Thanks for everyone’s help. I got so much working! I’ll upload the source when I get new record working.
Here’s a video how it works so far:
link text
I also use FileMaker and Xojo.
I also use both products extensively, Thanks for this interesting argument, we’re waiting for your upload!
Me too… Paying client work keeps getting the way. 
Always a good problem to have.
I use Filemaker and XOJO also.
I love XOJO for the extreme flexibility but hate the mindless hours of tedious coding. Of course, we have a number of classes and procedures that we have developed over the last few years that greatly reduces the amount of code you have to write. I’ve even developed a starter app that has a bunch of default methods and screens already in it. The database end of it is simplified by creating our own DB manager which creates a DB that gets distributed with our apps and handles any DB changes and data importing automatically.
When it comes to Filemaker, I just can’t say enough about the speed with which I can create a function “solution” that allows me to do a lot of productive things around the office. These are applications that would take months to do in XOJO that I can get done in a week or two. Yes, there is some limitations but I no longer have to put things on the back burner because I need a few months to get it done.
We’ve created some web apps with XOJO and that’s really quite amazing that a product can deliver that kind of functionality, but we’ve had to modify a number of things for the web versus when developing for the desktop.
Filemaker just introduced something called Web Direct which is even more amazing. Take a desktop solution and simply set it for Web Direct and you can literally run it in a web browser with no changes whatsoever when hosted on Filemaker server or in Filemaker Advanced. It’s only a version 1.0 product but the potential is there and in another few iterations I think it will be a panacea.
These are both two great tools to have in your toolbox and for different reasons I like them both. Filemaker has made some huge strikes in the last couple of years and all indications is that there is lots more to come. BTW, the support for Filemaker is amazing. If you need to know how to do something, the answer is pretty easy to find.
[quote=146197:@John Fatte]
Filemaker just introduced something called Web Direct which is even more amazing. Take a desktop solution and simply set it for Web Direct and you can literally run it in a web browser with no changes whatsoever when hosted on Filemaker server or in Filemaker Advanced. It’s only a version 1.0 product but the potential is there and in another few iterations I think it will be a panacea. [/quote]
My main complain with WebDirect (as compared to the older Instant Web Publishing (IWP))
- You can no longer run it from fileMaker Client - it requires FileMaker Server
- WebDirect licensing is EXPENSIVE: they want you to pay about $50/user/year.
- The Developer (test) license to WebDirect only allows 1 connection - meaning you can’t easily test your multi-user app
I recently needed to write a quick & dirty web-based survey data collection tool. I would have used WebDirect, but the licensing restrictions made it impossible. I ended up using Xojo WebApp instead.
I started on this for two reasons.
- To make Xojo development of apps with databases as close to fast as FileMaker development.
- To deal with the cost of FileMaker. “FileMaker Server Advanced 12” was $3k with 50 IWP seats. “FileMaker Server 13 with 50 concurrent WebDirect / iOS seats” is now just over $10k. Plus Mac / Win seats are over $300 each. IWP stands for Instant Web Publishing and was replaced with WebDirect. The pricing that I mention is normal licensing / pay and use it forever. There are other options like site licenses and annual licenses like Michael mentioned. The annual is just that. $50 per user forever…
Either way, we and others need a faster way to develop apps that access databases in Xojo. Tim Dietrich , a genius FileMaker Developer, and I have also been working on a super fast and efficient method to let Xojo apps talk to a FileMaker Server.
The end goal is to add a record set to a window and tell each field on the window which table and field it IS. Then simply update the record set and tell the fields with ONE call to update themselves with the option of overriding the value / appearance.
Thanks to everyone’s help with this, I think it’ll work extremely well!
I’m also hoping that this will get FileMaker developers interested in Xojo. It’ll help both developer communities! 
Any news, @Hal Gumbert ?
We’ve been working on it like crazy. I’ll get a blog post out this week with some source and some videos. The Web App that we’re working on right now has a nice Contacts module and I was able to dup it to make the base for a Quotes module in < 10 min!