For last version, we got the functions ClearErrors and HadErrors to track whether a script had errors. You can think here like a try catch, where you can run a script later check in the script whether something failed and log that failure. At the MBS FileMaker Plugin workshop this week, we got a few new ideas to catch errors better. We got the idea to collect error logs and provide them as JSON to the developer.
Let us show you a test script:
# start error logging
Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS("ClearErrors") ]
#
# cause some errors
Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS("test"; 1; "Hello") ]
Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS("DynaPDF.Print"; 1; "Hello") ]
#
# now query error log
Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS("ErrorLog") ]
Set Field [ Kontakte::Nachname ; $r ]
Show Custom Dialog [ "Error Log" ; $r ]
As you see we call ClearErrors function early to clear the list (if needed). Then we cause two MBS errors here and don't check result right away.
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Recently a client asked how to make existing index pages clickable in a PDF document. They have existing documents in FileMaker and like to customize them with our DynaPDF functions.
One part of the customization is to make some texts clickable. I recently proposed them to use DynaPDF.ExtractText to read the page number and then use DynaPDF.PageLink function to make the page. To know the distance, the layout has fields to enter where to find the numbers on the right side of the index page. Our loop runs from bottom to top of the page, checks every box for text and if there is a text, we make a link for that page.
Here is the script:
# Initialize DynaPDF if needed
If [ MBS("DynaPDF.IsInitialized") ≠ 1 ]
Perform Script [ Specified: From list ; “InitDynaPDF” ; Parameter: ]
End If
#
# Clear current PDF document
Set Variable [ $pdf ; Value: MBS("DynaPDF.New") ]
#
# optionally we can merge to external file
If [ False ]
Set Variable [ $destPath ; Value: MBS("Folders.UserDesktop") & "/test.pdf" ]
Set Variable [ $r ; Value: MBS("DynaPDF.OpenOutputFile"; $pdf; $destPath) ]
If [ MBS("IsError") ]
Show Custom Dialog [ "Failed to create PDF file." ; $r ]
Exit Script [ Text Result: ]
End If
End If
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New in this prerelease of version 12.3 of the
MBS FileMaker Plugin:
- Added PDF support for Vision.RecognizeText function, so you can get live text from PDF documents.
- Added ' to list of allowed characters for variables or function names in syntax highlighting.
- Updated to DynaPDF 4.0.68.186.
- Added DynaPDF.SetTemplBBox function.
- Updated to LibXL 4.0.4.
Download at
monkeybreadsoftware.com/filemaker/files/Prerelease/, in
DropBox folder or ask for being added to the DropBox shared folder.
Today Claris released the new version 19.5 update for their FileMaker platform. A lot of new features are included and a lot of bug fixes are appreciated.
See announcement in the Claris Community:
Claris FileMaker 19.5 now available.
Release notes:
FileMaker Pro 19.5.1 Release Notes
Claris FileMaker Server 19.5.1 Release Notes
And documentation:
New features in FileMaker Pro 19
New features in FileMaker Server 19
We recommend the current 12.2 version for MBS Plugin for use with FileMaker 19.5. Older plugins may work, but you will miss out various bug fixes and improvements we made for 19.4 and 19.5.
As you may notice the LiveText feature is already available in
MBS FileMaker Plugin for years with the
Vision.RecognizeText function. And we are curious to see how the QRCode function in FileMaker relates to our
Barcode.Detect and
Barcode.Scan functions.
New in this prerelease of version 12.3 of the
MBS FileMaker Plugin:
Download at
monkeybreadsoftware.com/filemaker/files/Prerelease/, in
DropBox folder or ask for being added to the DropBox shared folder.
If you use
Audit functions in
MBS FileMaker Plugin, you can configure them with a couple of options, so let's check the options.
Date and time as numbers
For years we had the problem, that two people working on a database may have different locale. So one opens a records and saves it with "12.05.2022" as date (12th May). Then another user looks on the record and FileMaker formats it in different locale as 05/12/2022 and saves that. The Audit log would record that as a change and cause a lot of extra log entries.
To avoid this trouble, we added an option for 12.3 to store the time, date and timestamp values as numbers. Once turned on with
Audit.SetDateAndTimeAsNumbers function, you see them stored numerical. Of course if you have old entries, those will now be logged again with their numeric value. So better start using this when you start with a fresh AuditLog.
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In this article we want to introduce you the new functions from the MBS FileMaker Plugin in version 12.2.
Error Count for MBS functions
For years we already have the isError function in the MBS FileMaker Plugin.
We can call this after a MBS function to see if the previous MBS function returned an error.
If you use many MBS functions in a script this can get confusing and it might be enough for you, e.g. if you are testing a script,
to know if a plugin function in the whole script throws an error at all. For this we have developed two new functions.
With the HadErrors
function you get back the number that is currently in the error counter.
This will be incremented by one whenever a MBS function returns an error.
If you want to log the errors of a script,
you first have to call the ClearErrors
function to set the Error Count to 0.
At the end of the script you can then call the HadErrors function.
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If you have a license for our plugins, you can renew it at any time and add additional years at current pricing.
While our updates are already discounted at 50%, you can take multiple years and get an additional discount:
- 2nd year with 10% reduction
- 3rd year with 20% reduction
- 4th year with 20% reduction
- 5th year with 20% reduction
For example a $99 update for 5 years would be factor 4.3 instead of 5, so $425.70 instead of $495 with a $69.3 discount.
Please
contact us to let us know you like to order with discount, so we can raise a custom invoice for your purchase.
If you order a multi year update via our web shop for full price, we can extend the MBS Plugin licenses (not DynaPDF or LibXL) with extra months instead of a discount:
- 2 years -> 1 month extra
- 3 years -> 3 months extra
- 4 years -> 6 months extra
- 5 years -> 9 months extra
This should be about the same level of discount. In any case, please
let us know in advance. With ordering now in advance, you can secure current pricing.
And of course we appreciate the trust that customers put into us when they update for several years.
Please note that you may need to depreciate the value of the purchase over multiple years in most countries.
At the dotfmp conference we got a nice idea for a feature:
MBS FileMaker Plugin already scans script lines to find missing variables and show a little warning for undeclared variables. We added the feature to scan for comments containing URLs. If we find an URL, we add a little button to the end of the line, which currently shows an arrow and a globe:
You may click on the line to select it and then click on the control we add. Maybe double click may also work directly. But only if the list of script steps doesn't consume the click, it will come to our control.
You can configure this via our preferences dialog or the new
SyntaxColoring.CommentLinks.SetEnabled function, so you can turn it on and off via script if needed.
Available in 12.3pr2 on our website for FileMaker Pro on macOS.
New in this prerelease of version 12.3 of the
MBS FileMaker Plugin:
Download at
monkeybreadsoftware.com/filemaker/files/Prerelease/, in
DropBox folder or ask for being added to the DropBox shared folder.
At dotfmp conference someone mentioned that he is missing a trigger in FileMaker Pro for when the user starts editing the record and thus locks it. While FileMaker has trigger for record load, commit and revert, there is no edit one. You may do something with a Layout Keystroke, but not all editing is by keyboard usage.
We can implement such a trigger with MBS FileMaker Plugin, our schedule functions and FM.RunScript. When record loads, we start a timer to evaluate an expression every second. This calculation checks whether RecordOpenState changes to 2 for editing and then runs the script to trigger.
Our example uses a Status field in a Status table to show the status. This must be a field in another table to avoid our current record get state changed by our Set Field call. We start with the OnRecordLoad script to set our status and start the timer with Schedule.EvaluateAfterDelay. Delay is 1 second and repeat each second. The expression checks Get(RecordOpenState) and if it is 2, first stops the schedule and then runs a script in the current file named OnRecordEdit:
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For next plugin version we added contextual menu entries for lists in the FileMaker user interface with expandable folders:
You can expand or collapse all with a context menu command.
And once we had that, we got another idea:
We can look on the names and find duplicates. If you ever use "Go To Layout" with name, you may have run into a problem with duplicate layout names. Our plugin selects all duplicate entries, so you can see which are belonging together.
And of course our contextual menu allows you to open the find tools, do copy and paste like the edit menu and show you how many entries are selected.
You can try next week in the version 12.3pr2 for macOS.
New in this prerelease of version 12.3 of the
MBS FileMaker Plugin:
- Added MongoDB functions to connect to Mongo databases.
- Updated LibXL to version 4.0.3.
- Changed DynaPDF.SetFont, DynaPDF.SetFieldFont, DynaPDF.SetFontEx and DynaPDF.Table.SetFont to use unicode as default code page.
- Fixed DynaPDF.SysFontInfo function and example database to not miss the last font.
- Fixed List.DeCombine and QuickList.DeCombine to handle the ReturnNewline parameter correctly.
- Changed Container.GetDataURL function to use right mime type for WebP images.
- Changed variable check to handle "Perform Script", "Perform Script on Server" and "Install OnTimer Script" script steps.
- Fixed a problem where WinPhotoAcquire.Files would not get all the pictures.
- Updated DynaPDF to version 4.0.67.185.
- Updated to Xcode 13.4.
- Added PDF/X 5 and 6 values for DynaPDF functions.
- Added TOTP.Calculate function and TOTP.CurrentTime function to create Time-based one-time passwords.
- Implemented SerialPort.GetCTS, SerialPort.GetDSR, SerialPort.GetDTR, SerialPort.GetRTS, SerialPort.SetCTS, SerialPort.SetDSR, SerialPort.SetDTR, and SerialPort.SetRTS for Linux.
- Added Mode = 2 for SerialPort.List function to return information as JSON.
- You can now use english spelling JSON.Colourise and XML.Colourise if you prefer to call JSON.Colorize or XML.Colorize.
- Fixed to problem where the repetition field in a calculation window was too small.
Download at
monkeybreadsoftware.com/filemaker/files/Prerelease/, in
DropBox folder or ask for being added to the DropBox shared folder.
We work on an update for the Froodware plugins for our existing customers using them. Primarily this is to make sure the plugin will continue to work with FileMaker:
- Updated to newer Xcode
- Fixed a couple of smaller memory leaks.
- Changed license check to work without licensing server.
- Signed and notarized
- New version 2.0.2 for calendar and 3.0.7 for Contacts
- Splash and preferences screens removed as they are no longer needed.
- Updated example databases.
- Includes Apple Silicon support for M1 Macs.
As an existing customer you can choose:
- Get a matching MBS Plugin license with 50% off the license price as an upgrade, so you can switch to MBS functions.
- Or order a renewal for your FWCalendar or FWContacts plugin from MBS to use the newer plugin version.
- Or keep using the old FWCalendar or FWContacts plugin with your existing license for the time being and as long as the old activation server still runs.
If you like to try the new plugin or you like to get the upgrade to MBS, pease contact us. We may ask for the existing license key to verify you purchased the plugins before.
See also Froodware plugins handed over to MonkeyBread Software
Nickenich, Germany - (May 17th, 2022) -- MonkeyBread Software today is pleased to announce
MBS FileMaker Plugin 12.2 for Claris FileMaker 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 12.2 has been updated and now includes over 6700 different functions, and the versatile plugin has gained more new functions:
You may know we have on macOS an option in preferences dialog to turn on links in calculations. When you enter a MBS function call, we change the function name a link to our documentation. With this version we make Get() function calls in FileMaker a link to the documentation, so you can directly lookup what the return values are.
Have you tried custom functions in JavaScript? Beside our cross platform solution, we can do the same using
WebKit's JavaScript engine to do the same. Check
JavaScript.CF function to call custom functions on macOS and iOS. Use
JavaScript.SetPropertyJSON and
JavaScript.GetPropertyJSON to transfer JSON data directly and call functions with
JavaScript.CallFunction.
The
WordFile functions can be used to replace place holders (tags) in a Word document. You can query a list of all tags for this using the
WordFile.Tags function.
The DynaPDF library has been updated and tested to work with ZUGFeRD 2.2 / Factur-X 1.0.06. The
DynaPDF.ReplacePattern function can now handle different font styles for fallback fonts. To put PDF on the clipboard, check the new
Clipboard.SetPDF function.
On MacOS you can now use context menu on the script list in Script Workspace to sort scripts by name. Our plugin extends FileMaker's context menu to add the commands. If clicked, we swap script positions as needed, so FileMaker gets the new order.
To better track errors returned by a plugin, you can call
ClearErrors early in a script. Later you can use
HadErrors function to check if you got an error in the script. That may be easier than calling
IsError after each function call.
For iOS you can now use
DialogModifications functions. This allows you to change error messages shown by FileMaker and customize the text.
The
Clipboard.DetectFileMakerDataType function can now detect menus and menu sets,
JSON.Import has a new RootTableName parameter,
Finally we updated CURL library to version 7.83.1, DukTape to version 2.7, DynaPDF to 4.0.66.181, openssl to 1.1.1n, SQLite to 3.38.5, and Xcode to 13.3.1.
See
release notes for a complete list of changes.
17. Mai 2022 - Monkeybread Software veröffentlicht heute das
MBS FileMaker Plugin für Claris FileMaker in Version 12.2, mit inzwischen über 6700 Funktionen eines der größten FileMaker Plugins überhaupt. Hier einige der Neuerungen:
Sie wissen vielleicht, dass wir unter macOS eine Option in den Einstellungen haben, um Links in Berechnungen zu aktivieren. Wenn Sie einen MBS-Funktionsaufruf eingeben, ändern wir den Funktionsnamen zu einem Link zu unserer Dokumentation. Mit dieser Version machen wir Get()-Funktionsaufrufe in FileMaker zu einem Link zur Dokumentation, so dass Sie direkt nachschlagen können, was die Rückgabewerte sind.
Haben Sie eigene Funktionen in JavaScript ausprobiert? Neben unserer plattformübergreifenden Lösung können wir auch die
JavaScript-Engine von WebKit verwenden, um das Gleiche zu tun. Probieren Sie die Funktion
JavaScript.CF, um benutzerdefinierte Funktionen unter macOS und iOS aufzurufen. Verwenden Sie
JavaScript.SetPropertyJSON und
JavaScript.GetPropertyJSON, um JSON-Daten direkt zu übertragen und rufen Sie Funktionen mit
JavaScript.CallFunction auf.
Die
WordFile-Funktionen können verwendet werden, um Platzhalter (Tags) in einem Word-Dokument zu ersetzen. Dazu können Sie mit der Funktion
WordFile.Tags eine Liste aller Tags abfragen.
Die DynaPDF Bibliothek wurde aktualisiert und getestet und unterstützen ZUGFeRD 2.2 / Factur-X 1.0.06. Die Funktion
DynaPDF.ReplacePattern kann nun mit verschiedenen Schriftarten für Fallback-Fonts umgehen. Um PDF in die Zwischenablage zu legen, gibt es die neue Funktion
Clipboard.SetPDF.
Unter MacOS können Sie jetzt das Kontextmenü der Scriptliste im Scriptarbeitsbereich verwenden, um Scripts nach Namen zu sortieren. Unser Plugin erweitert das Kontextmenü von FileMaker um diese Befehle. Wenn es angeklickt wird, tauschen wir die Scriptpositionen nach Bedarf aus, damit FileMaker die neuen Reihenfolge erhält.
Um Fehler, die von einem Plugin zurückgegeben werden, besser zu verfolgen, können Sie
ClearErrors am Anfang eines Scriptes aufrufen. Später können Sie die Funktion
HadErrors verwenden, um zu prüfen, ob ein Fehler im Script aufgetreten ist. Das kann einfacher sein als der Aufruf von
IsError nach jedem Funktionsaufruf.
Für iOS können Sie jetzt
DialogModifications-Funktionen verwenden. Damit können Sie die von FileMaker angezeigten Fehlermeldungen ändern und den Text anpassen.
Die Funktion
Clipboard.DetectFileMakerDataType kann nun Menüs und Menüsets erkennen,
JSON.Import hat einen neuen Parameter RootTableName,
Schließlich haben wir die CURL-Bibliothek auf Version 7.83.1, DukTape auf Version 2.7, DynaPDF auf 4.0.66.181, openssl auf 1.1.1n, SQLite auf 3.38.5 und Xcode auf 13.3.1 aktualisiert.
Alle Änderungen in den
Release Notes.
New in this prerelease of version 12.2 of the
MBS FileMaker Plugin:
Download at
monkeybreadsoftware.com/filemaker/files/Prerelease/, in
DropBox folder or ask for being added to the DropBox shared folder.
We are happy to announce that we take over two plugins from
Froodware:
After many years of developing our Contacts and Calendar plugin for FileMaker and MacOS we have reached an agreement with MonkeyBread Software (MBS) to take over our plugin business. For a small developer like we are, it became too much a challenge to keep up with Apple’s ever changing software policies, and we can now solemnly focus on developing great Filemaker solutions.
We are very happy that we reached an agreement with MBS, a company that has been well known for their smart utilities like the much used and award winning ‘MBS FileMaker plugin’ which contains a ton of functions that can be used within Claris FileMaker Pro. Exchanging data between Apple’s Contacts and Calendar is also part of this plugin.
We have given them all plugin code and they are looking into to two options:
- offer existing users a special crossgrade offer to their MBS FileMaker plugin.
- continue with development of our Contacts and Calendar plugin, or integrate the functionality into their MBS FileMaker plugin.
Existing users
Nothing changes for existing users: the plugin will keep on working, you can still de-authorise and reauthorise it or download it from our website.
We only stop selling plugins or developing new versions.
All registered users have received an email with addiotonal information about what this means for them.
If you are a registered user and did not receive this email, then please send an email to daniel-at-froodware.com.
Because we want to make this transition as smooth as possible, we will keep our serial number registration server running, and will keep on answering support mails that deal with authorisation issues.
More info about MBS: https://www.monkeybreadsoftware.com/FileMaker/
Below information and download of the latest and in our case last versions of the plugin.
We look forward to welcome the existing users of those plugins and transition them to our MBS Plugin.
