FXForge 3.0 Users Guide

stephen@fmwebschool.com (Stephen K Knight) — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 01:40:00 +0000

Downloading and Installing FX.php

The latest release of FX.php can be downloaded from Download FX.php. You will need to edit the server_data.php file within the FX folder to use the files with your server.

Open server_data.php within the FX folder.

1.) Change the $serverIP variable to equal the IP address of the FileMaker server. If you are using FileMaker 5-6 this will be the address of the FileMaker application. If you are using FileMaker 7-8 this will be the address of the server with FileMaker Server Advanced.

Ex. $serverIP = '127.0.0.1';

Make sure that the single quotes remain in place around the address. You may use either an IP address or domain address.

2.) Change the $webCompanionPort variable to the port which is appropriate for your system. If you are using FileMaker 5-6 this will be the port number used by the web companion in FileMaker. If you are using FileMaker 7-8 this will be the port number of the web server running on the FileMaker Server Advanced machine.

Ex. $webCompanionPort = 80;

Place the entire 'FX' folder in the same directory as your web site. The pages generated by FXForge will look for the FX files relative to themselves.

Requirements

Requirement for using FXForge generated web pages:

FileMaker 5-6: FileMaker Pro or FileMaker Unlimited

FileMaker 7-8: FileMaker Server 7 or 8 Advanced

Web Server: Apache or IIS

PHP: PHP must be installed and enabled on your web server.

FX.php: FX.php is a free PHP class that allows you to interact with FileMaker data. The 'FX' folder should be placed in the same folder as your web files for each web site.

About FXForge and PHP with FileMaker

FXForge creates queries or requests to FileMaker. Each request for a different action, set of search criteria, database, etc. requires a new request. With FXForge you can create as many different requests on a single page as you need.

Example:

You can create a request that returns information on a specific record in FileMaker. Based on information returned in the first record, you create a second query to a separate layout that searches for related records. Finally you perform a search for a completely different set of records that will be displayed.

Getting Around FXForge

FXForge Main Menu

Options Available

New Request Wizard
Creates a new request and directs you to a wizard that will assist you in creating your request. This is the best option for creating new pages.

New Request Form
Creates a new request and directs you to the self guided FXForge interface. This option can be used if you are familiar with FXForge or have experience using FX.php. The Request Wizard is recommended for creating new pages.

View Request List
Displays a list of all created requests.

View Page List
Displays a list of all created pages.

File Upload Solution
Creates a solution that allows users to upload files to your server.

Build Email Solution
Creates an entry form, which allows feedback email to be sent to you from your web site.

Error Code Reference
Cross reference error codes for easy troubleshooting of generated errors.

View Manual
Provides quick access to the user guide from the main menu.

Import Templates
Provides the ability to import additional templates for use with FXForge.

FXForge Wizard
FXForge contains a built-in wizard to guide you through the page creation process. This is the best way to use FXForge to create and modify requests.

Required Elements

The required elements screen is the first screen you will complete when working through the wizard. All of the elements here are required. The exception is the 'Password'; however this is only if you do not have a password set up for the account that will be accessing the file. We strongly recommend creating a password for every user account. In FileMaker 7 or 8 you will need the extended privilege 'fmxml' enabled for the account that will be accessing the database.

Page Name

If you are creating a request for an existing page, you can select that page from the list. If the page has not yet been created, select the 'New Page' option to create a page. Name your page with a '.php' extension.

Request Name

Create a name for the request that will allow you to easily identify the purpose of the request. For example if you are creating a request that performs a find, you might name the request 'search'. The request name cannot contain any spaces of special characters.

FileMaker Version

Select the version of FileMaker you will be using to host the database.

Database Name

Enter the name of the database that you will be using for the request.

Layout

Enter the name of the layout that you will be using for the request. Any fields you reference in the request must be present on the layout. Value lists you want to use must be attached to a field on the layout.

Account Name

Enter the account name that will be used to access the database.

Password
Enter the password for the account name that will be used to access the database.

Action

Select the action that the request will perform. When you first start using FXForge, it is best to start with a simple request such as find all or find any.

Passed Values

Values may be passed to the page from a link or a form. If the values are sent in a link, choose the 'GET' method for each value in the link. If the values are sent in a form, choose either 'GET' or 'POST' based on the form's value for 'Method'.

Ex.

The values entered here will be available for any request on the page.

Enter the value for 'name' as it exists in the form under 'Value Sent As'.

Ex.

Enter 'address' under 'Value Sent As'.

If the value are sent in a link enter the key value under 'Value Sent As'.

Ex.
Go to the page
Enter 'first_name' under 'Value Sent As'.

Request Handling

The 'request handling' screen provides further options to control the returned record set.

Maximum Records
Enter the maximum number of records that should be returned if there are multiple records in the returned record set. You can enter a specific number or the word 'all'. The default value is 50. If you will be using one of the 'Previous Next' links also included on this screen, enter the number of records to which each group should be constrained.

Skip Records
If you would like to skip a number of records when the record set is returned, enter that number here.

Sort Records
If you would like to sort the returned record set, enter the field to sort and select either 'ascend' or descend'.

Previous Next Links
The 'Previous Next Links' options will display links if the returned record set is greater than the number you specified as 'Maximum Records'. If you choose to add this feature, select only one type of previous next links and make sure that you have set a value for 'Maximum Records'.

Display Options

The 'Display Options' screen allows you to choose how you would like to display any returned records. You may display None, One or Both.

Within a Table
This option will format returned records in an HTML table.

Outside of a Table
This option will display returned records without an HTML table.

Table Options

The 'Table Options' screen allows you to specify how your table will appear. Options include labels, number of records, borders and background color.

Column Labels
Select whether or not you would like to display labels at the top of each column. This will label each column the same as the field name and is easily edited after the page is generated.

Number of Returned Records
Select how many records you would like displayed in the table. The options here are 'One Record' or 'All Records'. If you select 'All Records' this will be constrained by the number you chose for 'Maximum Records' on the 'Request Handling' screen.

Borders
Select 'Yes' if you would like borders to be added to the table

Background Color
This option allows you to set the background color for the table. You can enter the hex value or select the color chooser for assistance in specifying a color.

Table Display Fields

The 'Table Display Fields' screen is used for adding the values you want to display in the table.

Field to Display
Enter the name of the field that should be displayed

Type
Select the type of field. The options are text, external image or container image.

Image Location
If you selected 'external image', enter the location of the external image in relation to the PHP page that will be generated.

Detail Link
Select this option if you would like to have a detail link attached to this field value

Link URL
If you selected 'Yes' for detail link, enter the URL for the link.

Text Color
This allows you to select a color for the text for this field. You can enter the hex value or select the color chooser for assistance in specifying a color.

FXForge Users Guide

stephen@fmwebschool.com (Stephen K Knight) — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 17:47:00 +0000

FMWebschool is proud to release FXForge v3.0. The new version of FXForge offers many new features as well as a brand new interface.

Please take the time to read through the new users guide and make suggestions as to how we can make improvements.

Also, please feel free to post comments as to what we can do to improve FXForge.

We look forward to a great positive discussion!

In Kindness
Stephen Knight
http://www.fmwebschool.com

FXForge User Guide

FXForge 3.0 Users Guide

FXForge Users Guide