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AI-Written Javascript Paywall Jumper

January 20, 2023 by Douglas Alder 3 Comments


With plenty of time and patience, I might have been able to figure this out myself after much searching for code samples and tweaking to get it to work. Instead, I asked the AI-based ChatGPT to write me a bookmarklet. In 30 seconds, I had my response. I added the Bookmarklet and it works! Call me pretty impressed.

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AI, Bookmarklet, Javascript, Macintosh
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Simple Pick Lists in FileMaker Pro

November 7, 2022 by Douglas Alder Comments Off on Simple Pick Lists in FileMaker Pro


Download Demo File Recently, I was explaining the Pick List technique for a friend and thought there might be a good example online, but couldn’t find one, so here is my version. This is a pretty simple technique and can be adapted to many different aspects of a solution. Whenever you want to get data […]

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Card Windows, FileMaker, FileMaker Go, FileMaker Pro

Part 3: Sending SMS from FileMaker with AppleScript

October 29, 2022 by Douglas Alder 5 Comments


A reader, Pierre Boucher, asked if I had tried using AppleScript to send SMS. I hadn’t but a quick web search revealed a fairly straightforward approach, so of course I had to see if I could make it work.

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FileMaker Pro 12

Export Calendar Files from FileMaker – the easy way!

June 27, 2022 by Douglas Alder Comments Off on Export Calendar Files from FileMaker – the easy way!


I have written about this multiple times in the past and thought I was done with this, but apparently not. A reader from Germany reported that there was a problem with a certain type of export and could I just tweak the script to make it work.

Why fix something minor, when I can rewrite the entire script?

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FileMaker Pro, FileMaker Pro Techniques
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Part 2: Sending SMS Messages from FileMaker using Apple Shortcuts

March 3, 2022 by Douglas Alder Comments Off on Part 2: Sending SMS Messages from FileMaker using Apple Shortcuts


I couldn’t find any articles about going outbound from FileMaker to Apple Shortcuts. It turns out that Apple’s Shortcuts app support a url scheme, similar to what I used in my FileMaker to SMS demo.

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FileMaker Pro 12
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Part 1: Sending SMS Messages from FileMaker

March 2, 2022 by Douglas Alder 3 Comments


What I was looking for though, was a free and non-server based option, something that could be done from a standalone database on a Mac computer or an iPhone in the field. This method could also work in a networked setup, it is send only, any responses are not going to show up in FileMaker magically.

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FileMaker Pro 12
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Getting past Paywalls on a Mac with Safari

December 17, 2021 by Douglas Alder 3 Comments


A Simple Solution to avoiding a paywall: Turn off Javascript in Safari (Safari Menu, Preferences, Security Panel, toggle ‘Enable Javascript’) and then the reload (Command R) the web page. Remember to toggle Javascript back on, because so much of the display of the modern web relies on it, that it really isn’t very functional without Javascript turned on. This works for casual use, but if you find yourself avoidi paywalls often, you may want to go the next step. 

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FileMaker Pro 12
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One Click Access to Your Proof of Vaccine Card on your iPhone

November 1, 2021 by Douglas Alder Comments Off on One Click Access to Your Proof of Vaccine Card on your iPhone


This Shortcut method gives a one-click method of displaying your Vaccine proof card if you want to go to a restaurant or recreation activity, etc.

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Apple, Automator, Shortcuts

WTF? Search – Available for Chrome

August 12, 2021 by Douglas Alder Comments Off on WTF? Search – Available for Chrome


The web browser plugin we developed is now available on the Chrome store. This plugin was prototyped in FileMaker. We also have it available for Firefox and hope to have a Safari version soon. Please have a look at it and see if it would be useful to you.

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FileMaker Pro 12

Adding .ics files to Calendar on iOS

July 31, 2021 by Douglas Alder Comments Off on Adding .ics files to Calendar on iOS


Try this, email an .ics file to yourself and then attempt to add it to the Calendar app on your iPhone or iPad. Does it work? It didn’t for me as of 2021-07-31. Seems like it used to work. A web search suggests that other people are having the same problem. Possibly for security reasons Apple turned this feature off?

Anyway, this has an impact on a FileMaker Go demo database I made a while back that exports .ics files. Recently a reader, Nellie, wrote to say:

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FileMaker Pro 12
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WTF? Search – New Web Browser Plugin

June 12, 2021 by Douglas Alder Comments Off on WTF? Search – New Web Browser Plugin


Building this plugin was a passion project for me. I found myself searching the same web sites for things like computer products or royalty-free music, video and photos. I wanted it a way to search once and have many tabs open all in one go with the search already composed and ready to go. I looked around but could not find anything that fit the bill. First I built it in FileMaker and it was useful, but I wanted it in my browser, so it was always handy.

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web browser plugins

Dialing for Dollars – Getting FileMaker to Call or Text to an iPhone, Skype, Facetime or Zoom

June 23, 2020 by Douglas Alder 3 Comments


In this time of the COVID-19 epidemic, many people are working from home. FileMaker is often an important part of a workflow, even when homebound. Wouldn’t it be great if you could launch your FaceTime, Skype or Zoom calls right from a database screen?

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FileMaker Pro 12

Word Processing Functions in FileMaker using Buttons and Scripts

May 30, 2020 by Douglas Alder 10 Comments


…a new post specifically detailing this version and how to add these features to your own database.

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FileMaker Go, FileMaker Pro, FileMaker Pro 19, FileMaker Pro Techniques, iOS, Macintosh, Shortcuts

Formatting Text in FileMaker using a Script/Button

May 22, 2020 by Douglas Alder 1 Comment


Someone asked: In a word processor you can highlight text and then hit a button to change formatting, line BOLD, UNDERLINE, COLOR…etc. In Filemaker you use the format drop down menus, but does anyone know how to make a button to change the format of the currently highlighted text?

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FileMaker Pro 12

Finding and Updating 32-bit Codec Video Files on a Macintosh

July 1, 2019 by Douglas Alder Comments Off on Finding and Updating 32-bit Codec Video Files on a Macintosh


With Apple phasing out 32-bit applications in the next macOS (Fall 2019), a number of important applications will stop working. One of the most notable and useful is Apple’s QuickTime 7 Player. Also disappearing is support for a number of popular codecs (or file formats). Here is how to find and convert these files before you lose your chance.

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Apple, codec, QuickTime, QuickTime Player 7, QuickTime Player X
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How to Launch Right into Movie Mode on your iPhone Camera

June 25, 2019 by Douglas Alder Comments Off on How to Launch Right into Movie Mode on your iPhone Camera


Straying from my usual FileMaker blogging routine here, I decided to do something on the Camera app on iPhones for a change. Wouldn’t it be great to have an app that launched your camera app and put you immediately in video mode and start recording immediately? If you are a biker and concerned about crazy […]

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iOS, Shortcuts
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Word Cloud D3 Javascript in a Web Viewer in FileMaker

April 8, 2019 by Douglas Alder Comments Off on Word Cloud D3 Javascript in a Web Viewer in FileMaker


I built a Word Cloud to run in FileMaker using an existing D3 Javascript that generates a Word Cloud. I designed it to work on the Desktop or iOS, using the same layout.

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FileMaker, FileMaker Pro, FileMaker Pro 17, iOS, Javascript, Macintosh
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Exporting UTF-8 Files from FileMaker Pro

March 12, 2019 by Douglas Alder Comments Off on Exporting UTF-8 Files from FileMaker Pro


In FileMaker 16, a new function was introduced called ‘TextEncode’. It was a lifesaver and an answer to my repeated whinging about how much trouble it was in previous versions of FileMaker to export plain Jane utf-8 files.

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FileMaker Pro 12
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Scraping Tables – Pulling Data Tables from Web Pages into FileMaker Pro

January 25, 2019 by Douglas Alder 2 Comments


In an ideal world, this data would be published to a JSON file and FileMaker could easily parse that data into records. Unfortunately, many organizations are not there yet, in terms of sharing their data easily. That is where this parsing routine comes in handy.

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Custom Functions, FileMaker Go, FileMaker Pro 17, Web Scraping
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