Try it and see the magic.

The foregoing has confirmed that developers can build a real-world grammar checker in FMPro Advanced. Can, however, isn’t a recommendation for doing so. Interestingly, top desktop publishing software such as QuarkXPress and InDesign are yet to have inbuilt grammar checkers – and one would think that next to word processors they are most in need of grammar checkers – but instead they import bulk text from word processors.

Database developers, however, may focus on creating corrective modules. These are simpler and their uses are wide. Our Comment field may have a module attached to it which automatically spaces a word from a preceding full stop and capitalises the word. For example, “…day.at …” becomes “…day. At …”; in this example, one only needs the Substitute function with a listing of 26 pairs (corresponding to the number of letters in the alphabet) and it is attached as an auto-enter option for the field. Try it and see the magic.

File, Define, Database. Select the Comment field, click Options, click the Auto-Enter tab, check “Calculated value” and find and double-click the Substitute function. Point it to the Comment field (replace the first parameter, text, with Comment) and just use only one pair for the purpose of this demonstration: “.a”; “. A” (if only one pair is used, square brackets are not required).

Click OK, uncheck “Do not replace existing value for field (if any)”, click OK and OK again. Enter into the Comment field the string (ignore the obvious error), “The work is done for the day.at the suggestion of friends we are going to the beach”, click outside the field and, presto, the correction is made before your very eyes. (Of course, as with most auto-correct features, the developer must allow the user to override possibly unwanted corrections).

FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced is a rapid application development platform for creating sophisticated data processors and dependable data management systems. It is one of several equally worthwhile database-creation programs. Vast new features in versions 7 and 8 have placed FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced a hair’s breadth behind Access, Alpha Five, 4th Dimension and Visual DataFlex in the power stakes; but going beyond raw power it is arguably the most empowering of desktop database-creation programs because it is the easiest to use.

Eventually, with extensive experience, there’s just seemingly nothing that a developer can’t do to manipulate data every which way required. We have demonstrated that a grammar checker and an auto-correction feature can be developed in FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced but more importantly we have demonstrated that viewing the program as an attachable programming environment can lead to a fruitful working methodology.

About the author

Con Kringas works at Conceptwares, a Sydney-based business cooperative, which has made film-script, course-manager and essay-writing applications using FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced as the sole development platform.