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A long, long time ago in a far away land, Bob Cusick of Clickware sent me a log file that used a single field to log changes to fields. Through the years I modified it and released it many times but here’s the latest version. This version is so abstracted, all you need is a single custom function with parameters that specify the fields that trigger the log and the log field itself. That means you can copy and paste the formula from table to table and make minor changes to create logs in all your files.
How many times have I asked a user how to reproduce an error and they can’t. Now you can just turn on the fancy dandy script error logging and see for yourself. Then, grab that file and import it into this file to see what’s happening. If the user can remember when the error occurred then searching the timestamp should suffice. If the user remembers the button they clicked then just search for that script name. It’s that easy.
I get a lot of questions about how to limit the records a user can view, edit or delete. This tip file demonstrates the basic formula needed to enter into a privilege set to limit the records to the current user and the records they created. Account names are used to control record availability so that there is no question which user is logged on -- as is the case with user names.
Chris Moyer and Kieren MacMillan alerted me to this tip and what a great one it is! The concatenation formula in this example file conditionally concatenates first, middle and last names without a logical function like Case. In other words, you won’t get two spaces between your first and last name if there is no middle name.
After 5 attempts in a 5 minute period to logon to a hosted file on FileMaker Server 17, the account is locked out for 5 minutes. This feature requires FileMaker 17 Server but any client from FileMaker 14 and beyond can be locked out. However, earlier clients will get a vague error message saying, "the account name and password you entered cannot be used to access this file". Conversely, if a FileMaker 17 client connects to a FileMaker 12 through 16 server, the old behavior of dismissing the credentials dialog after four attempts will occur and no lockout will be imposed. In addition, this feature only works with internally authenticated accounts. Externally authenticated accounts, including oAuth, have their own rules for failed logon attempts. If a lockout occurs, it pertains to ANY file on the host where that account name is being used.
This solution logs any change made to a field in a separate database, so reports can easily be created. In order to create records in another table without clicking a button, a free plug-in that comes with FileMaker Pro Developer 7 and FileMaker 8 Advanced is used (NOT included in this download). No buttons required!
In previous versions of FileMaker Pro, creating a log of changes required calculation fields, lookups and much more. With FileMaker Pro 7, a single calculation -- and no relationships -- is all that is required. With the addition of the auto-enter feature to overwrite the existing contents, itís easy to keep adding onto a field.
I wanted to create an audit log system that would store a log of changed values in a single table for all tables in the database. It was important to make it easy to add the log in each new table, to easily change the fields that needed logging, to be as dynamic as possible, and to carry minimum overhead to the database. You will need to install and activate the FileMaker Example plug-in for this to work (on the install CD). Compliments of Danny Dawson.
I’ve published this solution a few times. First for FileMaker Pro 3 through 6 and then for FileMaker 7 through 9. Apparently, something in the order of operations makes the technique fail in FileMaker 10 and later. So, here’s a version using a script trigger. Same result, different approach.
This file demonstrates how to have a supervisor password in order to change a value in a given field. A script is used to Re-Login, so accounts and privileges are used for the highest level of security. You could use this script, for example, to require employees to get a manager's approval in order to offer a discount on a product.
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