Informative and engaging articles to expand your knowledge of the Claris FileMaker platform
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Business owners always look for ways to streamline operations, improve customer experiences, and stay ahead of the competition. Engaging with …
JavaScript & the WebViewer, with Jeremy Brown of Integrating Magic In July the Claris Beyond Meetup welcomed back Jeremy Brown, of …
A lot of changes have been happening recently at Claris. One of the most exciting is the new Claris Connect free tier. This is the first time …
Salesforce with Ann Kiser In April the Claris Beyond Meetup had the pleasure of hearing Ann Kiser, of SeedCode, discuss utilizing the …
The world of e-commerce is rapidly evolving, and businesses need to adapt to keep up with the ever-changing landscape. As a Claris FileMaker …
Fleet managers … raise your hands! How many fleet managers do we have in the audience today? It’s great to have you all here! To make the most …
FileMaker Review - Today’s the day! FileMaker 2023 is here! Today’s the day for a new FileMaker review! Word is spreading that Claris has …
As FileMaker Developers, most of our clients come to us after they've looked at off-the-shelf software for their business needs. Typically, we hear…
bzBOND WITH ALEC GREGORY The Claris Beyond Meetup had the pleasure of hearing Alec Gregory, of Beezwax, share about end to end web …
Zen: a state of meditative calm in which one uses direct, intuitive insights as a way of thinking and acting. Dictionary.com In the world …
Claris Partner Council We are honored to be participating this year in the Claris Partner Council. In their recent email announcement Claris…
**This post is an updated version of an earlier post that can be found here.** The Button Bar Portal Sort Header gets better and better …
GO TO OUR NEWEST POST TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE DATE PICKER ADD-ON Updated download We originally wrote about our tool, the …
“From customer service and chatbots to data analysis and content creation, ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with and…
The Claris Platform is changing The Claris Platform is changing. The newest additions to the Claris Platform (Claris Connect in 2019, and Claris…
“Innovate every day with Claris. Use a unified, hybrid platform to build and deploy custom apps, integrate with existing data and systems, and …
“If you think that mobile apps are solely for big name brands like Walmart and Bank of America, you are wrong. More and more small and midsize …
Last week Claris held a 2023 Claris News Update Webinar to highlight the advances in the Claris Platform and outline the roadmap for ongoing …
“Claris FileMaker 19.6 continues to deliver significant improvements in performance, security, and reliability, including support for the latest …
Now that using SMTP and basic authorization for sending email has been deprecated, what are you using in your solution instead? In this article, …
We write requirements documentation for database projects all the time, of course, but one of the more challenging requirements we’ve had to deal …
I’m going to use a construction analogy here … would you hire a builder who was building their first house? We have been building Claris FileMaker…
As we move into another new year, we’d like to let you know that 2023 will see the launch of our very own podcast - the FileMaker DevCast, about …
When I meet people and tell them I build custom apps in FileMaker, the number of people who recall the platform from years and years ago with a …
Before understanding the importance of user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) in custom software design, we first need to understand that …
At Portage Bay, we’re very excited to announce that we have recently been elevated to Platinum status as a Claris Partner. 📣 With this …
In the FileMaker community, the Claris FileMaker certification exam is one of the primary means of identifying an individual or firm as a …
The Claris Beyond Meetup had the pleasure of hearing David Wollesen, of protabase, share about Devin, the new and complete DevOps tool…
PauseOnError, the FileMaker ‘un-conference’ has been the main in-person developers conference now for two years. This year’s version will take …
As Claris FileMaker developers we are always on the lookout for resources that will enhance our solutions in an easy and intuitive way. DataTables …
Welcome to the fourth part of this summer’s blog series about Harnessing the Power of Digital Transformation. This post offers real-world advice …
The Claris Beyond Meetup had the pleasure of hearing Jeremy Brown, of Integrating Magic, share about discovering all the JS that we can do …
Last week Claris announced the first public availability of the new Claris Platform Bundle. Do you deal with scattered information and …
John and Kate just returned from the annual CLEAN PACIFIC Conference in Renton, Washington, where they talked with attendees about how crafting …
Get your FREE DEMO of simple command line tasks that can be used in Claris FileMaker. In a world of expanding API integrations and Claris Connect…
Welcome to the third part of this summer’s blog series - Harnessing the Power of Digital Transformation. This post offers real-world advice on …
The Claris FileMaker Western Washington group and the Claris Connect Meetup are joining together to form a new user group called Claris Beyond…
Our Meetups often contain a Connector of the Month and in this blog post video John Newhoff reviews the Stripe connector, a fully implemented …
Welcome to the second part of this summer’s blog series - Harnessing the Power of Digital Transformation. Watch the video, and read the post, to …
The Claris Connect Meetup has been gathering online for 18 months where we’ve reviewed a lot of connectors and have had some great discussions …
We all have a lot on our plates these days (often too much!), and it can be hard to keep up with these needs for expanding technology and ensuring …
Last week, Claris announced two exciting new initiatives, the first a new Software as a Service (SaaS) platform called Claris Studio, and the …
One of our goals as we’ve grown through the years is to be able to hire a person to coordinate the planning and implementation of our online …
Welcome to post #182 of our Portage Bay Solutions blog! Our blog launched ten years ago on this date and is something we enjoy creating in order to …
Use our FREE, updated modular export script to export all data from FileMaker Pro! In FileMaker Pro 19.4, Claris introduced the new …
We all know that Claris has added significant new capabilities in the last several versions of FileMaker Pro for creating custom web …
We are excited to announce an update to the Portal Sort Header demo and video that we had posted back in 2016. We have refactored the …
When it comes to Claris FileMaker development, having a clear plan prior to development is definitely key. When communicating design concepts and …
Visit our Office Hours page to get the Zoom links. Every first and third Thursdays, from 1pm - 2pm Pacific, we’ll be “in the office” with you to…
iPaaS stands for ‘Integration Platform as a Service’ and if that isn’t one of the less clear product categories around, I don’t know what is. …
To start the year off right, here’s 10 quick FileMaker Pro tips to optimize your daily workflow and improve your FileMaker experience. I wish I …
It’s time for moving on from the holidays and towards Auld Lang Syne and new year wishes. We’ve collected some personal and business reflections …
We've been getting our servers updated to Claris FileMaker Server 19.4.2 recently and noticed an aspect of the install that it might help others…
Through thirty years of Claris FileMaker and web app development, we’ve always found it essential to keep learning and searching, to continue …
It’s been three weeks since John Newhoff and I attended PauseOnError and I’m still unpacking from the experience (literally and figuratively). …
For-hire developers are groups or individuals who primarily solve problems for other businesses that are not their own. Every developer must address…
This year marks the second virtual Claris Engage, a conference formerly known as DevCon, and widely attended by FileMaker developers, near and far. …
When building or expanding your brand, having a strong digital presence is of the utmost importance. But what are the essential, magical …
A client who was using SeedCode’s DayBack calendar wanted to implement Dayback’s Zoom integration to be able to schedule Zoom meetings directly …
Registration for the annual developers conference for FileMaker and Claris Connect has opened and it will be virtual again this year. While I’ll…
Every month, on the third Wednesday at 12pm Pacific, we host an online Meetup focused on Claris Connect. One aspect of the Meetup features a…
This post is an update of our 9/28/19 article on this topic. CORRECTIONS HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE ORIGINAL DEMO FILE FROM 2019. Please download this …
In this edition of the spotlight, we’re taking a deep look at the Calendar. Prior to FileMaker 19.1, building a robust, native calendar interface …
With the recent highly publicized attacks on Colonial Pipeline and JBS, we’ve had questions from some of our clients about protecting FileMaker …
One of our large clients recently had a change of ownership. The new ownership team brought in a security analysis firm, BlueOrange, to perform a …
There is a category of disagreement on the earth I like to call “Bar Fight Topics”. These are the things that can turn perfectly happy friends and …
The latest release of FileMaker Pro, 19.2.2, includes a few new developer tools as well as a revised quick-start experience. The quick-start …
We recently had an opportunity to make a solid, real-life comparison of Top Call Statistics enabled versus disabled in a user-heavy, multi-office …
I love JavaScript, and there are two new features in Claris FileMaker Pro 19 that have gotten me really excited. This last week, I …
Have you ever wanted to view your Claris FileMaker photos in a full-screen tile view or use a gallery of images as an interactive user …
I’ve been working with Claris Connect more and more recently and just this past week was working on a new flow to allow us to send email via …
One of the newest script steps in FileMaker (added in FileMaker 19.0) is the Execute FileMaker Data API script step. The script step is quite …
In this edition of the FileMaker Add-on spotlight, we’re taking a deep look at the Rich Text Editor. If you’re familiar with web development, …
Over the years, Portage Bay has developed a number of solutions of a type generally called ‘multi-tenant’. As I was discussing a possible …
Having had time to explore Claris Connect ourselves, we agree that it is living up to its promises and is a delight to work with. Portage Bay …
Due to COVID-19, we recently had to invent a way to sign forms on-site without sharing devices. Part of the conversation went like this:
He …
Kanban boards are useful project management tools to help visually depict work. They visually depict work at various stages of a process using …
Barcodes are an essential tool in the modern IT world and being able to add them into your solutions without a plugin or barcode font is a …
One of the most exciting new features of FileMaker 19 is the ability to create custom add-ons. Beyond the set of default add-ons available with …
FileMaker has always included starter solutions, simple databases with basic structure that allow anyone to use as a starting point. Through the …
Is Portage Bay a software development company that does project management?, or a project management company that happens to do custom FileMaker and…
A few years back, we released a demo to discuss/review the cURL functionality introduced into the “Insert from URL” script step in FileMaker 16. …
Looking to other industries for operational wisdom can be quite beneficial, especially when that industry has accomplished great things. In this …
On August 4-5, Claris hosted their first Claris Engage conference for all Claris customers, partners, and developers!
With the advent of Claris FileMaker 19, we are starting to see some new FileMaker add-ons, a brand new feature that is still technically “coming …
On August 4-5, Claris is hosting their first Claris Engage conference for all Claris customers, partners, and developers! And this year, the event…
Back when I was learning about the FileMaker Data API, I had trouble finding any information on how container data was handled. Oddly, the upload …
The top call stats log was introduced in FileMaker 15 and when we first heard about it we were excited about the possibilities of using it to …
Welcome Claris FileMaker 19! The newest release of Claris FileMaker 19 has arrived, sporting a brand new icon and a set of new features designed…
What does it mean to be a professional? A technical definition may include the fact that one is in a ‘profession’. This is generally defined as a …
FM BetterForms is not just a web front end for your FileMaker Pro solutions. It’s very much the front end that FileMaker has been needing for some …
Claris Connect is a new Claris product for automating common business processes. Create a simple Claris Connect ‘flow‘ and connect multiple …
Taking over a new solution from another developer is no simple undertaking and many developers lose their bearings trying to spend time …
Sometimes there are small changes in different versions of FileMaker as they are released and without careful attention to detail, bugs can crop up.…
With FileMaker 16, Claris introduced the FileMaker Data API into the FileMaker development environment, giving us a powerful new tool for …
Combine the power of Google’s mapping technology and your FileMaker solution with Portage Bay’s Map Widget. In a few easy steps, integrate Google …
Through the years, the concept of favorites has become a standard in most software user interfaces. File browsers, media players, and web browsers …
How to use FileMaker to generate MySQL syntax and easily create matching tables in MySQL.
We’d like to welcome Nana Opoku to Portage Bay Solutions as our newest developer. ‘Jojo’ joins us as a senior level FileMaker developer and will be …
I recently made a trip out to Seattle to visit with clients and coworkers. Being from Nebraska, I tend to jump on any opportunity to visit a …
Recently, we had a client request to export their FileMaker solution into CSV files with field names. The solution had a …
I’m sitting in the Hyatt, Orlando International Airport, just having finished a slice of key lime pie while I wait for my flight home from the …
The process of updating FileMaker files in iOS has always been sort of a question mark, with multiple ideas for how to best accomplish it, each with…
Portage Bay is looking to hire a new developer to join our team of FileMaker and 4th Dimension developers. We’re a group of experienced developers, …
Relationships are the basis of relational database design. When set up properly, table relationships will ensure your database runs like a well …
When developing FileMaker solutions, one of the issues that always comes up is the lack of Version control options. How can you use Version control …
We had an interesting request on a recent project where the client wanted to navigate two portals on a layout using the keyboard. The portals needed…
FileMaker gets a lot of attention in our blog, but we are doing ongoing development and support on 4th Dimension applications for about 10 …
Developer’s have been able to run SQL queries against their FileMaker data for many years. In the early days it required a 3rd party plugin, but …
FileMaker 17’s new ‘Master Detail’ interface object allows the user to see and interact with a portal of the current found set and the detail of a …
When working with multi-file solutions in FileMaker, sharing variables can be a stumbling block. In this blog, I will explain the process we chose …
Aggregate Functions are the lifeblood of data analysis. However, aggregate functions can often be a little confusing. Things like variable field…
The FileMaker community’s big conference every year is the annual Devcon sponsored by FileMaker Inc (this year in Orlando) and our main …
It’s been 3 years since our post “Hashtags in FileMaker”, so we decided to give the demo a bit of a refresh and add a few features.
We’ve recently been working on some upgrades to the 4th Dimension lab management app we developed and continue to support at Ceradyne / 3M Seattle…
A review and comparison of FileMaker Server Admin API solutions.
FileMaker’s web viewer is often referred to as a “black box” within the FileMaker framework. There are seemingly endless uses hidden within it’s…
Imagine experiencing a story from inside the story world. To freely walk in that world and interact as though it were real.
The current incarnation of our Blog was first published 6 years ago. During that time we’ve posted a lot of blog articles, included a number that …
In one of our previous FileMaker 17 videos on YouTube, I touched briefly on the new “Default Fields” functionality introduced in FileMaker …
Are you looking for a reusable tool to be integrated with your FileMaker solution that provides an easy to use date range chooser popup window? Look…
We are pleased to announce the release of our Map Widget v.1.0 product. This is a new tool built natively with FileMaker which can be easily …
If you have been using Google Maps in any of your solutions or projects, you might have noticed some changes recently. You likely received an email …
Grapevine, Texas in August may not be the first place most people would choose to spend a week in August. It's pretty warm. On the positive …
The annual FileMaker developers conference (Devcon) is coming up soon. Something we always look forward to at Portage Bay, this year the …
With the introduction of FileMaker 16 for Windows, the FileMaker interface was redesigned to handle multiple windows, more akin to the Mac OS. …
Need to do some data collection from users who don’t have FileMaker? A survey, application, or registration? As with most things FileMaker, there …
In this video, we're showing some of the new FileMaker 17 developer features, specifically the redesigned developer palettes, the new grouping …
How do I deploy my FileMaker data to multiple platforms like Android, Ubuntu, or even a TV?
With the release of FileMaker 17, we’ve gone over some of the top new features in a video. Check it out to see the ability to send multiple …
We recently had a client request that we put together a high-level overview diagram of their application, including all the hardware/software used …
Quality management systems (QMS) are a natural area in many businesses where the structured data management of a well designed database …
Working with PDFs in FileMaker can be tricky on different platforms since the behavior is not entirely consistent. One issue we’ve come across is …
We have been getting a lot of requests for a demo file to accompany one of our blog posts about google maps integration. While we aren’t quite ready…
Manuscript, formerly Fogbugz, is an online software management tool made by Fog Creek (Stack Overflow, Trello, Glitch) that aids with project …
FileMaker Pro can be an excellent platform for developing iOS applications and a recent project for one of our clients is a good example of this …
This blog post covers the second half of the “Modular FileMaker” series, covering a couple of modules we have used from ModularFileMaker.org.
As with most people who work in technology, I sometimes find myself in a tech support role during the holiday seasons (well, all the time really). I…
One of the great things about developing solutions using FileMaker Pro is that there are always numerous ways to solve a problem. I wanted to use …
Working together today during our weekly dev meeting, the Portage Bay team ran across a slightly obscure requirements issue that took little bit of …
NVL Laboratories provides complete Industrial Hygiene services including testing and environmental safety services for their clients. This …
One of the more exciting new features of FileMaker 16 is the adoption of the cURL library within the “Insert from URL” script step. Using cURL as a …
This is a quick tip about how PSOS can vastly improve performance of the ExecuteSQL script step. Recently we received feedback on one of our …
I had the good fortune to be able to travel to Madras, Oregon for the Eclipse last month, and like any good nerd, I did some shopping in advance and…
Late last month, 1,600 FileMaker developers descended on Phoenix for the annual FileMaker developers conference, this year held at the Marriott …
Pivot tables have always been difficult in FileMaker, that is until now. We have come up with a solution that makes them easy to create and share.
“97% of the time, Premature optimization is the root of all evil”
I think I first read this quote of Tony Hoare in McConnell's “Code Complete” …
With the release of FileMaker 16, we have seen a great number of new and improved script steps. FileMaker 16 extended the capability of the Save as …
I have been fascinated with impossible places. Things like the Doctor Who Tardis, Hypercubes, and M.C. Escher’s impossible objects, lead me to …
FileMaker 16 is out! Read about new features and functionality.
This spring and summer are shaping up to be pretty interesting for FileMaker and 4th Dimension developers from an education and skills development …
“Modular programming is a software design technique that emphasizes separating the functionality of a program into independent, interchangeable …
When FileMaker announced it was launching a SDK for creating native iOS apps, this was very exciting news. Developers now have the ability to …
Have you ever needed a user to quickly pop into their FileMaker solution and not become disconnected when switching networks or putting the device …
4th Dimension 16 is out with numerous enhancements and significant performance improvements.
The upgrade process for 4D v15 is just a little more complicated than past upgrades.
With some careful planning and a bit of experience, a simple FileMaker solution can be built to fix a simple problem within 30 minutes.
Alanna investigates word cloud generators.
From a technology standpoint, I would say traveling in Korea and Japan was perhaps actually easier than the US, since sometimes the airport and …
This year’s DevCon consisted of three days of sessions, each broken up into four one-hour chunks, with plenty of time for lunch and breaks. This …
Just a short note letting you know the developers are out at DevCon
My mom recently lost her iPhone. It was in her purse, which got placed on the top of the car, where it stayed when the car was driven off as she and…
I do a lot of fiddling with layout designs for a lot of our different FileMaker projects, and there’s a few useful things I’ve learned, mostly by …
Today FileMaker Inc. released FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Server 15. This is the first release since they announced a new annual release schedule …
Xandon explores the VR world at Seattle's 2016 Hackathon.
The protocol format is intended to open shared or local files but it also allows you to run scripts, pass parameters and set local variables.
Like many other FileMaker developers, I have gone through my fair share of plugins over the years of FM development. Some extend FM functions, some …
One of the missing features in FileMaker is the ability to add portal headers that can both sort portals and easily display the ascending or …
The Pause on Error conference is a FileMaker developer’s conference on a smaller scale than FileMaker’s annual DevCon (in Las Vegas this year). It …
While incorporating address information to render markers on Google maps is fairly common these days, we have made some additional strides in …
Kate is the first certified FileMaker v14 developer at Portage Bay Solutions!
The adventure of using an international cell phone can be part of the fun of travel.
Because life isn't always about work.
FileMaker's 'Substitute' function
Review of modules from Modular FileMaker
Get those design elements lined up, so you don't miss any GoT...
Exciting new features in FileMaker 14!
When an application grows beyond a certain size, or multiple developers are involved, or you’ve inherited someone else's work, you need a tool like …
Making the chore or creating and merging PDF reports from FileMaker simple and easy.
Making FileMaker understand complex search instructions.
The added functionality of the FMP URL protocol was reason enough to upgrade, but we were just as excited about the added option to “preserve …
Our client asked us to write a new order processing interface, including credit card charging, while maintaining PCI compliance (essentially, credit…
We recently discovered a “new” use for port 16000, undocumented in any KB article.
Importing data when managed containers are involved is not as straightforward as you would think.
FileMaker recently released a new website, Made for FileMaker, which serves as a hub of available FileMaker solutions for sale as well as …
Be sure to go to the Madison building first and get a Library of Congress user card!
John has a new toy.
We wanted users to be able to click on a link within the web viewer and see the linked page in a window in their web browser outside of FileMaker. …
John makes the rest of us jealous with his trip to Kaua’i.
4th Dimension has created a registered file suffix, .4dlink, that allows you to create a simple custom XML file that a user can double click on to …
Working with the folks at Space Needle, we are developing an iPad FileMaker Go application for their managers to use to document the status of the …
There are still some benefits to using referenced containers in FileMaker
Rin travels to Melaka, Malaysia for the second Melaka Planetarium Space Festival.
Converting large and complex databases to FMv12 from FMv11 went very smoothly!
The Seattle FMPug (FileMaker User's Group) meeting for January is on this Tuesday, the 8th. This will be the first meeting held at 10:30am instead…
Google Maps' new app for the iPhone quickly shot to the top of the downloads in the iTunes app store.
With Windows 8, Microsoft has made a rather dramatic departure from the user interface of prior versions.
This is a nice writeup of the new (in FileMaker 12) ExecuteSQL function in FileMaker. It has a good mix of information: a general tutorial of …
Sometimes sisters trump iCloud when trying to find a lost iPad.
We had a good FileMaker Pro User's group meeting in Seattle this week with the topic centered around video training presented by Wendy King. …
This month's Seattle FileMaker Pro User's Group meeting will be this coming Tuesday, the 11th, at 6:30pm. Details can be found here: …
Watermelon-jicama salad, yum!
Vanakkam! (That's Tamil for "hello and welcome!") My name is Rin Scherrer, and I am the most recent addition to the Portage Bay team. I join the …
As FileMaker developers, we are always interested in learning new tools and tricks to take a database to the next level. Recently we worked with a …
We've been working on a FileMaker project recently where there is a requirement for tracking changes made to the data, so that at any given point …
If you’re like me, your key chain has gotten increasingly heavier over the last few years, as more and more retailers offer rewards cards designed …
This week, I had the unique experience of riding on the maiden voyage of a new bus line here in Austin, Texas. Megabus, a luxury bus service …
Database backups are just as vital, if not more so, than the design of your custom database application. With the introduction in FileMaker 12 of …
FileMaker is a fully cross platform application, working equally well in a Windows or Macintosh environment. However I've recently been enjoying…
Acorn is a simple image editor for Macintosh.
“Have you tried turning it on and off again?” Each time I hear this famous tagline from the British TV series, the IT crowd, it makes me …
Nothing remotely technical about this post. Below is my Puttanesca recipe, pretty much my favorite pasta dish, which I just made for dinner. I …
One of the coolest new features of FileMaker 12 is the interactive Container fields. With FileMaker 12, you can play video, listen to audio, or …
Welcome to the inaugural Portage Bay blog post. We hope to post somewhat regularly on a broad range of topics. Many posts will have a technical …
