FileMaker Go 18 Development Guide

1. In FileMaker Pro Advanced, open the file.
2. Choose File menu > Sharing > Share with FileMaker Clients.
3. Set Network Sharing to On.
4. Select the file(s) to be hosted from the list of Currently open files.
5. For Network access to file, choose All users or Specify users by privilege set.

Note:The privilege set for accounts that FileMaker Go users will sign in with must have the fmapp extended privilege enabled. See FileMaker Pro Advanced Help.

Before you share FileMaker Pro Advanced files, prepare the files for hosting.

1. In FileMaker Pro Advanced, edit the accounts and privilege sets that clients will use for shared access (for example, Access via FileMaker Network).
2. In FileMaker Pro Advanced, upload files to a FileMaker Cloud product or FileMaker Server (see FileMaker Pro Advanced Help).

Note:To set up accounts that authenticate users based on supported OAuth identity providers such as Amazon or Google, see FileMaker Pro Advanced Help.

After you share and host a file, you can connect to it as a client in FileMaker Go. See Help.

To transfer a file with container fields that store data externally, you must first embed the container field data. In FileMaker Pro Advanced, use the Save a Copy As command and choose self-contained copy (single file). Then transfer the copy, not the original file.

You can use the Import Records script step to merge data from a local FileMaker Pro Advanced file on an iOS device to another FileMaker Pro Advanced file.

Set up the field mapping and import order before you import. You can:

• import from a remote source into a local or remote file
• import from a local source into a local or remote file

Example 1: Importing from a remote source (Remote.fmp12) into a local file (Local.fmp12)

In this example, the Local.fmp12 file is on an iOS device and needs a script that imports data from a remote source (Remote.fmp12). You need to use FileMaker Pro Advanced to create the script in the local file, then transfer the file to FileMaker Go. You can then run the script in FileMaker Go to import the data from the remote file.

1. Open Local.fmp12 and Remote.fmp12 in FileMaker Pro Advanced.
2. Create a script in Local.fmp12. For example:

   Import Records [ With dialog: Off ; Table: Local ; "Remote.fmp12" ; Update ; Mac Roman ]

   and set up a path to the remote source file using your machine IP address. For example:

   fmnet:/192.168.10.10/Remote.fmp12

3. Specify the import order.
4. Close Local.fmp12.
5. Transfer Local.fmp12 to FileMaker Go.
6. Open Local.fmp12 in FileMaker Go, and run the script.

The local file is updated with data from the remote file.

Example 2: Importing from a local source (Local.fmp12) into a remote file (Remote.fmp12)

In this example, the remote file (Remote.fmp12) needs a script that imports data from a local file (Local.fmp12). You need to use FileMaker Pro Advanced to create the script in the remote file, then use FileMaker Go to open the hosted remote file on your iOS device and run the script to import the data from the local file.

1. Transfer Local.fmp12 to FileMaker Go.
2. Open Remote.fmp12 in FileMaker Pro Advanced.
3. Use the Script Workspace to create a script in Remote.fmp12. For example:

   Set Variable [ $FilePath ; Value:Get(DocumentsPath) & "Local.fmp12" ]

   Import Records [ With dialog: Off ; Table: Local ; "$FilePath" ; Add ; Mac Roman ]

   where the path to the source file on the device is file:$FilePath

4. Select Specify import order.

   If the source fields do not appear in the Specify Import Order dialog box, in the Script Workspace, select Specify data source for the Import Records script step. In the Specify File dialog box, for File Type, select FileMaker Pro Advanced files. Then add another path to Local.fmp12 to the path list. For example:

   file:$FilePath

   file:Local.fmp12

5. In FileMaker Go, open the hosted Remote.fmp12 file.
6. Run the script from Remote.fmp12 in FileMaker Go.

The remote file is updated with data from the local file.

Layout and Preview modes aren’t supported in FileMaker Go. However, you can preview records by saving records as PDF and viewing the PDF within FileMaker Go.

In FileMaker Go, you can't:

• remove views or layouts
• add or remove fields
• switch to layouts that aren’t displayed in the Layouts menu, unless you provide a navigation button
• define and assign value lists, unless they are used for drop-down lists and pop-up menus that allow editing of value lists
• display tooltips
• display leader characters such as “...” in tab control names
• display shadows on layout objects

You can't select seconds or fractions of seconds in FileMaker Go. To enter seconds, tap on the editing toolbar until the keyboard appears, then enter the time.

Scripted or calculated times will display seconds on the device.

Note:Custom menus are available when the Use advanced tools general preference is selected in FileMaker Pro Advanced.

In FileMaker Go, you can't:

• remove the Close File menu item
• add custom menu items that do not map to existing FileMaker Go menu items
• override the Quick Find menu item with custom menus, though you can override the quick find behavior using the Edit Custom Menu dialog box in FileMaker Pro Advanced

Note:Removed menu items are displayed but unavailable.

The following keyboard shortcuts and the standard iOS keyboard shortcuts override those you define for custom menus. You can use keyboard shortcuts in FileMaker Go if you have an external keyboard connected to your iOS device or the Smart Keyboard connected to your iPad Pro.

• The print options that you set for a file in FileMaker Pro Advanced have no effect on the print options for the same file in FileMaker Go, and vice versa.
• If you’re printing a layout where exact spacing is important, such as labels or a preprinted form, specify page margins.

• Fonts that aren't supported by iOS are converted to supported fonts.
• You can view the following text styles in FileMaker Go: bold, italic, underline, word underline, double underline, title case, uppercase, lowercase, and strikeout. FileMaker Go doesn’t support highlight, condense, extend, small caps, superscript, or subscript.

• Only fields are supported in the tab order. You can set up Tab and Return, but not Enter, to go to the next field.
• The Auto-Correction setting will not work in text fields that have script triggers set up to capture keystrokes.
• Asian languages: Sideways text isn’t supported. Input method editors (IMEs) will not work in text fields that have script triggers set up to capture keystrokes.
• If a text field is configured to display as a drop-down calendar in FileMaker Pro Advanced, it is displayed as an edit box in FileMaker Go.

• By default, all manual export operations except those from the XLSX format use UTF-8; XLSX uses UTF-16.
• You must use the Export Records script step to:
• select fields that are not on the current layout
• configure the output file character set

• The Inspector Data Formatting options Images and Interactive content do not apply to container fields in FileMaker Go.
• FileMaker Go doesn’t support storing container field data externally for local files.

You can use the Insert From Device script step to enter content into a container field from a music library, photo library, camera, video camera, microphone, or signature; or to enter content into a container field or text field from a bar code source. See FileMaker Pro Advanced Help.

You can use the following script steps, functions, and script triggers to work with media in FileMaker Go:

• script steps: AVPlayer Play, AVPlayer Set Options, AVPlayer Set Playback State
• script triggers: OnObjectAVPlayerChange, OnFileAVPlayerChange, OnExternalCommandReceived
• functions: GetAVPlayerAttribute, Get(TriggerExternalEvent)

See FileMaker Pro Advanced Help.

You can’t enable or disable file encryption in FileMaker Go. To enable or disable encryption, use FileMaker Pro Advanced. If you transfer an encrypted file to an iOS device, the file remains encrypted on the device.

Note:The encryption feature in FileMaker Pro Advanced is available when the Use advanced tools general preference is selected.

In FileMaker Go, you can enlarge the image on the screen up to 200%.

You can use keyboard shortcuts in FileMaker Go if you have an external keyboard connected to your iOS device or the Smart Keyboard connected to your iPad Pro.

To see a list of shortcuts for common commands, press and hold the Command key ⌘ on the keyboard.

For a list of supported keyboard shortcuts in FileMaker Go, see Help.

By default, the files you save locally appear in the My Apps tab, under On My iPhone, On My iPad, or On My iPod, and are saved in the Documents folder. To save the files in a temporary folder, use the Set Variable script step to create a variable to specify the output file path and filename for the script step.

You can use the following example to create an email with the file as an attachment.

Set Variable [$Output; Value: Get( TemporaryPath ) & "Sample.pdf"]
Save Records as PDF [With dialog: Off; "$Output"; Records being browsed]
Send Mail [Send via E-mail Client; With dialog: Off;
To: "linda@glolda.com"; Subject: "Invoice";
Message: "Test"; "$Output"]

Some keystrokes behave differently on external keyboards.

• To stop a running script, tap anywhere on the screen, and confirm that you want to stop the script. If you do not make a choice, the script will continue running.
• When you switch to another app, FileMaker Go enters a suspended state unless there is an audio or video file playing. When you return to FileMaker Go, the app and scripts resume from where they left off. For hosted files, if the data or schema was modified while FileMaker Go was suspended, the script stops running; otherwise, the script continues.
• If you've switched away from FileMaker Go for an extended period and iOS forces the app to quit, FileMaker Go attempts to generate a hibernation file. When you restart FileMaker Go, it uses the hibernation file to reopen files. A hibernation file is not generated when a script with Allow User Abort set to Off was running when you switched away from FileMaker Go.

• By default, script steps that create output files will not overwrite an existing file. Instead, a number is added to the end of each filename. For example, the first time you run the Save Records as PDF script step for a file named Sample.fmp12, the output filename is Sample.pdf. The second time you run the script, the filename will be Sample 1.pdf.

  To replace the output file with the new one instead of keeping multiple copies, add the file path (file:fileName or filemac:fileName) to the script. For example, if you type file:Sample.pdf or filemac:Sample.pdf in the Specify Output File dialog box each time you run the script, the Sample.pdf file in the Documents folder will be replaced with the new one.