Tip
of the Month (February 2003)
Using
Visual CE with FileMaker Pro
Starting
with release 7.1, Visual CE can be used in conjunction with FileMaker
Pro files. Use Visual CE to create forms with text, numbers, dates,
and times placed anywhere on the screen. Synchronize one or more
handhelds to the desktop. Find and view FileMaker Pro data quickly
and easily. Before you begin there are a few special issues you
should be aware of, due to the structure of FileMaker Pro:
-
Visual CE 7.1 works with FileMaker Pro version 5.0 or greater.
-
Containers do not work.
-
FileMaker Pro must be running when Visual CE uses a FileMaker
Pro file on the desktop. The file must be open within FileMaker
Pro.
-
You have to enable FileMaker Pro's Local Data Access Companion.
To do this, select EDIT | PREFERENCES | APPLICATION | PLUGINS
from within FileMaker Pro.
-
You have to enable FileMaker Pro's Local Data Access Companion
for the file by selecting FILE | SHARING.
-
Changes you make on the handheld to calculations and summaries
are ignored when the data is synchronized back to the FileMaker
Pro file.
-
You must create a FileMaker Pro ODBC Data Source. To do this,
select START | SETTINGS | CONTROL PANEL. If you have ADMINISTRATIVE
TOOLS, go there. Double click ODBC and/or Data Sources. Select
the User DSN tab, click Add, Select "FileMaker Pro",
click Finish, and specify a data source name (such as "SYWARE
FileMaker Pro"). You can leave all the other values with
their defaults.
-
When setting up synchronization or downloading a table, select
your ODBC data source ("SYWARE Filemaker Pro") as the
"Desktop Datasource". Leave "Desktop Database"
blank.
-
Do not use Visual CE's FILE | CREATE TALE to create tables. First
create the files in FileMaker Pro on the desktop and then download
them to the handheld using Visual CE's FILE | DOWNLOAD TABLE.
-
When the Visual CE form wizard creates a form, Date fields show
both the date and the time. In the form designer, double click
the control to look a its properties and change the format to
date-only.
-
When the Visual CE form wizard creates a form, Time fields show
both the date and the time. In the form designer, double click
the control to look at its properties and change the format to
time-only.
