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When software becomes part of how an organization runs every day, maintaining it stops being purely technical. People notice things. A button takes too many clicks. Someone has an idea that could save time, but it surfaces in a meeting and is gone by the next week. That was the situation facing Family of [...]
The one login screen everybody hates You know the moment. It's Monday morning, you're mid-task, and FileMaker stops you cold: password expired, change it now. No warning, no heads-up email, just a wall. Multiply that by a few dozen users and you've got a steady trickle of "why can't I log in" messages in [...]
At The Scarpetta Group, the success of our custom software solutions relies just as much on seamless project execution as it does on expert code. That is why we are thrilled to announce the newest addition to our team: Gilles (Jewels) Charles, who joins us as a Project Manager! Jewels is a PMP-certified Project [...]
Layouts often look finished long before they actually are. The interface might appear correct, but small issues—alignment, tab order, script triggers, or object states—can significantly affect usability. Because these issues are easy to miss, I rely on a structured checklist before declaring any layout complete. Before You Begin: Set Expectations A clean layout starts [...]
One of the hardest parts of development is knowing when something is actually finished. The more complex a system becomes, the easier it is to overlook small but critical details. Is there some edge case that I haven’t taken into consideration? Is there something simple that I’m forgetting? Wouldn’t it be amazing if there [...]
One of the most common conversations we have with new clients starts with a simple question: Should we build something custom, or should we buy software that already exists? It sounds like a simple build vs buy software decision, but it rarely is. Most growing companies reach a point where their processes no longer [...]
Adding Intelligent Search to Modern FileMaker Solutions Traditional searches in Claris FileMaker focus on matching exact words stored in fields. This works well when users know the precise wording used in a record, but real-world searches are rarely that precise. Semantic search introduces a more intelligent approach. Instead of matching exact text, it focuses [...]
Virtual lists are a flexible design pattern in FileMaker Pro that support fast, responsive interfaces when implemented intentionally. They are commonly used for dashboards, search results, and summary views where traditional found sets are not ideal. By aligning virtual list design with platform strengths, developers can create interfaces that remain efficient as data volumes [...]
From Design to Long-Term Sustainability In Part 1 of this series, we focused on building a strong user experience (UX) foundation. That post covered understanding users, mapping real-world workflows, simplifying navigation, and improving dialog clarity so FileMaker solutions feel intuitive from the very beginning. In Part 2, we shifted the focus to user interface [...]
From User Experience to User Interface In Part 1 of this series, we focused on the foundation of great FileMaker solutions: user experience (UX). That post explored how understanding users, mapping real-world workflows, simplifying navigation, and refining dialog messaging all contribute to applications that feel intuitive instead of overwhelming. If you haven’t read it [...]