Calling & Chat from Within FileMaker Pro

Here at Sounds Essential, we like the database program FileMaker Pro. It's cross-platform (works on PC, Mac and iOS) and extremely versatile. That’s why we use it for our own business to keep track of clients and projects. Every once in a while, though, we come across something new we'd like the database to do. That often requires a little research to figure how best to implement the solution, as was the case with integrating Skype. Here's our solution that works cross-platform on all devices.

SMS & iPhone Calling Using Skype from Within FMP

A couple of weeks ago, we posted our solution to cross-platform Skype usage from within a FileMaker database. We were pretty pleased with it for our database solution as it allowed us to utilize our Skype subscriptions directly no matter whether we were using a Mac, PC or iPhone.

But it wasn't quite perfect.

Signing Up and Setting Up Security Credentials

We’ve been working with a client recently who wants to host the FileMaker solution we’ve built for them on FileMaker Server – Hooray!  We couldn’t agree more. Using FileMaker Server (FMS) provides more flexibility, security, functionality, backups, better performance – the list goes on, but it’s a wise decision on their part.

But then comes the question, how and where to host?

Launching an Instance and Installing FileMaker Server

The second part of our FileMaker Server (FMS) on Amazon Web Services (AWS) series focuses on launching our server Instance and getting FMS installed and up and running. In our previous blog post, we did all that was necessary on the AWS side to set up groups, users and security prior to being able to launch our server Instance using AWS’ Free Tier option – a free cloud server as long as we stick within the Free Tier guidelines.

So, now that we have all that taken care of, without further ado, let’s launch and connect to our server in the sky…

How To Implement SVGs Into FileMaker Solutions & What We've Learned Along The Way

The introduction of FileMaker Pro 14 earlier this year brought with it some excellent enhancements and new features to the platform. One of these is the ability to use SVGs in buttons on layouts, and this article shares what we've learned about them as we put them to use.

Using Google Maps Javascript API v3

Google has a variety of APIs for its Maps, allowing developers to access, integrate and query map data. Some time back, a client needed the ability to click on a map and capture the selected coordinates into their database, so we started our map quest using the Google Maps Javascript API v3. Since then we've had a number of enquiries as to how this was accomplished and, as a result, we've put together a demo file.

Dropping a Marker When the Map Loads

Following up from our previous post, a reader asked if it was possible to have the marker show automatically when the map loads, if there were coordinates previously selected. Depending how Google Maps is being used in a solution, this is a perfectly reasonable expectation of functionality. So, we decided to add this to the file and post an update. There was, however, one annoying little issue...

Utilizing the FileMaker PHP API

In previous posts, we detailed a technique to capture the coordinates from a Google map and place these into a record in FileMaker. This is certainly a great way to have your users interact with maps, as long as they are using the FileMaker Pro client. If the solution deploys FileMaker WebDirect, the technique does not work. But we have a way that does and after a number of enquiries about how we did it, we’re finally getting around to documenting this and sharing with others...

Utilizing an Elastic IP Address to Access Your FileMaker Server

Continuing our series of FileMaker Server (FMS) on Amazon Web Services (AWS), this installment looks at Elastic IPs, what they are and why you might want one. If you're not familiar with AWS and setting up FMS on an Instance, check out our other blog posts FileMaker Server on Amazon Web Services: Part 1 and FileMaker Server on Amazon Web Services: Part 2 before delving into this one.

So, let’s check out Elastic IPs…

Automating Offsite Backups With AWS & FMS

In this article, the most recent in our FileMaker Server (FMS) on Amazon Web Services (AWS)series, we're looking at backups. It is beyond crucial to have a good backup strategy in place, and FileMaker Server has a great backup system built into it. What we're concerned with here, though, is what we might consider to be "offsite" backups.

Let’s dig in… 

Forwarding FileMaker WebDirect 15 URLs to WebDirect 16

When FileMaker 16 was released in May 2017, there was plenty of fanfare surrounding the many new features it introduced. WebDirect, however, did not get much attention or focus on any changes. But there were some, including an adjustment to the URL used to access a FileMaker solution.

For people that have bookmarked the FileMaker 15 WebDirect URL to your database, this presents a problem. Let’s see how we can fix it… 

Lesson in Brief: Monitor FileMaker Server Via Zabbix Utilizing a Windows 10 Machine

Setting up a FileMaker server and never looking at it again is a recipe for disaster. Are your backups running? Has the scripting engine crashed? Are you running out of memory or CPU? Are your integrations taxing your solution? If any of these things happen, or if you're not monitoring to ensure they don't, you're putting your data at risk.

Lesson in Brief: Fine Tuning The Linux Virtual Machine to Monitor FileMaker Server via Zabbix

If you followed and completed our previous blog post on using Hyper-V in Windows 10 to launch a virtual Linux machine, awesome! Before we dive into the Zabbix portion of all this, we’re going to double check some aspects of our virtual machine.

Lesson in Brief: Logging In and Initial Zabbix Setup

In our previous two Zabbix blog posts, we created and fine tuned a virtual machine on Windows 10, and it’s ready and waiting for us to log in and get Zabbix up and running. So, let’s dive in and see what’s what.

With the release of iOS 13, Apple introduced new features that you can leverage to do some cool things on an iPad or iPhone. Namely, you can open a FileMaker database handsfree using Siri Shortcuts! Want to learn how? Let's go!

Extracting data from FileMaker for use on a webpage has been possible for years using various methods, including the PHP API. With the release of FileMaker 17, however, FileMaker introduced the Data API, allowing developers to interact with a database using industry standard REST methods. If you've never used the Data API before, you might be wondering how to get started. In this post, we're going to show you a very simple way of getting data from a FileMaker database, using the Data API and PHP.

Limit Downtime by Automatically Imaging Your FileMaker Server

For this post in our continuing series on using FileMaker Server (FMS) on Amazon Web Services (AWS), we're going to take a look at implementing automated snapshots. We've discussed in the past how important it is to back up your data files using FileMaker Server's built in back up scheduling feature. We've also explored setting up "offsite" backups in our post, FileMaker Server on Amazon Web Services (AWS): Backups. Both are insanely important, but they aren't the whole story...

Simplify List Management With A Custom Function

Using lists in FileMaker is a common task and we do it a lot in the apps we design. Getting a list of records is relatively straight-forward, but it can get considerably more complicated when you want to manipulate that list by adding or removing values. In this tutorial, we'll use the code we developed for this purpose and turn it into a custom function you can reuse over and over again.

Taking the easy road with automated workflows using Claris Connect

Do you want to automate your workflows but find APIs daunting? Stepping into this arena is the all-new Claris Connect, an IPaaS solution (Integration Platform as a Service) that lets you easily create integrations, allowing you to work faster, with more accuracy and to focus on the business problem itself rather than the tool you're using to solve it. 

That said, we know that dipping your toe in the API economy can be scary, especially if you're not a "coder" or used to these kind of environments. Even the documentation is frequently written "by coders for coders" and can be hard to, uh, decode. Luckily, Claris Connect makes this type of automation much easier and more accessible. In this article, we explore Claris Connect and do a step-by-step walkthrough of how to set up an integration from Stripe to Office365 and Mailchimp!

Using the power of conditional logic to create more complex flows

In part one of our introduction to Claris Connect, the new IPaaS solution (Integration Platform as a Service) from FileMaker parent company Claris, we took a look at creating projects and flows. Sometimes, though, business workflow and logic isn't as straightforward as the examples we used in that article. Many complex business rules require different outcomes based on certain conditions. Well, Claris Connect has you covered! Unlike some other IPaaS solutions, Claris Connect has the ability to create conditional logic and dictate the route of a flow as needed. Let's check it out.