Amazon Webservices als Linux laufen wird, kommentierte er nur lapidar mit den Worten „MBS-Plugin für Linux hab ich hier liegen. Braucht das jemand?”
Den FMM Award „Innovationspreis FileMakerTools 2016" für seine stetigen Produkterweiterungen im Plugin und seine Rolle als Vordenker erhält
Christian Schmitz
Spätestens beim Stichwort Plugin war allen klar, wer gemeint ist und der Applaus war nicht zu überhören.
Danke an alle für die lieben Glückwünsche.
(more)
The November/December 2016 (14.6) issue of xDev Magazine is now available. Here's a quick preview of what's inside:
Xojo Past and Future by Marc Zeedar
If you missed the XDC announcements, here's where you can find out what's in the pipeline for Xojo for 2017.
XDC 2016 by Marc Zeedar
Didn't make it to Houston for XDC this year? Don't worry -- Marc takes you there and includes lots of photographs (over 40).
Xojo Compiler Optimization by Christian Schmitz
Xojo now includes some options to let the compiler work harder and create more efficient code -- but are those worth the extra time? Christian tests the feature.
Cooking with Xojo (Part 2) by Mark Strickland
Finally we get to eat steak! Or, uh, Mark does. He concludes his Raspberry Pi experiment to get Xojo to cook him a steak. Did it work? Read to find out!
Tracking Health Disorders, Part 4 by J.C. Cruz
Jose finishes his health tracking project with the final code.
Plus: Learning Database design, Colors and Licenses open source software, Iconographer, and more!
You saw the Webinar today about the FileMaker Roadmap?
Xojo Inc. is running a black friday sale on their 
New in this prerelease of the 6.5 MBS FileMaker Plugin:
New in this prerelease of the 16.5 plugins:
As I travel to Spain soon, I want to organize a Xojo developer meeting in Madrid.
Yesterday I visited an meeting from the Apple Store business team in Frankfurt about backups. Very basic stuff, but I learnt a few little details I missed before and got a few new business contacts.
If you like our 
The heise company published a new magazine issue specialized for Mac:
Nickenich, Germany (November 10th, 2016) -- Monkeybread Software releases version 1.1 of the 
Next Wednesday, 9th November 2016, the German Xojo evangelist Ulrich Bogun organizes a Xojo programming workshop/meeting. Everyone is welcome to learn about Xojo and chat with other Xojo developers.
Hier die Lobrede vom Klemens Kegebein von der FileMaker Konferenz 2016 in Salzburg: