Last modified 7/24/07

FileMaker Pro Scripts and Buttons

Create Single Task Buttons

d. Move your mouse into a blank area of the layout and your pointer will become a plus sign. Click, hold, and drag in a diagonal direction to create a button. e. Since you have yet to create a script, you can only choose one item from the Specify Button window that appears.

f. Scroll down to the Records category and click on New Record/Request. You can

change the button style and/or you can change the cursor to appear as a hand when you move the mouse on the button. Click OK. g. There is now a cursor blinking in the button you created. Type in a name for the button. Click outside of the button.
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h. From the View menu, choose Browse Mode and try out your new button. 2. Delete Record Button a. Complete the same steps you did above, except, choose Delete Record/Request in the Specify Button window. With this command, you have one additional option: Perform without dialog, i.e. do you want to get a warning before you delete a record? If you do, leave the box unchecked. b. From the View menu, choose Browse Mode. You now have two buttons: Add Record and Delete Record.

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3. Other Single Task Buttons Any bold item listed in the Specify Button window can be a single task button. When you need to put multiple steps together, you will first have to create a script.

NOTE: When printing layouts that contain buttons, the following must be done in order for the buttons not to appear on the print outs: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Select the layout where you have the button. From the View menu, select Layout mode Click once on the button to select it. From the Format menu, select Sliding/Printing... Check the box next to Do not print the selected objects.
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Create a Script

1. Plan! Before you begin the process of creating a script, try to map out as best you can what you want to accomplish with the script or scripts. 2. If your script includes an import, export, find, sort or print setup, you must specify the settings before adding such a step to a script. 3.

Common Scripts

1. Print a Letter a. From the File menu, select Print Setup b. Select the appropriate paper size and orientation for your letter and click OK. c. Choose the layout containing the fields you will use to select a subset of your data. d. From the View menu, select Browse Mode. e. From the Records menu, select Sort Choose how you want to sort the file. Click Done. You do not need to actually sort the file. f. From the View menu, select Find Mode. g. Create the find request(s) to select the records. You do not have to click on Find. h. From the Scripts menu, select Scriptmaker i. Name your script and click on Create.

j.

One by one, you will add the steps that, when executed together, will resulted in a printed letter(s).

k. Click on Go to Layout and then click on Move. l. Each script step will involve making certain selections under the options area.

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m. In this step, it is necessary to specify the layout you want to use. In this case, it is the Howdy Letter. The Refresh window option will cause the layout view to immediately change to the chosen layout view instead of waiting until the script has completely executed. n. Under the Sort/Find/Print category, select Show All Records and click on Move. o. Under the Sort/Find/Print category, select Sort and click on Move. p. Scroll down to the Sort/Find/Print category and select Perform Find. Click on Move. To use the Find request created when the script was created, make sure there is a check mark in the Restore find requests box. NOTE: At any time, you can hit the F1 key to bring up the Help Menu for creating scripts. You can search for your script step either by category or alphabetically. All of the options for the script are explained. q. Under the Sort/Find/Print category, select Print Setup and click on Move. r. Under the Sort/Find/Print category, select Print and click on Move. By default, this is NOT done without a dialog box. s. Click on OK. t. Click on Done. Your script is complete.

u. Run the script by selecting it from the Script menu or create a button to perform the script.

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2. Print an Envelope a. You are going to follow the same steps for printing a letter, with two exceptions: i. You need to save new settings in the Print Setup box.

You need to select the Envelope layout when adding the Go to Layout step in the script. 3. Send an E-mail a. Make the desired sort and find requests. b. From the Script menu, select ScriptMaker c. Name the script and click on Create. d. Scroll down to the Sort/Find/Print category and select Perform Find. Click on Move. e. Scroll down to the Miscellaneous category and select Send Mail. f. Click on Move. g. Click on Specify. h. Fill in the appropriate information. It can either come from fields in your database or you can type the text in the box. NOTE: When you specify a field, you have the option of using all records in the found set.

ii.

i. j. k. l.

Click on OK. Click on OK to close the Script Definition window. Click on Done. To execute the script, you can select it from the Script menu or create a button. The default e-mail program installed on your computer will automatically open a new message window. Click Send.

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Edit a Script

When you create a script, you save the print setup, import, find, sort, or export settings with the script. As you change these settings and edit your scripts, the following window will appear. If you want to replace the settings, click in the circle next to Replace and click OK.

Create a Button to Execute a Script

a. Choose a layout where you would like the button to appear. b. From the View menu, choose Layout Mode. c. Click on the Insert Button icon .

d. Move your mouse into a blank area of the layout and your pointer will become a plus sign. Click, hold, and drag in a diagonal direction to create a button. e. In the Specify Button window that appears, click on Perform Script. Under options, specify the script you want to run. Click OK.

f.

There is now a cursor blinking in the button you created. Type in a name for the button. Click outside of the button.

For questions or comments regarding this document, please e-mail [email protected].