Create a Basic FileMaker Pro Application

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Creating a FileMaker Application is the first step to becoming a FileMaker Pro Developer


FileMaker pro is a robust and stable platform for database developers. Want to take the first steps in developing customized databases for potential customers? First, you need to master the techniques of creating a customized database application. 


This article assumes that you have at least a basic knowledge of FileMaker database design -- its tables, layouts, scripts, calculations, navigation buttons, etc. If not, you should visit the FileMaker Pro resource center and run the tutorials. You will need to have your database ready before you can delve into making your first customized application.


Why create an application?


Let's assume that you are an experienced FileMaker database user. You have created a useful database to keep track of your extensive stamp collection hobby and business. You have thousands of data entries and have created multiple tables -- one for stamps, one for dealers, one for sales. 


Your scripts, layouts and reports have become unwieldy. What you need is to add a "power transmission" to your database with navigation buttons on specialized switchboards. If you wrote a script to find a rare stamp, and that script asks for particulars before it proceeds, why not attach that script to a button, and put that button on a switchboard that tracks similar tasks?


Simple steps in making your FileMaker Pro application


To design your application, you must have a basic knowledge of FileMaker Pro scripting. Scripting employs user-selected instructions to command your database engine. The command can be as simple as retrieving and opening a layout or database report, or as complicated as performing a tax calculation on a FileMaker invoice layout. 


You accumulate your scripts by making associated buttons on individual switchboard sheets -- blank layouts. Your first sheet of command buttons, for example, would be your default opening page with buttons that either navigate to, or open activities defined by, the scripts you prepared.


Follow these steps to make a simple FileMaker Pro application out of an existing database:


While the database is open:


1. Write your scripts: e.g., "Open a Layout," "Run the [name] report."


2. Create a new blank layout. Name it "Home Page" or "Switchboard" (or whatever you wish).


3. While you're in the layout mode, create your command buttons (from the layout tools menu) and select the command from your listing of database scripts.


4.  Make your “Switchboard” or “Home Page” the page that will open each time you launch your new application.  Do the following:


  • Open the File/File Options… menu.
  • On the “Open" tab of the "File Options for "(database name)," check the "Switch to layout" box and select the name of the layout that needs to open when you launch the database.
  • Select the new layout name as your default page, which will open the next time you launch your database application. Select “OK.”


By adding switchboard layouts and command buttons to your database, you have taken the first giant step in becoming a FileMaker Pro developer.


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