Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes      

I know avid followers of this blog are probably all thinking the same thing:  “What’s the deal with the new PD Place Support Forum?”
 
Here’s the 411:  The PD Place Support Forum provides PD Place users with an online meeting place to discuss how to make best use of the system, to exchange tips and tricks and to suggest feature ideas for future releases of PD Place.  With the new PD Place Support Forum, users from a variety of organizations can interact with one another via online PD Place discussion rooms.  In addition, users have the ability to instant message an individual user or a number of users from within the message section of the system.
 
Is there a feature that you feel would benefit users of PD Place that is not currently available in the system?  If so, please leave us a message in the “PD Place Feature Requests” discussion room.   This room provides you with the opportunity to let your creativity flourish.  Perhaps there is a facet of your role that could benefit greatly from being streamlined?  Chances are you’re probably not the only person who would see the value in having this new functionality built into PD Place.  Is there something that you just think would be a really “neat” addition to the product?  Let your imagination run wild.
 
Although PD Place can’t make you tea, I’m certain we could produce a variety of reports that would keep track of all the tea consumed at your organization…You get the picture…
 
Please feel free to make use of our new PD Place Support Forum to convene with your peers and to let us know what features would assist you in making optimal use of PD Place.  Not only will you learn from one another, but we’ll learn from you!
 
You can register for the PD Place Support Forum via the following link:
 
https://pdforum.pdplace.com/
 
All the best!

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Estimated Time To Read This: 1 – 2 minutes      

If you’re going to be developing a FileMaker database on FileMaker Server 11, there is an important behavior that you should be aware of.

While working on a project hosted on FileMaker Server, I came across an issue with some of the navigation scripts. At first I thought that the issue was due to permissions not allowing me to access certain parts of the system, but after some script debugging I learned that the navigation script itself was failing because a global calculation was not evaluating properly. This discovery lead to some confusion as each table in our system has one such field used specifically for navigation purposes, and only some of them were giving me a value. Creating a record in the offending table seemed to solve the problem, but only temporarily. It turns out that global fields in tables created while the database is hosted on FileMaker Server do not get saved when the client disconnects from the server the way that a global field is saved when a local database is closed. The solution to the problem is to close the database on the server, open it locally and create a record in each table so that each global field receives a value. Once the database is closed again it will save that value. From then on the global field will start with a value whenever you log into the system, even when hosted on FileMaker server.

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Estimated Time To Read This: 3 – 4 minutes      

In previous versions of PD Place, the use of conditional dynamic variables was gradually starting to appear, but was only used in a select few email templates. However, in version 3.9, there has been an exponential increase in their use.

Conditional Dynamic variables are relatively simple in concept but can be used very effectively to customize some of the email templates to handle:

• regular and continuous intake type in-services within the same template
• display of text, based on in-service detail settings
• display of text, based on error conditions or other events

This article will introduce you to the concept of conditional dynamic variables and provide a list of the variables currently implemented.  To discover which templates these are used in, I would direct you to the Preference Manual and the PD Place 3.9 release notes.

Once you get use to using conditional dynamic variables, the flexibility they offer can greatly enhance the content of your email templates and eliminate sections that can be misleading or confusing in some situations.

How Do They Work?

Conditional Dynamic variables always appear in pairs. Any text or other dynamic variable located between the two conditional dynamic variable, will only be printed if a specific condition applies.  The variable ending in “_BEGIN}” is always at the beginning of the section and the variable ending with “_END}” is always located at the end of the section. The same conditional dynamic variable can be used multiple times within a template, but must always exist in pairs.

A simple example is shown below:

In this example there are three pairs of conditional dynamic variables used.

• The pair “{INSERVICE_BEGIN}” and “{INSERVICE_END}” surround information that is only printed for regular in-services, not continuous intake.
• The pair “”{CL_BEGIN}” and “{CI_END}” surrond information only printed for continuous intake type in-services.
• The pair “{CLASS_HAS_CONTENT_BEGIN} and {CLASS_HAS_CONTENT_END} surround information this is only printed if managed content is enabled within the in-service.

Which Variables Currently Exist?

The following conditional dynamic variables currently exist in PD Place:

1. APPROVAL_EMAIL_NOT_FOUND – used in external approvals and will restrict printing information only if the person approving does not exist or does not have an email address. In this case the email is sent to the external training administrator.
2. CI – used to restrict printing of information to only continuous intake type in-services.
3. INSERVICE – used to restrict printing of information to only regular the type of in-services.
4. CLASS_HAS_CONTENT – used to restrict printing of information to only in-services where managed content is applicable.
5. IMPORT_HAS_PROBLEMS – used in imports only and prints information only in the situations where import issues exist.
6. PASSWORD_AUTO_GENERATED – used in imports only and  prints information only in the situation where passwords have been automatically generated.
7. USERNAME_AUTO_GENERATED – used in imports only and prints information only in the situation where usernames have been automatically generated.
8. CERTIFICATE – used in completion email only and restricts printing of information to in-services with certificates.
9. SURVEY – used in completion email only and restricts printing of information to in-services with associated evaluations/surveys.
10. USER_FORM – used in completion email only and restricts printing of information to in-services with associated user forms.

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Estimated Time To Read This: 3 – 5 minutes      

Twice a year, CoreSolutions offers our PD Place partners the opportunity to convene with other organizations using PD Place via our PD Place User Group Meetings. These meetings provide PD Place users with an open forum to communicate with members of the PD Place development team. Together, our PD Place partners along with members of the PD Place development team assemble to discuss how to make optimal use of PD Place. Our next PD Place User Group is meeting on Thursday, April 26, 2012. In this blog, I highlight several reasons why you should consider attending a PD Place User Group Meeting.

Learn From Your Peers
Since no two organizations are exactly alike, it is often the case that one organization may benefit from a particular aspect of PD Place that is not in use at another organization. Our PD Place User Group Meetings give PD Place users the opportunity to “learn from their peers.” Conversely, organizations can impart their knowledge regarding a specific facet of PD Place with other PD Place users during these meetings. For instance, a company may find that making use of specific functionality within PD Place has saved them time and money on paper and printing costs. If this specific functionality is not currently in use at your company, then hearing this information from your peers may prompt you to take advantage of this newfound knowledge.

Learn From the Development Team
Also present at PD Place User Group Meetings are members of the PD Place development team. These individuals designed the system, so they are thoroughly acquainted with all aspects of the software. Our PD Place development team will assist you in getting the most value out of the product. During these meetings, our PD Place development team informs PD Place users of new features being developed into the system. Moreover, our PD Place development team explains several tips and tricks that will assist in streamlining and expediting your professional development processes. With the PD Place development team on hand, PD Place users are sure to have all technical queries addressed.

The Opportunity to “Co-author”
From a creative perspective, our PD Place User Group Meetings provide PD Place users with the change to become “co-authors” of future releases of PD Place. PD Place users can suggest feature ideas that they feel would benefit their organization and other organizations using PD Place. In one particular PD Place User Group Meeting, a partner approached CoreSolutions with the suggestion of having the ability to embed content into PD Place, such as You Tube videos or PDF’s. They explained that they would like to keep track of who has and who has not successfully reviewed the content. Months later, CoreSolutions released PD Place version 3.9, which included this new feature that was termed, “managed content.” Not only did our development team build this new functionality into the system, but they also added some “bells and whistles.” This feature, like several other features available in PD Place, was borne out of a PD Place User Group Meeting.

Join the Next PD Place User Group Meeting
PD Place is truly a “user-driven” system. At CoreSolutions, we place the onus on our partners to let us know what new features will assist them the most and our development team makes these ideas come to fruition. Our PD Place User Group Meetings offer PD Place partners the opportunity to share ideas, learn from fellow PD Place users and members of the PD Place development team and recommend feature ideas to PD Place staff. It is after these PD Place User Group Meetings that our PD Place development team works their magic to build these new feature ideas into PD Place. In essence, PD Place User Group Meetings are about learning from each other and suggesting new ideas that will assist organizations in obtaining the greatest value out of PD Place.

If you are interested in attending the upcoming PD Place User Group Meeting on Thursday, April 26, 2012, then please send your request to pdplace-support@coresolutions.ca.

We look forward to seeing you at the next meeting!

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Estimated Time To Read This: 3 – 4 minutes      

Yesterday, FileMaker Inc. released its’ latest upgrade to an already spectacular product line and once again the bar has been moved even further ahead of the competition. However, when you think of competition there really isn’t much that compares to this database development environment.  FileMaker is a rather unique software product because it’s the only database that a) attracts the novice user who needs a quick but elegant solution to their problem without having to jump through hoops and b) attracts the seasoned developer who can make FileMaker stand on its head.

With the release of the FileMaker 12 product line the word ‘spectacular’ is now being replaced by ‘stunning’. This blog is just going to focus on the stunning aspect of FileMaker 12 which now includes new themes allowing a developer like me with absolutely no design skills to produce a beautiful screen design that even Michelangelo would drool over. OK maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but I do believe that this new feature is going to turn even the most technical developer into somewhat of an artist.

Why did FileMaker Inc. do this? I think the main reason is that FileMaker solutions will now look much more elegant when running on iOS devices. Using the new themes, developers with little or no design skills will be able to produce screen layouts that will look stunning on an iPad or iPhone.

After installing FileMaker Pro 12 I decided to do a little test by opening a template (Figure 1) that shipped with FileMaker 11, converting it to FileMaker 12 and then applying a theme to it (Figure 2).

Figure 1

Figure 2

On the converted database above notice the rounded corners on the fields, the colour scheme that has been applied automatically by the theme and highlighting around the border of the field that’s in focus. If you don’t like this theme just choose another one and instantly your layout will change with no work on your part.

In Figure 3 below you can see how I changed the rounded corners and moved the fields closer together so all the fields now appear to be part of one logical grouping. Pretty cool for a few minutes of work, don’t you think?

Figure 3

Now remember, we just converted an existing database but when creating a database solution from scratch or after the conversion of an older solution to FileMaker 12 you will have the opportunity to use all the new layout tools to create beautiful and very functional layouts. In addition and perhaps the coolest of all is that those same solutions will work and look the same on your iPad or iPhone.

In future blogs we will focus on some of the new FileMaker 12 features and you will learn how to create great looking charts, enhance layouts using new tools and manage and store files and images in much more efficient ways.

Barney Lawn.

President & CEO

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Estimated Time To Read This: 3 – 4 minutes      

While Learning Programs and Qualifications are similar in nature, the primary difference between the two is that Qualifications are recurrent, requiring re-certification within a defined span of time, whereas Learning Programs are generally a one-time occurrence.  Both are easily managed within PD Place.  We’ll focus on Qualifications in another blog or two down the line but for this post, let’s concentrate on Learning Programs.

Perhaps new hires at your company are required to attend several workshops within their 3-month probationary period, these workshops can be outlined and managed as a Learning Program.  With the workshops entered into PD Place as in-services (in this example: Company Policy, Health & Dental Benefits, Retirement Savings), the Program Administrator can now define these workshops by clicking the Add / Manage Programs link located on My Page.

Any existing Learning Programs already defined within PD Place will be listed at the top of the page.  To view a program’s credentials, select it from the list and click the [Go] button.  To view and manage user progress within the Learning Program, click the Manage Program Users link.  To define a new Learning Program, click the Add New Program link situated just above the list.

Creating a new Learning Program involves specifying a program title, a program administrator and selecting the program courses required to successfully complete the program.  Optionally, the time alloted to complete the program can be defined.  (Be sure to click the [Submit] button to save any changes.)  With your new Learning Program in place, users can be added by clicking the Add Program Users link located near the bottom of the Details section.

Users registered to a Learning Program will have a new link located on their In-services page.

Clicking this link will list all learning programs and their respective in-services, including completion status and links to search for upcoming classes in both standard in-service and continuous intake modes.

Take a few minutes to set up a Learning Program for your users, you’ll likely find it’s an efficient way of tracking many commonly related programs already in place within your system.  As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

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Estimated Time To Read This: 3 – 5 minutes      

Recently, I’ve been working on a project that takes an existing FileMaker database, and adds a custom PHP front-end for access via the web. Fortunately, FileMaker offers a light-weight, easy to use PHP API. Having never worked with the FileMaker API, I found that it was extremely easy to pick up and use, but sometimes behaved in ways that a person with experience using various SQL drivers might not expect.

Today I’m going to share a few of the problems that I came across, and how I was able to solve them.

Querying layouts, what to look for when a find command is returning an error object instead of a result

Using the FileMaker API, instead of querying tables directly, we query the layouts. This can cause some unexpected issues due to a number of reasons, the most obvious being that you have the wrong layout. Often times a FileMaker developer will create a specific layout for web access. This layout may be named something different, and if you were not the one who developed the FileMaker solution, you should ask the developer which layout you should use. A common problem that I encountered was that the layout I was querying did not have all of the fields from the table that I needed. If the layout does not have a field object, you will not be able to access it, even if it exists in the FileMaker table that layout is based on.

Empty result sets do not return a result object

Unlike any of the other database drivers that I have ever used, instead of returning an empty result set, FileMaker will return an error object if your find command has no results. It took a little while for me to realize this at first, but once you know what to expect, this shouldn’t cause much of a problem.

FileMaker Date Formats

Anybody who has worked with a database knows the issues that can be caused when trying to perform a query based on a date condition, FileMaker is no exception. During my adventures with the FileMaker API, I came across a problem with not only finding dates, but also inserting date values into the database. Most current database drivers support at least entering dates into the database in almost any format, they will perform the necessary conversions needed without you having to worry about it. FileMaker will not accept just any date format, in order to get my dates to work, I had to use the PHP date format ‘n/d/Y’ whether or not this is the only format accepted, or if it just happened to be the way the file that I was working with was set up, I don’t know. The documentation on the subject is, as far as I can tell, nonexistent. I would love to know more about the subject myself, but if you’re having trouble with dates I suggest you try the format worked for me.

Complex conditional queries

Normally I wouldn’t specify queries where a condition or set of conditions does NOT equal a value as a complex query, but in the FileMaker API it is. Instead of simply being able to change an equals operator (‘=’) to a not equals operator (‘<>’) in a SQL query, FileMaker forces you to call a completely different function, to create a different type of object to perform any query whose condition is not a simple Boolean equals. Instead of creating a new find command, you need to create a new compound find command, which in turn must have at least one find request. These requests can be changed to omit records who are true when a certain condition is met, or change two or more conditions from always being logical AND queries, to logical OR.

None of the issues discussed in the blog are inherent problems with the FileMaker API, but rather inconsistencies with other database solutions. Once you get used to the way FileMaker does things, you will find that there are reasons why these things are the way that they are, and learn to recognize other possible problems before they arise. I hope that this blog helped at least one person with an issue that they were having using the FileMaker PHP API.

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Estimated Time To Read This: 3 – 5 minutes      

The new release of PD Place (3.9.0) was recently announced and so over the next few blogs, I will be concentrating on update everyone on some of the new features.

One of my favourite enhancements is the restructuring of the in-service registration process. This enhancement achieves a number of great features:

a) It expands the use of the invitation only feature to other types of in-services that were not previously available.

 The invitation only functionality is now available to approval type in-services and internal conferences.

 b) The revised search result screen is more user friendly and is no longer generic but now displays information unique to the individual user.

The new search results screen has been reorganized and the date field now displays all of the details of dates and times associated with multiple date in-services.

The screen also displays more accurate information related to the user who is currently logged in. The registration column will now reflect whether or not the user has already registered or requested approval to attend the in-services and also displays the registration status. It also provides a link to the registration verification screen where the user can review what they requested when they registered (release time, prerequisite notes and payment status).

If costs are associated with the in-service, the user will also see the most accurate cost based on registration restrictions, etc. The cost column also will display a range of optional costs (another new feature in version 3.9.0).

c) Data entry and information about invitation codes, prerequisites and release time are now organized onto one screen for ease of entry and review prior to commitment of the registration or approval request.

When the user now clicks on the registration button either from the search result screen or the in-service detail screen, they now are taken to the in-service verification screen. This new screen serves two purposes:

The first is to provide the user with information about the registration or approval request they are about to commit to and allows them to verify the information before committing.

The second is this screen allows us to prompt the user for additional information. Invitation code entry and the review of prerequisite requirements are now consolidated on one screen.

In addition the selection of whether or not release time is required and the capability to choice the dates release time is required and whether full or half day is applicable occur here, prior to the actual commitment of the registration or approval request.

d) Release time information is now carried through the approval process.

The request for release time and the information on which days, full or half are now carried through the approval process and can be viewed by the registrant and are available for viewing or maintenance by the administrator.

e) The implementation of a registration verification screen provides a platform for prompt for additional registration information.

The capability to prompt users for additional information from the in-service verification screen opens up great potential for future enhancements some of which we are already working on or planning.

The “optional cost item”, which is also new to version 3.9.0, is typical of this potential.  Details about this functionality however will be left for future blogs.

I hope this brief discussion has tweaked your interest in version 3.9.0 and that you will contact PD Place Support to arrange for upgrading your site to try this and the many other new features.

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Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes      

Recently I had to reinstall an older version of FileMaker server; the original plan was to just reinstall the version that was currently on the server, but along the way I decided to install server 11. After uninstalling the older version, I attempted to install server 11, only to discover that the machine wouldn’t support it. I went back to the older version of server, which installed smoothly, but I probably would have saved myself a bit of frustration if I had checked the machine’s specs before attempting the upgrade. Below are just a couple of things to think about before updating/reinstalling server.

First of all, do a bit of research, especially if you are thinking about upgrading. FileMaker has technical specs for server listed on their website, going here will give you hardware and software requirements for the latest version of FileMaker. You may need to invest in some new hardware and/or an update to your operating system.

If you are running a particularly old version of FileMaker (6 or earlier), you may need to some additional work on your databases even before deciding to update to 11; there was a fairly major update between versions 6 and 7 of FileMaker; and converting files between the 2 isn’t always a smooth process, especially if you have a fairly large or complex solution. You may need to spend some time and resources testing your database in 11, or even rebuilding from the ground up to take advantage of features introduced in more recent versions.

Once you are ready to update, there is a bit of prep work you can do to make the process smoother. FileMaker server has an excellent PDF (which can be found online here) about installing/upgrading server, but some things to keep in mind are:

• make a copy of your files.  This is always a good thing to do if you are making any changes to your files or server installation, so that you have a copy to fall back on.
• make a note of any settings in your admin console, especially backups, scheduled scripts, etc. Making screen shots is a good idea so that you have a visual reference of your old settings
• close down the files and the database server using the admin console

Doing a bit of prep work before hand will ensure that your installation/upgrade goes smoothly.

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Estimated Time To Read This: 4 – 7 minutes      

The new private course feature available in PD Place version 3.9, offers PD Place partners the opportunity to hide a course, so that it does not appear in the system via keyword searches or in the calendar module. The only way to access a private course in PD Place is to have a supervisor register you for the course on their behalf.

I’m sure that right now you’re probably asking yourself, “Why would I create a private course that is essentially hidden in the system?”

To help answer that question, I’ve come up with three specific examples of how the new private course feature in PD Place will offer added flexibility to your professional development programs. I begin with an exposition of why supervisors may decide to offer private courses to those members of staff who excel at their position. Subsequently, I explain the converse situation, wherein supervisors may determine that private courses should be offered to members of the organization who are in need of additional training because they are “falling behind.” Lastly, I discuss the idea of offering supervisory training that pertains to sensitive information, as a private course in PD Place.

As a supervisor, it is likely that you may offer professional development courses to specific members of staff that excel at their position in general or who excel in a particular aspect of their professional assignment. For instance, you may have several staff that you would refer to as your “best overall employees.” Similarly, there may be members of your team that you would consider to be the best at a particular aspect of their position, such as those staff who are proficient writers or well-versed public speakers. For each of the aforementioned cases, you may not want all members of staff to be privy to this information. There are a multitude of reasons for keeping this type of information private; you may not want to create “envy” within your ranks, you do not want to appear that you are “favoring” certain members of staff and you certainly do not want to encounter the scenario where you are bombarded by requests from other members of staff, who found out about the professional development opportunity online and wish to be included in the event. You can avoid these situations altogether by making these types of professional development events private.

Contrarily, circumstances may arise where it is more suitable to offer private courses to those members of staff who require additional training because they are “falling behind.” This training could be on the macro or micro-level, meaning that the content of this additional training could target the employee’s position in general or target a specific facet of their job portfolio. Amongst other things, you may have members of staff who are having difficulty understanding a specific type of technology or there may be members of staff who have received consistently poor performance reviews. Regardless of the circumstance, it is assumed that most individuals having difficulty meeting job expectations will prefer not to have this information shared amongst their colleagues. Being cognizant that assistance is required to fulfill one’s professional obligations is challenge enough, but knowing that your peers are aware of this information can be a bit overwhelming. With this in mind, the best option available for all parties would be to make these courses private.

Private courses may also be offered for supervisory courses, as the material associated with these particular events may be deemed as “sensitive.” Again, the crux of this example hones in on the concept that “some information should be kept confidential.” This is especially the case when considering supervisory courses with sensitive information. Supervisors deal with situations and data that at times, should be kept private. For example, you may prefer to keep knowledge of a supervisory course or event that pertains to budget cuts, the review of underperforming staff, or dealing with organizational professional unions, to within a select group of senior administration. You would most likely prefer that this information not become common knowledge throughout your institution.

You may also encounter more positive events that you would like to keep discreet. As a case in point, you may have the opportunity as a supervisor to attend supervisory training or a specific supervisory conference or event. You certainly do not want your employees to perceive this as an example of “personal favoritism.” What if this particular supervisory event was being hosted in a warm tropical climate? I know from personal experience that when attending a conference, nearly all the time is spent in the conference hall and travelling to and from the airport. But your employees may not see it this way. Rather, they may only see the location of the event and simply reach the conclusion that the boss is taking an “all expenses paid vacation to the world’s greatest beach resort.” Not exactly the case. To avoid this occurrence, it might be more auspicious to enter this event in PD Place as a private course.

The new private course feature available in PD Place version 3.9 is sure to offer your organization newfound flexibility. Supervisors can now enter events in PD Place that are kept private from other members of the institution and can track and manage these courses with ease. It’s true that in many instances institutions should strive to keep “everyone in the information loop,” but as I have illustrated above, there are several situations where it is in the best interest of all parties, to only keep certain members of the organization “in the information loop.” When certain information remains private, time-consuming situations are avoided, ultimately saving you money and allowing you to focus your time on more pressing matters.

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