Database Reference
In-Depth Information
WARNING
These Initial View options may or may not actually take effect, depending on what program and
what version of that program the PDF is opened with.
Snapshot Link
At times, collaborating with other users of the same database can get complicated. You may
answer a question by saying “go to the monthly report layout, find the records for last May
and then sort by region,” and be met with a vacant stare. Hey, not everyone has your
FileMaker mojo! But if your colleague knows how to click, Snapshot Links can help lead the
way.
A Snapshot Link is a little package of instructions saved as a small file. Send that file to your
less-savvy colleague, and with a double-click, the database opens to the layout and found set
of records you chose.
Setting up the Snapshot Link is easy. Switch to the layout you want to share, find and sort the
records and then select File→Save/Send Records As→Snapshot Link. The Save Records As
Snapshot Link dialog box appears (
Figure 21-5
), looking much like a Save dialog box.
Choose where you want to save it, whether to include the current record or the whole found
set and if you want FileMaker to attach it to a new, outgoing email message for you. With
that, FileMaker saves a Snapshot Link file, with an .fmpsl file name extension.
Snapshot Links are simply XML files that contain eight pieces of information about your
database that FileMaker uses to recreate the state of the database at the time the snapshot was
taken.
▪
The paths to the database
. Yes, that's plural. The snapshot records your database's loca-
tion on your hard drive, as well as any potential network paths to the file. So long as the
database is available through FileMaker Network sharing, Snapshot Link users on your
network can access it.
▪
The found set of records
, listed by their internal record IDs.
▪
The current layout
. The Snapshot Link records the layout's internal ID number, not its
name. You can rename that layout all day, but unless you delete it outright, the Snapshot
Link is going to find it.
▪
View state
. Whether you're looking at the layout as a form, a list, or a table, the link's re-
cipient will, too.
