On my next visits to Berlin and Hamburg, we plan Xojo developer meetings:
Wer hat Interesse an einem Xojo Entwicklertreffen in Hamburg oder Berlin für kommenden Mai/Juni?
Zeitlich ca. 18 bis 21 Uhr. Für Hamburg der 20. Juni und für Berlin der 30. Mai 2022.
Einfach gemütlich zusammen sitzen in einem Restaurant oder Biergarten und über Xojo plaudern.
Gerne zeige ich auch neue Pluginfunktionen oder helfe bei Problemen mit Xojo Projekten. Einfach Computer mitbringen und was zeigen.
Wer dabei sein möchte, bitte bei
uns melden!
In this article I want to introduce you to the new functionalities from the MBS Xojo Plugins in version 22.1.
Phidget
We added Phidget classes around 2010 to our
MBS Xojo Plugins.
We kept that running and various clients used all the existing classes for various projects.
To keep compatibility we renamed the old classes with a prefix Old,
e.g. OldPhidgetMBS.
and made new classes for for the new Phidget library with Apple Silicon support.
We can put in all the knowledge we got about C++ and Xojo and improve the classes to current standards.
We wrap the C API from Phidgets library and so you can always look on their documentation, too.
If you use a humidity, magnetic, light, gyroscope, PH, sound, temperature,
capacitive touch or pressure sensor for a Xojo project, you can try the new classes.
You can recognize input from analog and digital sources and output signals.
You can control various motors including steppers.
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On every travel you learn something new. At a FileMaker developer meeting in Montreal, we discussed about what people miss in FileMaker and a plugin could add. And the wish several people mentioned is to sort scripts in the Script Workspace.
We got several challenges here to solve. First this is not like on the script, where we can just add a custom contextual menu. There is already a FileMaker contextual menu, so we have to intercept the menu and our own entries, which seems to work fine so far. Since the implementation depends on the things we made to show Script IDs, the two features are linked currently.
The next one is to actually do the sort operation. There is not much to leverage except that you can manually reorder them with the mouse. Our plugin can do that by telling you started a drag at one spot and then release it to another spot. You may see the entries moving as far as animations are happening.
Please try it out soon in 12.2pr1 in early April.
Just one month left until the virtual
Xojo conference 2022 starts.
Sadly the Xojo conferences got cancelled last year. But beside the social get-together, we really miss the keynote presentations and that may come next month. What has Xojo Inc. been working on? What is the vision for the team on what to deliver later this year and next year? We'd love to know and so we look forward to the presentation.
For MBS we will add our own presentation about what is new in the MBS Plugins. You may have missed some new cool features in the last two years, so we can sum them up for you.
If you are interested, please use the
register form to get notified about the details.
In this article we want to introduce you the new functions from the MBS FileMaker Plugin in version 12.1.
WebHook
We already introduced the new WebHook component in the release 11.5.
In the new release we provide a few new functions that should make your work with WebHooks easier.
With the function
WebHook.SetMaximumRequestSize
we set the maximum allowed request size.
This allows you to disconnect sockets, which send too much data.
By default there is no limit, so people can send requests with several gigabytes of payload.
Depending on your use can it may be worth to limit request size to a reasonable value.
For example if you receive notifications from your phone system,
you may set the maximum size to 10000 bytes and a timeout of 60 seconds for
WebHook.SetTimeOut function.
That is probably 10 times more than needed, but may avoid some malicious user from sending a ton of useless traffic.
Matching to this there is the WebHook.GetMaximumRequestSize
function which queries this set value if needed.
We can also get the size of a certain web request.
WebRequest.GetSize
returns the total size of the request.
The WebRequest.GetBodySize
function then gives us the size of the body.
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Noch drei Monate: Vom 22. bis 24. Juni 2022 findet die elfte deutschsprachige FileMaker Konferenz in Hamburg, Deutschland statt. Das JUFA Hotel Hamburg HafenCity liegt direkt neben dem Ausgang der U-Bahn Station HafenCity Universität, nur drei Stationen vom Hauptbahnhof via U4, so dass sich die Anreise per Bahn empfiehlt. FileMaker Anwender und Entwickler können ihre Tickets buchen.
Anmeldung heute
Bitte melden Sie sich an, wenn Sie Interesse an der Konferenz haben. Bald entscheidet sich, ob die Konferenz statt finden kann. Diese Entscheidung hängt von den Anmeldungen und den aktuellen Corona Regeln ab, also bitte Anmelden. Hotel, Flug oder Bahnreise bitte erst später buchen.
Die Veranstalter vom Verein FM Konferenz erwarten auch 2022 rund 180 Entwickler, Anwender, IT-Fachleute und Entscheidungsträger aus Wirtschaft, Bildung und Verwaltung. Rund um über 25 Fachvorträge und Workshops wird es viel Zeit zum Vernetzen in den gemeinsamen Pausen und beim Abendprogramm geben.
MBS Empfang
Für den Vorabend am 21. Juni 2022 möchten wir alle Teilnehmer der Konferenz begrüßen. Treffen Sie andere Teilnehmer beim MBS Apero, gesponsert von Monkeybread Software.
Bei der Anmeldung zur Konferenz können Sie sich gleich mit dafür anmelden, da wir eine Teilnehmerzahl brauchen für das Hotel.
MBS Plugin Workshop
Wir planen einen Schulungstag für den 21. Juni 2022. Anmeldung bei uns.
Hier geben wir Ihnen einen Überblick über das MBS Plugin, schauen uns Beispiele an und erklären wie man bestimmte Aufgaben löst. Bitte bringen Sie ihre Fragen und Themenwünsche mit.
Die Teilnahme kostet 199 Euro inkl. Verpflegung und MWSt., 149 Euro bei Anmeldung bis zum 12. März. Falls die Konferenz abgesagt wird, fällt die Schulung automatisch aus.
FileMaker Schnittstellen Workshop – JSON und REST-API
Erobern Sie mit FileMaker das Internet! In einer zweitägigen Schulung zeigt Ihnen FileMaker Experte Bernhard Schulz am 20. und 21. Juni 2022, wie Sie mit FileMaker Bordmitteln über Server-Schnittstellen per REST/JSON mit Fremdsystemen kommunizieren und umfangreiche Daten austauschen. Der Workshop findet direkt vor der FileMaker Konferenz ebenfalls in der HafenCity Hamburg statt.
Mehr Informationen
From time to time clients run into trouble with placing orders. Sorry for that, but let us take the time to explain a bit.
The order process goes into multiple steps with several parties. Each step may fail and then the customer is frustrated.
In the order process MBS website sends you to the store website. If that website loads, you can enter your details. Then you get directed to the payment processor website (adyen or PayPal for example). These pages need to load and then loads itself the bank website for the second factor. Most banks ask you some additional thing like a token sent via SMS, a code generated in an app or a transaction password. Once that step is done, the bank redirects back to the shop and once you completed there, we get redirected to our website.
On that way of redirects, all content filters in the browser may decide to block something. But bigger problems seem to be that older browsers are in use and the latest TLS v1.2 is not used or not used with stronger cryptography.
If you run into those problems, please switch to a different browser, e.g. try a recently updated copy of Safari, Google Chrome or Firefox. You may disable ad blockers and make sure they are up to date including your operation system.
Let us introduce you the Scintilla control for Xojo. A professional source code editor for your Xojo projects.
See also ScintillaControlMBS and DesktopScintillaControlMBS controls and the MBS Xojo Scintilla Plugin page.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions.
We are happy to inform you that Stefanie Juchmes mastered the certification for Claris FileMaker 19. Congratulations Stefanie!
A bit over three years ago Stefanie started her job at Monkeybread Software. We asked her to learn all about our plugins, Xojo and FileMaker. And to proof that she got the knowledge, we asked here to make her own projects, videos for conferences and of course also get certificated. And yes, this test is quite demanding. It requires that you know a lot of different things in the platform. Just like school you may not need those details in the future, but you never know what you need in advance.
If you like to do the test yourself, you may watch the courses at
Productive Computing University and
FMTrainingTV, the books
The FileMaker Manual for Novices by Richard Carlton and
Learn FileMaker Pro 19 by Mark Munro, the
Claris Community FileMaker Certification pages and the related
FAQ.
Nickenich, Germany - (March 15th, 2022) -- MonkeyBread Software today is pleased to announce
MBS FileMaker Plugin 12.1 for macOS, iOS, Linux and Windows, the latest update to their product that is easily the most powerful plugin currently available for Claris FileMaker produce line. As the leading database management solution for Windows, macOS, iOS and the web, the Claris FileMaker Pro Integrated Development Environment supports a plugin architecture that can easily extend the feature set of the application.
MBS FileMaker Plugin 12.1 has been updated and now includes over 6700 different functions, and the versatile plugin has gained more new functions:
We extend the auto complete feature on macOS for variable names and added auto complete for MBS function names. Type a letter to see component list. When you have a pick in the menu, type a dot to complete and then type the next letter for the function. Column width saving for the Layout Picker dialog is now implemented. The
SyntaxColoring.ColorizeScript function can colorize a script text for you.
For Windows we got
WinPhotoAcquire functions to import photos from digital cameras (DLSR) on your Windows PC. We show the standard Windows dialogs for picking the device or what pictures to import.
The
DynaPDF functions got new support for PDF/A 2u and 3u in
DynaPDF.CheckConformance function. The
DynaPDF.SetSpaceWidthFactor function allows you to control how the DyanPDF.ExtractText function adds spaces. If you like to produce invoices with ZUGFeRD standard, we got a new example database to show you have to create the XML and embed it into a PDF.
Doing math in FileMaker? We got a few new functions to work on lists as well as multiple parameters:
Math.Average,
Math.Max,
Math.Median,
Math.Min,
Math.Multiply,
Math.Reciprocal,
Math.StandardDeviation, and
Math.Sum.
If you use the FileMaker iOS SDK on a M1 Mac, you can now run the
MBS FileMaker Plugin with Apple Silicon in the iOS simulator.
We tuned our
WebHook functions to limit the maximum size of a request. Use
WebRequest.GetBodySize and
WebRequest.GetSize to query the size of the request later.
Our plugin knows the parameter names for functions and you can query them with
Plugin.GetFunctionParameters function. We show a tooltip on macOS for the function parameters if you hover over the MBS function name with your mouse cursor. The trace logs show the parameter names for MBS calls, which should help debugging your scripts.
For macOS you can now change the alignment of text in a dialog with
Dialog.SetTextAlignment function. You can use
FM.QueryCustomFunctionsList and
FM.CustomFunctionsList functions to query the list of custom functions in a file. And with
CNContactStore.FetchContact you can fetch a contact again to refresh it if needed.
We got a
Audit.Statistics function to help you check what
Audit functions did, a
Files.AudioCoverArt function to query cover art pictures for MP3, MP4 or FLAC music files, a
Text.Reverse function with proper Emoji handling and a handy
Dictionary.Lookup function to return a value or the default value. The
XML.Colorize and
JSON.Colorize functions now support dark mode.
Finally we updated CURL library to version 7.82.0, DynaPDF to 4.0.66.172, LCMS to 2.13.1, SQLAPI to 5.1.9, SQLite to 3.38.1, Xcode to 13.2.1.
See
release notes for a complete list of changes.
Nickenich, Germany - (March 15th, 2022) -- MonkeyBread Software today is pleased to announce
MBS Xojo Plugins 22.1 for macOS, Linux and Windows, the latest update to their product that is easily the most powerful plugin collection currently available for Xojo.
MBS Xojo Plugins have been updated and now includes over 3000 classes and 79,000 documented features, and the versatile plugins have gained more new functions:
For over ten years we had classes to work with Phidget devices. Check out the
Phidgets website for a list of sensors, motors and I/O boards available. We rewrote the
classes to use the newer Phidgets libraries and integrate newer APIs. Your Xojo app can use sensors for light or temperature, react on them with running a motor to move the solar arrays. The
old Phidget classes got an Old prefix, so you can continue to use them until you moved to the
new classes.
Our
Scintilla control to host a professional text editor got a lot of Xojo developers excited. We enhanced it with a few new functions and bug fixes. The updated example shows you how to implement search and replace as well as HTML syntax colorizing. The LexerNames functions can list the over 100 available lexers to pick one for syntax coloring.
For macOS we added
NSSwitchControlMBS and
DesktopNSSwitchControlMBS controls to host a switch control. The
NSSwitchMBS class can configure the control appearance. The controlSize property for
NSControlMBS class allows you to pick between small, normal and big button styles. If you load symbol images for
NSImageMBS class, you can now use
NSImageSymbolConfigurationMBS class to configure the options for it.
The
DynaPDFMBS class got new support for PDF/A 2u and 3u. The new SpaceWidthFactor property allows you to control how the ExtractText function adds spaces. And you can pass empty text for RenameSpotColor to make a no name spot color.
For Windows we updated our
Chromium classes to a newer version of CEF. Whatever Xojo version you use, our plugin can detect the version of Chromium and use the right interface.
We changed the MenuAction events for our controls to be named ContextualMenuAction or ContextualMenuItemSelected to match Xojo. Our ConstructContextualMenu events are now matching Xojo's controls. You may have to adjust your code if you use those.
We got a CoverArt property for
TagLibFileRefMBS class to read cover art for MP3, MP4 or FLAC music files, the CheckCertificates and Verify methods for
X509MBS class, a quick and handy
ContainsWholeWordMBS function, and a SetTextAlignment method to change text alignment for
NSAlertMBS class.
Finally we updated CURL library to version 7.82.0, DynaPDF to 4.0.66.172, LCMS to 2.13.1, SQLAPI to 5.1.9, SQLite to 3.38.1 and Xcode to 13.2.1.
See
release notes for a complete list of changes.
15. März 2022 - Monkeybread Software veröffentlicht heute das MBS FileMaker Plugin für FileMaker in Version 12.1, mit inzwischen über 6700 Funktionen eines der größten FileMaker Plugins überhaupt. Hier einige der Neuerungen:
Wir erweitern die Autovervollständigung für macOS um die automatische Vervollständigung für MBS Funktionsnamen. Geben Sie einen Buchstaben ein, um die Komponentenliste zu sehen. Wenn Sie eine Auswahl im Menü haben, geben Sie einen Punkt ein. Damit wählen Sie den Eintrag und anschließend geben Sie den nächsten Buchstaben für die Funktion ein. Das Speichern der Spaltenbreite für den Layout Dialog ist nun implementiert. Die SyntaxColoring.ColorizeScript Funktion kann einen Skripttext einfärben.
Für Windows gibt es die WinPhotoAcquire Funktionen, mit der Sie Fotos von Digitalkameras (DLSR) auf Ihren Windows-PC importieren können. Wir zeigen die Standarddialoge von Windows für die Auswahl des Geräts oder der zu importierenden Bilder.
Die DynaPDF Funktionen haben neue Unterstützung für PDF/A 2u und 3u in der DynaPDF.CheckConformance Funktion. Mit der Funktion DynaPDF.SetSpaceWidthFactor können Sie steuern, wie die DynaPDF.ExtractText Funktion Leerzeichen hinzufügt. Wenn Sie Rechnungen mit dem ZUGFeRD-Standard erstellen möchten, haben wir eine neue Beispieldatenbank, die Ihnen zeigt, wie Sie das XML erstellen und in ein PDF einbetten müssen.
Rechnen Sie in FileMaker? Wir haben ein paar neue Funktionen, die mit Listen und mehreren Parametern arbeiten: Math.Average, Math.Max, Math.Median, Math.Min, Math.Multiply, Math.Reciprocal, Math.StandardDeviation, und Math.Sum.
Wenn Sie das FileMaker iOS SDK auf einem M1 Mac verwenden, können Sie das MBS FileMaker Plugin mit Apple Silicon im iOS Simulator nativ ausführen.
Wir haben unsere WebHook-Funktionen angepasst, um die maximale Größe einer Anfrage zu begrenzen. Mit WebRequest.GetBodySize und WebRequest.GetSize fragen Sie die Größe einer Anfrage ab.
Unser Plugin kennt die Parameternamen für Funktionen und Sie können sie mit der Funktion Plugin.GetFunctionParameters abfragen. Wir zeigen unter macOS einen Tooltip für die Funktionsparameter an, wenn Sie mit dem Mauszeiger über den MBS-Funktionsnamen fahren. Die Trace-Logs zeigen die Parameternamen für MBS-Aufrufe an, was bei der Fehlersuche in Ihren Skripten helfen sollte.
Unter macOS können Sie jetzt die Ausrichtung von Text in einem Dialog mit der Funktion Dialog.SetTextAlignment ändern. Sie können die Funktionen FM.QueryCustomFunctionsList und FM.CustomFunctionsList verwenden, um die Liste der benutzerdefinierten Funktionen in einer Datei abzufragen. Und mit CNContactStore.FetchContact können Sie einen Kontakt erneut abrufen, um ihn bei Bedarf zu aktualisieren.
Wir haben eine Audit.Statistics-Funktion, mit der Sie überprüfen können, was die Audit-Funktionen gemacht haben, eine Files.AudioCoverArt-Funktion, mit der Sie die Coverbilder für MP3-, MP4- oder FLAC-Musikdateien abfragen können, eine Text.Reverse-Funktion mit richtiger Emoji-Behandlung und eine praktische Dictionary.Lookup-Funktion, die einen Wert oder den Standardwert zurückgibt. Die Funktionen XML.Colorize und JSON.Colorize unterstützen jetzt den dunklen Modus.
Schließlich haben wir die CURL-Bibliothek auf Version 7.82.0, DynaPDF auf 4.0.66.172, LCMS auf 2.13.1, SQLAPI auf 5.1.9, SQLite auf 3.38.1 und Xcode auf 13.2.1 aktualisiert.
Alle Änderungen in den Release Notes.
Your FileMaker solution may have a need to connect to another database. While you can do ESS, we offer an alternative way. You can connect via script to a database, run SQL statements and close the connection. That is a great way to move a few records in one direction or even implement a synchronization routine.
Alternatively you can have a script to open the connection when the solution opens. Then just have various calculations and scripts refer to the open connection and run queries as needed. Like have a formula field on a layout to query a number for a value from the foreign table and show it to the user. Like a solution to manage shows and query from the web shop how many tickets got sold.
So what do you need?
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New in this prerelease of the 22.1 plugins:
- Updated SQLAPI to version 5.1.9.
- Fixed potential problem that SetCharacteristicValue method could crash in WindowsBlueToothLEMBS class on low memory situation.
- Fixed buffer passing in SetCharacteristicValue method for WindowsBlueToothLEMBS class.
Download:
monkeybreadsoftware.com/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/ or
from DropBox.
Or ask us to be added to our shared DropBox folder.
New in this prerelease of version 12.1 of the
MBS FileMaker Plugin:
- Changed Archive functions to enable UTF-8 support by default, so asian characters work well.
- Updated SQLAPI to version 5.1.9.
- Fixed CURL.OpenInputFile to stream files over 1 GB again.
- Fixed an issue in WebHook.Listen not working on Windows.
- Fixed a memory leak on Windows for WebHook functions.
Download at
monkeybreadsoftware.com/filemaker/files/Prerelease/, in
DropBox folder or ask for being added to the DropBox shared folder.
New in this prerelease of the 22.1 plugins:
- Added SetTextAlignment method to NSAlertMBS class to use left text alignment for dialogs on macOS.
- Fixed a problem in SSH2TunnelMBS class, where cancel didn't end the tunnel quickly in some cases.
- Renamed Close event to DidClose in WKWebViewControlMBS and WKWebViewIOSControlMBS.
- Updated CURL to version 7.82.0.
- Changed ConstructContextualMenu and ContextualMenuItemSelected/ContextualMenuAction events to not declare them in the plugin, but let Xojo just add them.
- Renamed MenuAction events to ContextualMenuAction or ContextualMenuItemSelected to match Xojo.
Download:
monkeybreadsoftware.com/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/ or
from DropBox.
Or ask us to be added to our shared DropBox folder.
New in this prerelease of version 12.1 of the
MBS FileMaker Plugin:
- Added Audit.Statistics function.
- Added Dialog.SetTextAlignment and Dialog.GetTextAlignment functions to use left text alignment for dialogs on macOS.
- Added proper error messages for sockets on Windows.
- Fixed a problem with tunnel in SSH functions, where SSH.Tunnel.Cancel didn't end the tunnel quickly in some cases.
- Fixed a problem with XML.Query, where the first only flag was not handled correctly.
- Updated CURL to version 7.82.0.
- Updated Method-Draw example to newer version, so it works in FileMaker 19.4 on Windows.
Download at
monkeybreadsoftware.com/filemaker/files/Prerelease/, in
DropBox folder or ask for being added to the DropBox shared folder.
The ScintillaControlMBS control in MBS Xojo Plugins comes with a standard contextual menu and you may not have any need to change it. Here you see screenshots from Mac and Windows:
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Since Big Sur the text alignment for standard dialogs on macOS is centered, but we found a way to adjust that if needed:
For
FileMaker, you can use the new
Dialog.SetTextAlignment function to change alignment.
For
Xojo, you can use the new
SetTextAlignment method in
NSAlertMBS class to configure this.
In both cases you can pass left, center and right as desired wish. You can also ask for natural alignment, which may do right or left depending on the locale. Also defined is the justified value, but not sure if the dialog honors it.
You can try those in pr6 of our plugins.
Check out the FMTraining.tv website. Richard Carlton and his team do a daily free live stream about FileMaker to watch. And they have a huge library of FileMaker training material to watch and learn all about the Claris FileMaker product family.
A few days ago Christian Schmitz from Monkeybread Software joined a live episode to talk a bit about the MBS FileMaker Plugin. Watch it on YouTube.
We show you how to use AVRecorder functions in MBS FileMaker Plugin to get pictures from a webcam.
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The March/April (20.2) issue of
xDev Magazine is now available. Here's a quick preview of what's inside:
A Rad Way for RAD by David Duke
Xojo is an awesome RAD -- Rapid Application Development -- platform, but there are still features missing for a finished, polished application. Now David Duke is introducing his new Cryptic RADPACK, an add-on for Xojo that includes tons of widgets, controls, and other bits of code to make creating your next app even faster!
Stuck in Quarantine by Marc Zeedar
As Apple makes macOS more secure, it also complicates app installation. Here Marc writes about getting bitten by Apple's "quarantine" feature when he installed Xojo.
Cipher Part 6 -- DES by Eugene Dakin
Eugene culminates his "ciphere" series by exploring the DES encryption standard, which builds upon everything we've learned so far.
Colorominoes by Marc Zeedar
Marc tries to get a game written in REALbasic in the 1990s up and running with the latest Xojo.
Plus: Debugging basics, desktop user interfaces, how to make Wifi QR codes, SQL triggers, and much more!
New in this prerelease of the 22.1 plugins:
- Added search and replace window to Scintilla example project.
- Updated SQLite to version 3.38.0.
- Updated DynaPDF to version 4.0.66.172.
- Deprecated DuckDatabaseMBS and related classes since MBS Xojo SQL Plugin handles this.
- Added Add method for StringHandleMBS class to add another StringHandleMBS object.
- Fixed a problem with SQLPreparedStatementMBS class, where an invalid parameter name would crash the app as clang optimized the NULL check away.
- Disabled debug logging for WordFile class. Sorry for leaving that on.
Download:
monkeybreadsoftware.com/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/ or
from DropBox.
Or ask us to be added to our shared DropBox folder.
New in this prerelease of version 12.1 of the
MBS FileMaker Plugin:
- Updated SQLite to version 3.38.0.
- Fixed little bug in trace logs on Windows introduced in pr4.
- Disabled debug logging for WordFile functions. Sorry for leaving that on.
- Fixed an issue with JSON.GetDoubleValue and related functions not passing number back with comma (and used dot) where comma would be appropriated. Broken in 12.0.
- Fixed an edge case for underscore variables conflicting in auto complete with field names using underscores.
- Updated DynaPDF to version 4.0.66.172.
- Added subscript and superscript to RichText functions.
- Added SyntaxColoring.ColorizeScript function.
- Changed script colors to make selected line black (white for Dark Mode) for better readability.
- Changed trace to show license key in clear text if the license key is too short, so you may notice it.
Download at
monkeybreadsoftware.com/filemaker/files/Prerelease/, in
DropBox folder or ask for being added to the DropBox shared folder.
On my next visits to Berlin and Hamburg, we plan Xojo developer meetings:
