Power Users' Clinic: Getting the Most Out of Your Fields

The Edit→Export Field Contents command isn't limited to container fields. With very few exceptions, you can export the contents of almost any field to a file (if you can't click in the field, then you can't export its contents, and you can't export a sound you recorded in FileMaker). To understand why you can't click in some fields, read about field behavior in Chapter 6, and about security in Chapter 16.

Here are some examples of how to export to your advantage:

• Use Edit→Export Field Contents to create a file without having to retype what you've stored in FileMaker. But if you just whiz by the Export Field to File dialog box without looking, you'll miss a couple of options that'll save you buckets of time. If you want to watch a QuickTime video at a size larger than the skimpy container field, just select the "Automatically open file" option as you export the contents of your field. FileMaker creates a duplicate video file for you, and then opens a QuickTime player for your viewing pleasure.

• In fact, FileMaker is smart enough to open the right program for whatever you've exported. You'll get a text editor for text, a PDF viewer for a PDF, or a graphics viewer for graphics. You don't have to scramble around looking for a program that can handle your file, because FileMaker figures it out for you.

• If you want to spread the wealth around—let your colleagues know about a customer who always makes a big order at the beginning of the new quarter, for instance—then turn on the "Create email with file as attachment" option when you export your field contents. FileMaker makes a file, and then launches your email program, starts a new email message, and attaches your newly-exported file to it. All you have to do is type a name, subject, and some text, and then send the email on its merry way. FileMaker can send email through Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express and Eudora on Windows, and through Entourage, Mail, and Eudora on the Macintosh.

Let FileMaker really impress you by clicking both options at once. You'll get a copy of the file open for reference and a fresh, shiny email nearly ready for sending. If you've got the screen real estate, you can look at both of these little jewels while you're checking out the FileMaker record that spawned them.