Combining Prowl, the Growl iPhone client, and the 360Works ScriptMaster Plugin, Todd wrote a ScriptMaster Module to push any text you like to an iPhone.

• ScriptMaster from 360Works
• DoScript from myFMbutler
• EventScript from Software for Humans

All of these plugins are free, and compatible with FileMaker 10.

The Portfolio License entitles everyone to Enterprise versions of all of 360Works’ products, (SuperContainer fans, this means you), and allows for unlimited use within a single organization regardless of the number of users or locations. Deployment on FileMaker Server and through Web Publishing is included.

Current owners of 360Works products can apply the cost of previous purchases towards the cost (not to exceed 80%) of the Portfolio License.

Like Growl on Mac OS X, Snarl displays on-screen notifications in Windows, and with the help of the command-line utility Snarl_CMD.exe, Snarl can be integrated to work with your FileMaker solutions as a custom function.

Below is an outline of what I would do if I was using Windows. I apologize for not including a sample file this time, but I do not have access to a Windows machine, and I do not want to post a file that does not work.

The Custom Function

Since Snarl_CMD.exe accepts parameters as follows:

Snarl_CMD.exe snShowMessage TIME TITLE BODY [iconPATH]

/*

TIME is the time the message should be displayed in seconds
(0 means forever/sticky),

TITLE and BODY are the texts which should be displayed, and

iconPath is the windows path for an icon to be displayed in
the notifcation: 

"C:\my\path\img.png" or  "\\server\path\on\server\img.png"

*/

the Snarl custom function will look something like this:

Snarl ( Time; Title; Body; Path )

"Snarl_CMD.exe snShowMessage" & Quote ( Time ) & Quote ( Title ) & Quote ( Body ) & Quote ( Path )

The External Function

The Snarl custom function gets passed into the built-in FileMaker function Set Variable, but since Snarl_CMD.exe is a shell script, it requires a plugin to be executed. ScriptMaster from 360Works is a free one, and it can do a whole lot more than execute shell scripts.

To configure ScriptMaster, set a variable in your startup script with the following value:

RegisterGroovy( "RunShellScript( shellScript )" ; "Process process = Runtime.getRuntime().exec( shellScript );¶
String processResult = process.getInputStream().getText();¶
process.waitFor();¶
exitValue = process.exitValue();¶
return processResult;" )

You have now created an external function for this solution:

RunShellScript ( shellScript )

The Script

Now it is time to put everything together in a Set Variable script step:

Set Variable [ RunShellScript( Snarl ( "Time" ; "Title" ; "Body" ; "Icon Path" ) ) ]

Hopefully it works. Leave a comment and let me know!

This post demonstrates how to create Google-style page results in dynamically-sized FileMaker portals. As you will see, all it takes is a few local variables, a layout object with conditional formatting, and the zippScript ScriptMaster plugin for it to work. The sample file can be found below the video.

One thing I did not mention in the video (but you will soon see) is how fast this solution works. As you are watching, keep in mind that this was recorded on an iBook G4. The solution practically pages itself on newer hardware. \o/

iPod download (15.6 MB)

 zippScript website

ScriptMaster website

 Download ResizePagedData.zip

If you are not using script triggers in your solutions (or have no idea what I am talking about), go download the amazing zippScript plug-in and install it right now. From the zippTools website:

Simply add a zippScript trigger in a calculation dialog to:

• Perform a script when a field is modified
• Perform a script when a record is committed
• Perform a script when a field is displayed
• Perform a script when the mouse is over a field (FM8 and later)
• Call a script with a calculated name
• Schedule a script to be performed at a specific date and time

The zippScript trigger (external function) you will find yourself using the most looks like:

zippScript_PerformScript( FileName; ScriptName {; Param; Control} )

If you have never used an external function before, you find it when defining a calculation:

Take your time with the sample file that zippScript’s developer, John Kornhaus, supplies, and be ready to use your new-found knowledge in a future post.