Everything about FileMaker 2024

FileMaker 2024 has just been announced by Claris!

As usual, when Claris announces a new version of FileMaker you’ll find everything you need to know on our blog, for geeks and non-geeks alike.

Ready, set, go!

This is of course THE most visible feature of this 2024 version, but also the most complex to explain and master. We’ll be dedicating a separate article to it. You should know, however, that it is now possible to interact with virtually all large language models such as Chat GPT (Open AI), Gemini (Google) or Llama (Meta/Facebook).

You can use these models for semantic searches on your own data (so you can search for data by formulating queries in human language!), or ask the chart tool to graph your data.

But it doesn’t stop there. With a little practice, you can develop your own FileMaker code generator to generate complicated calculations or functions.

It may take a lot of time to save a little, but it’s beautiful 🙂

For several versions now, the shortcut Cmd-option-K (macOS)/Ctrl-alt-K (Windows) has been used to change models, but only in model mode.

Open Quickly opens up much greater possibilities, but also presents a risk that developers should be aware of.

I recommend that you pause reading this article afterwards, take a look at your applications to see if you’re not affected, and come back to read the rest later.

What’s it all about?

1. the functionality is now so powerful that it also needed to be more accessible. The shortcut is therefore Cmd-K (macOS) and Ctrl-K (Windows). Opening the left panel in template mode is therefore relayed to the second level (Cmd-option-K / Ctrl-alt-K). This is quite logical
2. Open Quickly is now available in all other modes (use, search, preview), and can activate 3 types of elements:
   1. layouts (those in the current file, if defined to be visible in the layout list, or those for which you have editing rights). If you select a layout, you go to that layout (remaining in the same mode). If you hold down the option key (macOS)/alt (Windows), the icon changes and the layout opens in a new window.)
   2. Scripts. Scripts appear in the list if they are defined to be visible in the list, or if you are logged in with an account that allows script modification.This is where the “problem” lies. If you have the right to modify scripts, you can select a script to modify it or, by holding down option (macOS)/alt (Windows), execute the script. If you don’t have this right, the script is executed. This is a fantastic feature! You can really create very efficient interfaces, but it’s extremely important not to expose scripts that can’t be executed by a user without clicking on a specific button. So review your applications to uncheck the visibility box for scripts that should not be accessible.
3. Files (recent files and favorites are accessible). Open Quickly is also a great launcher.

A new function and a new development make working with JSON much more efficient.

JSONMakeArray ( listOfValues ; separator ; type )

allows you to convert a list separated by carriage returns (¶) into a JSON Array. The list being, for historical reasons, the most widespread structural element in FileMaker, this is a possibility that was really lacking and often prevented you from improving/modernizing your code without embarking on lengthy and costly refactoring.

New operators [+] et [:]

The new operators make it much easier to write JSON arrays.

[+] allows you to move to the next index

[:] allows you to stay on the same index.

So the simple expression:

JSONSetElement ( “”

   ; [ "contact[+].nameLast" ; "Doe" ; JSONstring ]
   ; [ "contact[:].nameFirst" ; "John" ; JSONstring ]
   ; [ "contact[+].nameLast" ; "Smith" ; JSONstring ]
   ; [ "contact[:].nameFirst" ; "Emma" ; JSONstring ]
)

returns:

{
   "contact" :
   [
      {
         "nameFirst" : "John",
         "nameLast" : "Doe"
      },
      {
         "nameFirst" : "Emma",
         "nameLast" : "Smith"
      }
   ]
}

The [:] operator can also be used to retrieve the last element of an array using the JSONGetElement function.

GetLiveTextAsJSON

is a new function reserved for Apple operating systems (whether FileMaker Pro, FileMaker Go or FileMaker Server) which, like GetLiveText, allows you to retrieve the text contained in an image, but this time in JSON.

The Execute FileMaker Data API script step is now capable of writing to the database, and therefore precisely of creating a new record, modifying or duplicating records, and of course deleting them.

It is now possible to perform (almost) any operation on the database from within a FileMaker script, without changing context.

Advantage or disadvantage? since the Data API works in another session, modifications made in this way do not trigger any script (triggers), nor are they taken into account in the OnTransactionWindow event… on the other hand, this means you can write to the database independently of the current transaction.

About transactions… one of the weaknesses of implementing script transactions was that the entire transaction had to take place in the same script.

Although this doesn’t fundamentally change, the Revert transaction script step can now be in a sub-script, which alleviates the problem.

These are improvements, but not the least of them:

When running a script on a server, you can now call the callbak script by name. What’s more, notifications (Configure Local Notification) now work on Pro (macOS and Windows). We wondered why this wasn’t the case, but here it is. It’s now easy to run a script on a server and get a notification on your Mac/PC screen when it’s finished.

What’s more, it’s now possible to determine whether the callback script should resume a paused script.

Unfortunately, although we have access to the configuration of buttons and almost every aspect of a system notification, we can’t control the icon or image. he technique outlined here by Laurent Spielmann, of 1-more-thing (2016), is therefore still useful.

In addition to these new features, dozens of bugs have been resolved.

More subtle improvements include

• support for variable repetition numbers in file paths. So, for example, you can export data to a file whose path is contained in $var[3].
• this is big: the engine used for conversion to/from XML/XSLT has been replaced, moving from Xeres/Xalan to libxml2/libxslt. This enables EXSLT functions to be supported. There’s no doubt that we’ll soon be seeing the emergence of some fine applications within the FileMaker framework.
• The Web Viewer is evolving. On Windows, the installer updates WebView2 Runtime, which will prevent some applications from not running until a manual installation.
• More importantly, Web Viewers (macOS and Windows) now support WebRTC. This means we’ll be able to integrate applications such as videoconferencing and others into our FileMaker applications.
• Last note (there are a few other little things, but we’ve got to stop somewhere), the EPS format is no longer supported as an image on macOS. Claris thus follows Apple in discontinuing EPS support in its operating system.

FileMaker Server 2024 is not to be outdone. There are some very nice new features here too.

First of all, there’s no change in compatibility between Pro/Go and Server. Versions 19.4.2 of FileMaker Pro and Go will still be able to connect.

Performance enhancements

By caching CSS (for Web Direct) and, above all, the link graph, new server sessions should open faster. This should result in faster PSoS sessions, with less overhead.

https tunneling is now also available on macOS and Windows versions of the server. Until now, it was only available for Linux. FileMaker can now be installed anywhere. You don’t even need to open port 5003.

Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates can now be easily installed using a supplied system script (Linux and macOS only). For your information, these certificates have been installed free of charge for some years now, if you choose to host your server on fmcloud.fm.

Progress has been made on the “Custom OAuth” side. You can now configure the icon, and everything can be done via the Admin API.

The Admin API adds new functionalities such as uploading and downloading database files (beware, containers don’t follow! this is logical but presents a real problem). You can also modify the contact information that accompanies email notifications.

Administrator roles have been enhanced. Each administrator can act on his own databases, while the main administrator can act on all of them. Multiple administrators can share the same folders.

The “Script Events” log can now be activated on the server side, thus separating the server event log from the script log.

Also in the log section, the “Set Error Logging” script step now works for Web Direct and Data API.
Also, TopCallStats and Statistics logs (stats.log) are now enabled by default. Please note that we anticipate that on some extremely busy configurations with large numbers of users, enabling TopCallStats may cause problems. If you notice a drastic drop in performance after upgrading to FileMaker Server 2024, consider disabling this log.

In the admin console, the log viewer has improved too.

The ergonomics of the “Programs” panel have been improved. For example, you can double-click to modify programs or display the columns of your choice in the list, filter the list, duplicate several programs at once…

Finally! you can now block new connections via the admin API and the admin console. This means you can finally close files without new users connecting or reconnecting during the closing process.

It’s a first! Not only are the localized versions published by Winsoft International

for the Middle East (allowing you to design interfaces for right-to-left languages such as Arabic, Hebrew and Persian) and for Central Europe are available at the same time as the classic version, but the server is now also available for Linux.

This means you can generate PDFs on the server, or offer your users Web Direct interfaces designed specifically for these languages.

Of course, these versions are immediately available on fmcloud.fm, 1-more-thing’s hosting service. You’ll need the appropriate license, which we can also provide.

FileMaker Pro 2024 (or 21.0) requires

• macOS Ventura 13 or higher
• Windows 10 ou 11

and can connect to FileMaker Server 19.4.2 and higher. (Please note that we find it hard to understand why connection to 19.4.2 is still tolerated, as it doesn’t contribute to the indispensable updating of the servers. If you absolutely must remain in FileMaker Server 19, we strongly recommend that you upgrade to FileMaker Server 19.6.4 without delay. Similarly, if you need to keep a version 20 (why? since 21 offers the same compatibility with client versions), please update your server to 20.3.2.
At fmcloud.fm, 100% of our servers are up to date.

FileMaker Server 2024

• Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Server (AMD64)
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Server (AMD64 or ARM64)
• macOS Ventura 13 or higher
• Windows Server 2019 or 2022

Pro/Go Clients with 19.4.2 or greater can connect.

If you’re just starting out with the platform, we recommend going through the free trial our fmcloud.fm hosting service to get started.

In less than 10 minutes, you’ll have a trial copy of FileMaker Pro and a server installed in the cloud.

A short video explanation here.