FileMaker 17 was officially announced last week, and there are some pretty cool new features to share. I’m going to highlight the Show Custom Dialog Variables, now updated for the use of variables or fields, which should be a time saver for you.
So how many of us have been using global fields to enter data as input fields in a custom dialog? Whether it’s entering a date range or year to search on reports or using it to search by last name, like I have in the screenshots below, we no longer have to add special fields or clear them when running the script.
So lets take a look at how to set up Show Custom Dialog Variables. I have created a quick script that only does a “find off last name” in a Contacts table as you can see below. There’s no real error trapping if records don’t exist — that’s for another post.
First, you would add the Show Custom Dialog to your script, then open it up to view options. Once opened, you will be on the General tab, which I have added text to for the Title and Message.
Next click on the Input Fields, and you will see this:
So I have selected to Show input for field #1 and the Specify Target dialog popped up and now you are able to choose Variable and enter a name as seen in the screen shot.
Clicking ok will show you the Options and you can see the variable name next to the Specify.
When you are done, the dialog is set as it usually is but without using fields.
Show Custom Dialog Variables is definitely a timesaving feature! Enjoy the rest of your week, and email me with any questions.
– James
James Scarpetta
The Scarpetta Group, Inc.
FileMaker 16 Certified Developer
james@scarpettagroup.com
