Tips and Tricks
TSC is
committed to helping you succeed. Our focus is on our customers! Below you will
find some tips and tricks we have developed to help you get the most from
FileMaker Pro and your
computer.
Have a tip you think would help other users? Send us an e-mail and
we will post your tip on the site with a link to your site. E-mail us at
tips@fmdeveloper.com.
The topics we cover in our FREE Tips and Tricks Section are:
FileMaker Tips and Tricks
Networking Tips and Tricks
Anti-Virus Tips and Tricks
Security Tips and Tricks
Website Development Tips and Tricks
Internet
General Computing
We would also like to hear your feedback
on the 'Tip of the Week' feature and our tips and tricks section. Please contact us with your input.
FileMaker Tips and Tricks
Scripting Technique - Using Allow User Abort and Error Capture
Always start scripts with Allow User Abort (off)
and Set Error Capture (on). By doing so, you can ensure the user
will not cancel the script before it is completed. By turning error
capture on, you are able to provide "catches" when an
error occurs, and capture user responses to messages. Download a
sample script here. For more tips
on how to make the most of FileMaker contact us to discuss your
needs.
Export a file with a header record directly from FileMaker
We have a new sample database and documentation for how to create a
header record for a .csv or .tab export. This is just one technique
that can be used to create a header record for an export. You can
download a .zip file of the documentation, FileMaker database and
sample export here. Still have
questions? Contact us and we can offer you support via e-mail. Check
out our rates here.
A basic inventory system developed in FileMaker - Learn
how to build your own
This week's tip involves developing a simple inventory system. This
system allows for the entry of items, addition and deduction of
inventory. This system is not password protected, so feel free to
look at how you can accomplish this for yourself. If you need
assistance on a project, contact us! You can download a .zip file
with the sample system here.
Easily identify duplicate records in your FileMaker
databases - An easy to implement solution to the duplicate record problem
Duplicate records can cause trouble in
many FileMaker databases. This tutorial will show you how to create
an easy way to identify duplicates. All it takes is a relationship
and 2 fields to find all duplicates in your FileMaker database.
Download a PDF file with instructions
here.
Download the sample FileMaker database
here.
Still have questions? Have a project you need help with? Contact us
today!
Sending e-mail from FileMaker without the Outlook
warning and 5 second delay
Many FileMaker Pro databases use the built in Send Mail script function to send e-mails directly from FileMaker. With the security updates on Outlook a dialog appears that gives the user the option to allow the e-mail to be sent or to deny the request. The worst part of all is the 5 second delay with the dialogue box. There IS a solution. Express ClickYes is a free program that will make that dialogue disappear. Download the
free program here and say goodbye to the problem of sending e-mail directly from FileMaker.
A FileMaker survey program for you to use for FREE or
learn to build your own
This week's tip is how to create a
simple survey program in FileMaker. The sample database allows you to collect
user results and view the result summaries. All of this is accomplished using
only 5 fields. This is the first sample provided that uses FileMaker 7. You can
download the sample database here.
Scripting Technique -
Loop through records and combine a value from all records into one filed - Use
for blast e-mails
A bonus tip this week! In response to a request on a FileMaker forum, we have
created a sample database that will create a list of all e-mail addresses in a
file. This unlocked file allows you to learn how to loop through all records in
your file, and create a field containing all of the e-mail addresses separated
by a comma (or other delimiter you choose). Download the file here.
Sub-Summary report creation to show totals
If you need to create a report that
shows the total number of values in a field, there is a simple technique to
create a report that displays your data. First, create a calculation field whose
result is a calculation equal to one. Next, create a summary field of your
calculation field. Then, create a layout and place the field you are evaluating
and the summary field in a sub-summary layout part sorted by the field you are
evaluating. Finally go to the layout, sort by the value and you have a count of
the fields. Download a sample file here.
Using an Opener file to run a script at intervals or
allow users to open remote files
Our Tip of the Week this week is a
tutorial on how to use an "Opener" file in your FileMaker solutions. This
tutorial applies to Windows machines, but the basic concept of the FileMaker
Opener file works on the Macintosh platform. With this tutorial you can schedule
a remote script to run automatically at regular intervals. Read the full PDF
file on the "Opener" File here. As always, we
welcome your input on our FREE Tips and Tricks.
Go to a different FileMaker layout based on the
number of records in the found set
This tip relates to FileMaker
Pro development. This is a great way to add a little extra
degree of customization to your solution. This tip is a PDF
file that shows a script that goes to a layout depending on
the number of records found. If only one record is found,
you go just to a form layout. If more than one record is
found, then go to a list view. Download this
FileMaker Tip PDF here.
This script was written using FileMaker Pro version 7, but
will work in any version of FileMaker. (Just change
Get(FoundCount) to Status(CurrendFoundCount).
Special offer from FileMaker Inc on FileMaker
software
FileMaker, Inc. has a special offer to get you up and
running with FileMaker software. They are offering a
FileMaker bundled solution that contains a copy of
FileMaker Server, FileMaker Developer, FileMaker Pro and a
year of maintenance. You have three options to choose from
and you can save up to $500. Find more information at
FileMaker.com.
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Networking Tips and Tricks
How to secure your
wireless network - Free tips
Wireless networks have become extremely popular
with businesses and consumers alike. Many users do not understand
the security issues that come with having a wireless network in
place. Here are some tips to protect your wireless network:
- Change the password on your router from the default
- Enable WEP security on your router
- If your router supports it, limit access to the network to only the MAC address of your computer
- After configuring your computer(s) to access the wireless network disable SID broadcast
Contact us for more information on how we can help make your wireless network
perform at its best, and keep your information and network secure.
Remotely access your PC
from anywhere - $10 off through TSC
This week's tip is for all of you who
have ever forgotten a document on your computer at home, or wanted to check your
e-mail that you can only get from home.
GotoMyPC
offers a great service that is
easy and secure to use. By using
GotoMyPC
you can access your home or office
computer from anywhere! Their service is perfect for busy people everywhere. And
for a limited time, get $10 off when you sign up by clicking on the link below.
Not ready to purchase the service yet? Just sign up for the free trial and
experience full access for free! Find a
review of GoToMyPC here.
An automatic backup solution for home and business users
Many people lose valuable data because they do not back up their
important information stored on their computer. Their are many ways to backup
this information, but a new one has arrived that is easier than the rest. The
Mirra backup unit will automatically back up the information from the folders on
your computer that you specify. Not only do these units allow you to backup
files, it also allows you to share files with anyone over the internet with no
monthly fees. The 80 GB unit costs only $399. Interested? Click the link below
and either purchase or request more information from Mirra. Don't lose any
valuable information the next time your computer fails.
Secure online storage using XDrive just got better!
XDrive
has just increased
the amount of online storage they provide to customers. They
now give 5 Gb of storage (used to by 500 Mb). This greatly
increases the value of their product. If you were waiting
for a good time to get online storage, the time has come.
For under $10 per month, you get 5 Gb of storage. Just click
the icon below, to signup or get more info today!
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Anti-Virus Tips and Tricks
Protect your computer
with this FREE anti-virus program
A new week has brought a new virus. Always keep your anti-virus
software up to date. Don't have an antivirus program? Grisoft offers
a free, full version anti-virus program on their site,
www.grisoft.com.
We highly recommend this program.
The best way to
protect your computer - Free Anti-Virus, Free Spyware Removal Tools, and the
best personal Firewall Program
Spyware and viruses are a constant
threat to computer users at home and office alike. TSC recommends the following
programs for all computer users:
Grisoft AVG Anti-virus
(Free for home users)
Lavasoft Ad-Aware
(Free)
Spybot Search and Destroy (Free)
Zone
Labs - ZoneAlarm Pro ($39.95)
TSC recommends that you set AVG to update virus definitions each day, and to
scan your computer each day. Also, be sure that you enable real-time protection
and e-mail scanning. Run Ad-aware once a week and remove any spyware on your
machine. You should also run Spybot once a week, as it may find some spyware
that Ad-aware does not find.
ZoneAlarm Pro is a firewall program that protects your computer from
hackers. They also offer protection against spyware. Following our
recommendations will help keep your computer running at its best.
Business Anti-Virus Solution and Free Online Virus Scans
Everyone should have an anti-virus program installed on
their computer. We recommend AVG by Grisoft, as it is free
for home users. You can download the free version
here, or if you are a business, you can find pricing
information
here. However, you can also run a virus scan online for
free. We do not recommend relying on online virus scanning,
rather you can use the online scanning to supplement your
currently installed anti-virus software. Trend Micro offers
a free online scanning tool
here. Panda Software also offers a free virus scanning
tool
here.
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Security Tips and Tricks
Quickly remove spyware from your computer
with Ad-Aware
As you surf the internet, cookies (a small file stored on your
computer) are used to keep track of certain personal information.
Not all cookies are bad, but many track your actions on the
internet. A FREE program, Lavasoft Ad-Aware will scan your computer and remove these
"tracking cookies". You can download the program at the
Lavasoft
website. Download these program, and run it weekly. Always check
for updates before running the scan.
Another program to remove spyware, Spybot Search and
Destroy
Another program that will remove
spyware (tracking information placed on your computer while surfing
the web), auto-dialers and other items that invade your privacy is
Spybot Search and Destroy. Download this program from
Download.com and make your computer safe today!
Protect your computer with a personal firewallThis week's tip is about protecting
your computer from hackers and spyware. A great program is Zone Alarm Pro. We
have tested Zone Alarm Pro and find it to be the best that we have used. Many
people do not need personal firewall protection on their home machines. Many
people do not realize that their broadband router is protecting them. However,
it is always good to have extra protection, especially on a laptop that you use
on a variety of networks. You can download Zone Alarm Pro for only $39.95. Zone
Alarm Pro will let you know each time that a program on your computer attempts
to access the internet and you can determine whether you want to allow the
program to access the internet. Zone Alarm Pro can also block spyware before it
is installed on your computer. You get all of these features for $39.95, so
download or order the CD today.
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A Great program to find and
remove Spyware
Spyware is a big problem on
most computers these days. Studies have found 90% of
computers have Spyware installed on them. A good program to
check for Spyware is
HijackThis. Now, this program can be dangerous, because
it lists both good and bad files on your computer. To
prevent yourself from deleting good files, we suggest
putting your HijackThis log onto a forum where other users
will point you in the right direction. A good forum to use
is
http://spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5. Another
good forum to get help with your HijackThis log is
http://www.techsupportforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=50.
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Website Development Tips and Tricks
Get Higher Rankings, find
keywords, control site quality and more!
Want to improve your search engine rankings but don't
have the time or knowledge? Use
Web CEO to get you started - it is a good tool to
research keywords, check for site errors and more. They
even have a free edition. Just click the link below
to get started NOW!
Add live chat capabilities to your website for
FREE with Boldchat
This week's tip is to help you provide
your website visitors with the highest level of customer service
possible. One great way to accomplish this is to offer live chat on
your website. The best program we have found is BoldChat from
Bravestorm. They offer a free version with limited functionality,
with upgrades available for a fee. Visit
www.boldchat.com for more
information and help yourself achieve a higher level of customer
service.
Website Hosting Company
Reviews - Over a year of research
Over the last year, TSC has tested several website hosting
companies. We have published our results on our site, to
help you make the best decision when choosing a website
hosting company. You can view our
website hosting company reviews online.
Start an online
business with a FREE, powerful shopping cart
Ever wanted to have an online
business? Have the perfect product to sell? DON'T spend ANY
money on a shopping cart! That's right - the best shopping
cart around is FREE!
OS
Commerce is an open-source shopping cart that has all of
the features of the high priced shopping carts, and MORE!
Because it is open source, many modifications have been made
by developers, so no matter what the desire, you can find a
solution our there. DON'T PAY A DIME FOR A SHOPPING CART!
Download and install
OS
Commerce today - better yet, choose a
website hosting company (almost all that
we
recommend do) that offers OS Commerce, and avoid
installing OS Commerce manually!
Need a tweak to OS Commerce, but don't know PHP and/or MySQL?
We can help. Contact us for more information.
A robots.txt file for your website - more important than you might
think!
What's the most important
thing for your website (aside from not using Flash)? A
robots.txt file - this is the file that tells the search
engine spiders (the tools the search engines use to read
your pages into their index) what they can and can't see.
What's the simplest robots.txt file you can have?
User-agent: *
Disallow:
This tells the search engine spider that any of them can see
anything on your site. For most websites that's all you need
- if you have an admin section or some other pages you don't
want the world to be able to see, this is the place to put
it.
To lazy, or unsure if you can create your own robots.txt
file? Use the
robots.txt creator tool at
http://www.webtoolcentral.com/webmaster/tools/robots_txt_file_generator/.
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Internet Tips and
Tricks
Remove Internet Explorer Headers when
Printing
This week's tip is to show you how to
remove the headers that print on pages when you print from Internet Explorer.
This simple tip will help get rid of the annoying header and footer easily. You
can get this tip in pdf format
here. This is also a good
time to let you know: YOU SHOULD NOT USE INTERNET EXPLORER. There are better,
more secure alternatives to Internet Explorer. The two best are free and are:
Mozilla and Firefox. You can download both of these
web browsers
here. The
reason for not running Internet Explorer is the large amount of security holes
that exist in Internet Explorer. Using these alternative browsers is not enough
to protect your computer. We still recommend that you follow our previous tips
relating to anti-virus, spyware and firewall software.
Protect your children from pornography, or
monitor your employee's web habits
Is your child being exposed to pornography while surfing the Internet? Are you sure?
Click Here
to find out.
For parents with children, monitoring their internet
activity can be a very difficult thing to do. You could be
unaware that your child is being exposed to pornography. If
you want to protect your child,
Content Watch is the product
for you.
Content Watch lets you take control of the internet
your child is exposed to.
And...
Content Watch also has plans available for businesses
to monitor the internet activity of its employees. Protect
yourself from legal problems by using
Content Watch. Just
click the link above or below and get protected today!
Organize your MP3s, burn
music CDs and play MP3s
Do you have a lot of MP3s that
you need to organize? Want a great MP3 player, and streaming
internet radio? Music Match is the program for you. They
have released the latest version of the MusicMatch Jukebox
10. You can organize your MP3s, copy them to your MP3
player, or listen to live internet radio. They even offer
you a lifetime upgrade. MusicMatch 10 is the best MP3 player
available for your computer! Stop using Windows Media
Player, and upgrade to MusicMatch Jukebox 10.
Surf the Web more
securely by using Firefox by Mozilla
Get rid of Internet Explorer! Mozilla has
updated their popular
Firefox browser to version 1.01. The best way to protect
yourself while on the web is by using Firebox instead of
internet explorer. Download Firefox and stop using Internet
Explorer now. Unfortunately, you should keep Internet
Explorer on your computer, because some sites will work only
with IE.
A good RSS reader
If you spend any time on the
web, you have probably heard of RSS. RSS stands for really
simple syndication and it is a way to share information on
the web. It is most popular for reading news and blogs. A
great tool to view RSS files, and monitor them for changes
is
http://www.rssreader.com/. Try it out and keep up to
date on the latest information on the web.
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General Computing Tips and Tricks
How to partition your hard drive
Many people, have only one partition on their computer. This
means that all of your operating system, program, and
documents are on the same logical drive. As a result, if
your operating system crashes, it is more likely that you
will loose all of your documents. In order to avoid this,
you should partition your drive into 3 segments. One
partition for your operating system and program files, one
for your operating system paging file, and one for your
documents. For example, if you have a 40 GB hard drive, we
recommend 15 GB for the OS and Programs, 5 GB for the paging
file, and 20 GB for your documents.
This configuration will help to limit your exposure to
crashes, and get you back up and running quickly.
To install or not to install Windows XP Service
Pack 2
Windows XP Service Pack 2 has been released for some time
now. Have you installed it yet? We have tried installing
Service Pack 2 on several different machines running Windows
XP. Our results...do NOT install Service Pack 2 unless you
do a clean install of Windows XP. On ALL machines that we
installed Service Pack 2 on, aside from those with a clean
install of XP, we experiences SEVERE problems.
Final Recommendation: Do NOT install Service Pack 2
for Windows XP, unless you do a clean install. If you do try
to run Service Pack 2 on a machine that does not have a
clean install of Windows XP, be sure to backup ALL of your
data, or you may lose it all!
Using The Power Cycle to get your cable or DSL
connection running fast again
The Power Cycle: Cable and DSL broadband
connections in the home are becoming more and more popular.
But are you getting the speed you used to? Many people
experience slowing internet connections over time, and don't
know how to fix it. Before you sit on hold with technical
support, the easiest way to get the speed back up to what it
used to be: The Power Cycle. Unplug the modem
first, and then unplug your router (if you have one). Leave
both the modem (cable or DSL) and the router unplugged for
30 seconds. Plug back in the modem first. Then plug in the
router. You have just completed The Power Cycle.
Check your internet connections, and if you still are
experiencing a slow connection, call your internet service
provider.
NEW Google Desktop Search Tool for your Desktop
Google has released their newest technology: Desktop Search.
You can read more about
Google
Desktop Search here. This new technology allows you to
search your files and folder, even your e-mail and internet
history. Do you ever forget what you called that document,
but remember that you used the phrase "FileMaker developer"
in the document? Just use the Google Desktop Search tool to
find the document. This Google technology searches the text
of your documents, e-mails and more, all in a second.
Replace the Windows search tool with the new
Google
Desktop Search today!
KNOW what is running on your computer - and get rid of what
shouldn't be running
Do you know what is running on
your computer? There is a great free program to examine what
is running on your computer:
Security Task Manager. You can download the
free version or purchase the
full version, which adds many great new features. Either
version will give you more information about all of the
programs that are running on your computer - just be sure
you don't delete anything that's running unless you are sure
it isn't supposed to be on your computer!
The best tool to find the files, e-mails, and documents on
your computer
Are you looking for a good way
to find files on your computer? Want to improve the speed of
your computer. We have 2 simple steps to help you accomplish
this.
Step 1:
Open My Computer
Right Click on your hard drive (usually C:) and choose
Properties
Uncheck the option to "Allow Indexing Service to index this
disk for fast file searching"
Step 2:
Download
Copernic Desktop Search
Install Copernic Desktop Search
User Copernic to find your file fast!
Learn more about common operating systems and
computer programs with Video Professor
Want to learn more about how to use
some of the most popular programs on your computer?
Video
Professor offers some great video lessons on common Windows
and Macintosh applications. These computer lessons are easy
to follow and will teach you what you need to know.
Organize your mp3 files with an auto-rename tool
Have a lot of mp3 files on
your computer? Wish there was an easy way to rename all of
the files into one format? THERE IS! Best of all, it's free.
Mp3 Tag Tools v1.2 is a great tool to rename your mp3
files using a consistent format. Download it at
http://www.download.com/Mp3-Tag-Tools/3000-2141_4-10106717.html?tag=pdp_prod.
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