Creating User Specific Reports Using FileMaker Pro Privilege Sets

If you’ve ever wanted to generate specific reports for different groups of users, but are intimidated by FileMaker’s, somewhat complicated security schema, this PDF shows you an alternative methodology that is very simple and easy to implement, using FileMaker Pro privilege sets.

Recently a client, a large bail bond company, wanted to be able to add reports easily, that could only be viewed by specific employees, and without having to go anywhere near FileMaker’s security schema.

This got me thinking outside the box, which is where many good FileMaker solutions come from, and I started to play a game of ‘What If?  What if we could use a related value list to populate a field, listing all the reports that were available for the user, and then use a script trigger to generate the report?  Once I’d finished playing ‘What If?’, I started a different game; ‘Why Not?”  (Both of these are fun games that I love playing and which FileMaker is particularly adept at).

As it turned out the solution was very simple and easy to implement.  We just had to add one table (for the report names), a global field (with a related value list) and a script with  just 3 steps.  Now all the client has to do in order to add new reports is to add a new layout and make sure that the name of the layout is the same as the name of the report and then select who can read that report.

Problem solved; mission accomplished; happy client.  What could be better? Download this FREE PDF from Excelisys’ Tips-n-Tricks section of the website.

- Michael Rocharde, Lead FileMaker Developer @ Excelisys.

Michael Rocharde has been a professional FileMaker Developer since 1987. He has worked with Excelisys since 2002 and has had more than 40 articles published in a variety of magazine He is also the author of FileMaker & Me, an interactive multimedia book focusing on FileMaker Interface Design. Available only for the iPad, this book is available at the iTunes store.

Michael recently released a free reference guide to FileMaker 12’s Themes (Themes Ain’t Wot They Used to Be). Currently Michael is working on a new book ‘FileMaker & You’, Tips & Tricks for Successful FileMaker Development’ (To be published May 2013) for beginners to intermediate developers who, typically, are working in-house and who are being tasked with building a FileMaker solution to manage a specific task or function.

Michael lives in the south of France, just outside of Toulouse in a small village called Castelmaurou. When he’s not developing FileMaker solutions or writing, he can be found tearing out what little hair he has left trying to master the French language.

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