Triggering Scripts

There are six ways to initiateor performscripts:

• By selecting a script via the Scripts menu
• By establishing a custom menu item tied to a script
• By opening the Scripts dialog, selecting a script, and clicking Perform
• By calling a script from another FileMaker script (within the same file or externally)
• By calling a script from an external web source
• By attaching a script to a layout element, which a user then clicks (and thus it becomes a button)
• By attaching a script to the startup or shutdown routines in the file options dialog

FileMaker lacks most procedural triggersfunctions that fire automatically when certain events occur, such as creating or editing a record. (An exception is that you may configure a file to run a specific script when the file is opened or closed.) For a script to be performed, the user generally needs to actively click something. Scripts can be attached to layout objects so that they are triggered by a user clicking on the object, or they can be activated directly from the Scripts menu, if you've chosen to make particular scripts visible there. You can also use FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced to create custom menus that run scripts. There are other ways to call scripts externally through web publishing as well.

To tie a script to a custom menu item, see Chapter 13, p. 373.

To call scripts externally through Instant Web Publishing, see Chapter 21, "Instant Web Publishing," p. 633.

Finally there are some plug-ins on the market that offer event trigger functionality. Events from Waves in Motion is one such plug-in. We encourage you to visit FileMaker's website to see the latest offerings.