FileMaker Pro 18 Advanced includes the following new features and improvements.
•FileMaker ID and the My Apps window – FileMaker ID users can sign in and use the My Apps window to work with their team's custom apps hosted by FileMaker Cloud. The single sign-in allows users to open any apps they've been granted access to. See Opening and managing files.
•Upload to a FileMaker Cloud host – With the Upload to Host dialog box, FileMaker ID team managers can upload FileMaker Pro Advanced files to their FileMaker Cloud host. See Uploading files to a FileMaker host.
•Manage security for files hosted by FileMaker Cloud – For each team you're in, you can grant FileMaker ID users and groups access to a file, view the FileMaker ID user names in a group, and assign privilege sets in the Manage Security dialog box. See Editing FileMaker ID account access.
•With the new Import Field Mapping dialog box, you can:
•choose target fields from a list that you can search
•choose any record in the source file to use as field names for certain import file types
•for each target field, choose whether to perform auto-enter options while importing
•import data that uses a custom character to separate field values
See Importing data into FileMaker Pro Advanced and Supported import/export file formats.
•More conversion options – When converting certain supported file types, you can now specify a custom character that separates field values, choose any record to use as field names, choose which fields to include, and specify a target table name. See Converting a data file to a new FileMaker Pro Advanced file.
•With the new Manage Security dialog box, you can:
•work with an account access list filtered by account type, assign privilege sets to users and groups directly in the list, and perform other common tasks in the details pane without leaving the list
•manage privilege sets, extended privileges, and file access in the Advanced Security Settings dialog box
•see whether the selected authentication type is supported on the file's current host
See Creating and editing account access, Creating and editing privilege sets, Creating and editing extended privileges, and Authorizing access to files.
•Privilege to manage accounts that don't have full access – You can now grant users the limited ability to create and delete access to a file and assign existing privilege sets without allowing them to modify groups or users that have the Full Access privilege set or create or edit privilege sets. See Editing other privileges.
•Unsigned plug-in notification – FileMaker Pro Advanced notifies you when a plug-in has not been digitally signed by its developer. See Setting permitted hosts and plug-ins preferences.
•Full access required by default to reference a file – The option to require the Full Access privilege set to use references to a file is now enabled by default in newly created files. The option is unchanged in existing files. See Authorizing access to files.
•Functions for digitally signing data – New functions allow you to digitally sign data and verify signatures of signed data with cryptographic keys. See "New functions," below.
•fmodata extended privilege – Allows access to a file from an OData provider. See Editing extended privileges for a privilege set.
•Move objects with Shift-Arrow keys – Using the Shift-Arrow keys in Layout mode now moves objects in increments 10 times larger than when using the Arrow keys. See Mode keyboard shortcuts (Windows) and Mode keyboard shortcuts (macOS).
•Read and write external data files – Create scripts that read, write, and manage external data files—for example, to write log files or export data in a custom format. See "New script steps," below.
•Open files with a version-specific URL – You can now use the fmp18 scheme in URLs to open files specifically with FileMaker Pro 18 Advanced or FileMaker Go 18. See Opening files using a URL.
•Open a custom app upon start – You can now use the personalization file during a command-line installation to specify a custom app to open when FileMaker Pro Advanced starts. See FileMaker Pro Advanced Network Install Setup Guide.
•Save files as XML – You can now save a FileMaker Pro Advanced file in an XML format that represents the schema, layouts, scripts, and other parts of the file. You can use the XML file to document changes in your custom app between versions and use standard text-based tools to compare versions. See Documenting database schemas, and Save a Copy as XML script step.
New script steps
•Close Data File – Closes an open data file. See Close Data File script step.
•Create Data File – Creates an empty, closed data file, to then open with the Open Data File script step and add data to using the Write to Data File script step. See Create Data File script step.
•Delete File – Deletes a file. See Delete File script step.
•Get Data File Position – Returns the read-write position in an open data file. See Get Data File Position script step.
•Get File Exists – Returns 1 (true) if a file exists; otherwise, returns 0 (false). See Get File Exists script step
•Get File Size – Returns the size, in bytes, of a file. See Get File Size script step.
•Open Data File – Opens a data file for use with other data file script steps. See Open Data File script step.
•Open Favorites – Opens the Favorites window. See Open Favorites script step.
•Read from Data File – Reads data from an open data file. See Read from Data File script step.
•Rename File – Renames a file. See Rename File script step.
•Save a Copy as XML – Saves a copy of the current file as an XML representation of the schema, layouts, and scripts. See Save a Copy as XML script step.
•Set Data File Position – Sets the read-write position in an open data file. See Set Data File Position script step.
•Set Error Logging – Controls whether errors are logged while the current file's scripts are running. See Set Error Logging script step.
•Write to Data File – Writes data to an open data file. See Write to Data File script step.
Changed script steps
•Open My Apps – This script step is now Open Favorites. See Open Favorites script step.
•Upload to FileMaker Server – This script step is now Open Upload to Host. See Open Upload To Host script step.
•Insert from URL
•Supported URL protocols now include smb, smtp, smtps, ldap, and ldaps.
•Sending email via SMTP is now supported via cURL with the addition of the --mail-auth, --mail-from, and --mail-rcpt options. This includes sending email in HTML format.
•Requesting uncompressed responses from a server is now supported via the --no-compressed cURL option.
•When the cURL library returns an error, the returned data is now stored in the target if the target is a text field or a text variable.
See Insert From URL script step and Supported cURL options.
•Open Help – This script step is no longer supported in FileMaker WebDirect, because FileMaker WebDirect no longer includes Help. See Open Help script step.
•Insert from Device – This script step now recognizes PDF417, ITF-14, Aztec, and Data Matrix bar code types. See Insert From Device script step.
•Save Records as PDF – This script step now supports the Append to existing PDF option and Security tab options in FileMaker Go. See Save Records As PDF script step.
•Import Records – This script step now supports the new options available in the Import Field Mapping dialog box. See Import Records script step.
•Convert File – For supported file formats, this script step now supports using any row in the source file as field names in the converted file, choosing which fields to import, and specifying a target table name. See Convert File script step.
•Some function groups in the Specify Calculation dialog box and in Help have been reorganized to better reflect their purpose. See Japanese functions, JSON functions, and Miscellaneous functions.
New functions
•CryptGenerateSignature – Generates the digital signature of the data. See CryptGenerateSignature function.
•CryptVerifySignature – Verifies whether a digital signature is valid for the data. See CryptVerifySignature function.
•Get(AccountType) – Returns the current account's authentication type. See Get(AccountType) function.
•Get(OpenDataFileInfo) – Returns the file ID and path of each open data file. See Get(OpenDataFileInfo) function.
•SetRecursion – Sets the maximum number of iterations for recursion and loops within an expression. See SetRecursion function.
•While – Repeats logic while the condition is true, then returns the result. See While function.
Changed functions
•Get(LastExternalErrorDetail) – This function now returns information when plug-ins don't install or load. See Get(LastExternalErrorDetail) function.
•GetLayoutObjectAttribute – In FileMaker WebDirect, this function now returns a result for the content and source attributes when acting on a chart, and for the source attribute when acting on a web viewer. See GetLayoutObjectAttribute function.
•Custom functions that use non-tail recursion are now limited to 50,000 rather than 10,000 iterations by default, subject to available call stack space in memory. The limit can be increased or decreased using the SetRecursion function.
•Support for the Photoshop image format has been restored in macOS. See Using data in container fields.
•The name of the FileMaker Pro Advanced application now includes the version number. If you use external scripts that rely on the application name, you may need to update them.