We, the commuunity of users, beg of you FileMaker Inc. for some of the following features:
Switchable/Scriptable Printers – This means, they should go beyond the current Page Setup and Print options available as Script Steps and should match and go beyond the functionality of all the commercial plugins currently out there. Productive Computing, myFMbutler, the ChangePrinter plugin, and then the ChangeMyPrinter plugin. Fortunately, Patrick Sneyers has written the UNIX commands to be executed using the free Abstrakt plugin so that switching printers is feasible, but most of these plugins have been around for ages and it’s almost unacceptable that FileMaker hasn’t included this functionality already. (Thanks to DatabasePros for hosting the file)
A graphics storage center/repository/library to store often reused graphics of a solution. 4D has this feature fairly well implemented.
A tool to produce client-side gradients and other visual effects without having to rely on stored graphics.
Another one occurred to me, a friggin’ shortcut for the Custom Functions window!!Damn, that’s an annoying thing to have to go that menu option every time I want to open such a frequently used window. I may actually go postal if this is not added to the next version of FileMaker.
The ability to use the nice and easy Find Matching Records in a script step. You can currently do this in a contextual menu, but with all of my users having only one-mouse button, the joy of explaining the use of the second mouse button is too much of a burden.
Postnet Barcodes without the use of a plugin. I would credit this as being a great improvement most especialy given that users are constantly using FM as some sort of a contact management system. Sending postcard/mailing labels isn’t that far out of the ordinary most especially given that FM comes with such great label printing functionality out of the box. This one seems to be a no-brainer…
The ability to link spreadsheets and some of their calculation to be updated/linked to a FileMaker table/DB
Better ODBC support: ability to create really elegant FileMaker-based interfaces to other DBs (SQL Server, Oracle, etc.).
Freeform editing of scripts
Javascript-like event handlers for things “onMouseOut” and “onMouseOver” and “onChange” and so on when working in browse mode
A way to lock users onto a window (like the Access “Dialog Window” setting)
A FileMaker thin client that doesn’t require the full purchase of a FileMaker client license when none of the layout or design features will be utilized
The ability to use drop down lists, pop-up menus, checkboxes, and radio buttons — as well as value lists — for the input fields in dialog boxes
Howabout the support for icons in dialog boxes so we can visually indicate to users whether the message is of concern, a caution, or an informational note
FileMaker Wishlist
We, the commuunity of users, beg of you FileMaker Inc. for some of the following features: