Author Archives: Kirk Bowman

Bring on 2013!

Published on December 5, 2012 by Kirk Bowman

The month of December is different from other months of the year for the typical small business owner.  In addition to running day-to-day operations, you are simultaneously wrapping up the current year and planning for the next. You are doing final tax planning, considering how to relax during the holidays, and thinking how to innovate [...]

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Execute SQL at FMPug Dallas

Published on November 8, 2012 by Kirk Bowman

This Friday, Rosemary Tietge from FileMaker Inc. will be discussing the new Execute SQL feature in FileMaker 12 at the FMPug Dallas meeting. What questions do you have about this new feature? Post a comment below and I will try to get it answered during the session. You are welcome to attend if you are [...]

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Disable Java Updates - Really!

Published on October 17, 2012 by Kirk Bowman

Today FileMaker Inc. posted two new Knowledge Base article about  Java 7 and the Admin Console in FileMaker Server. Important information about FileMaker Server and Java 7 FileMaker Server Admin Console fails to run on Mac OS X Lion (10.7) and Mac OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) after Java update Since the console is based on [...]

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Using Barcodes and Magnetic Stripes with iOS

Published on October 10, 2012 by Kirk Bowman

The other day, Anders Monsen and I were prototyping a custom iPad app to help a stage company manage work crews for large arena events. Each event has multiple shifts (7am, 7:45am, 8:30am, etc.). At the start of each shift, several employees need to clock-in quickly and receive their work assignments. We researched two ways [...]

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We Will Diagnose Before We Prescribe

Published on October 10, 2012 by Kirk Bowman

Recently I was visiting with a prospective customer about how we could  create a custom iOS app for her service business. Prior to the conversation she provided a spreadsheet that she uses for part of the process. During our first phone call, I learned she uses about a dozen documents for various parts of the process. [...]

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Thank You For The Awards

Published on September 5, 2012 by Kirk Bowman

At the 2012 FileMaker Developer Conference, MightyData was surprised and honored to receive two awards, one from FileMaker Inc. and the other from our colleagues in the FileMaker Community. The FileMaker Mad Dog Award is given to individuals for their contribution in helping to advance awareness of the FileMaker platform. This is our third Mad Dog [...]

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Stop Embedding Documents in Your Database!

Published on August 9, 2012 by Kirk Bowman

Recently, I converted two customer databases from FileMaker 11 to FileMaker 12. Both customers were embedding documents in the database by inserting them into container fields. The result in each case was database bloat—a file size much larger than necessary (1GB or greater). The disadvantages of a large database in FileMaker are several including slower [...]

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Omitting Someone (or Something) on Twitter

Published on June 4, 2012 by Kirk Bowman

I use the “column” feature in TweetDeck to follow various topics on Twitter. Recently, someone started using a Twitter handle that includes a keyword I use frequently to monitor custom software development. Unfortunately, their tweets have very little to do with the topic. Most of them are personal comments between professional colleauges. Being a database guy, [...]

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12 Days of FileMaker 12 Bonus – FileMaker Server 12 Performance

Published on May 31, 2012 by Kirk Bowman

FileMaker Server is the primary tool for monitoring and enhancing the performance of FileMaker solutions. FileMaker Server 12 provides new features to increase the ability of the database administrator or developer to create the best experience for the users. In the second bonus session of the 12 Days of FileMaker 12, I explore six aspects of performance [...]

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12 Days of FileMaker 12 – FileMaker Go 12 Enhancements

Published on April 23, 2012 by Kirk Bowman

On Thursday, April 19, I had the privilege to present the new FileMaker Go 12 for iOS (iPhone and iPad). This was the fourth webinar in the 12 Days of FileMaker 12 series by FM Academy. The first and most important new feature is that FileMaker Go 12 is now free. This is truly a game [...]

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