Foxtail - Accumulator

This blog is dedicated to the random little tidbits we find useful or wish to share with you!

[foxtailtech]

FileMaker Custom Function - Format Bytes

I recently had a need to format a field that was logging bytes into a database of files.

The custom function has two (2) dependancies:

1.) MinValue ( theList; treatAsNumeric ) URL: http://www.briandunning.com/cf/1566

2.) MaxValue (theList; treatAsNumeric ) URL: http://www.briandunning.com/cf/1565

Custom Function:

formatBytes ( bytes; precision )

Let ([ units = "B¶KB¶MB¶GB¶TB¶PB¶EB¶ZB¶YB"; newBytes = MaxValue ( bytes & "¶0"; 1); pow = Floor ( If ( newBytes; Ln ( newBytes ) / Ln ( 1024 ); 0 ) ); selUnit = MinValue ( pow & "¶" & (ValueCount ( units ) -1 ); 1); result = newBytes / (1024^selUnit) ]; Round ( result ; precision ) & " " & GetValue ( units ; selUnit + 1 ) )

This function will take a byte value and convert it to the appropriate order of magnitude, while selecting the byte value.

[foxtailtech]

Foxtail's Barcode API just hit 600K Barcodes Generated!

Two years ago, we put out our Free Barcode API for FileMaker users to use. Today it's in use by over 1,300 Users in 63 Countries and has generated an outstanding, 600,000 Barcodes, all for free!

Thank you to all of the users who have been using it, and we look forward to generating thousands more for you in the future!

Please visit: http://foxtailtech.com/post/?src=labs&id=102136387485

[foxtailtech]

LAB: Barcode API for FileMaker - Generate Free Barcodes!

This project is an API for generating many different formats of barcode. We’ve constructed a REST platform that allows you to enter in a series of GET parameters which will then generate a barcode PNG for you to insert into a container field.

Download Here: http://cdn.foxtailtech.com/static/downloads/Barcode_Example.zip

Current supported barcode formats are:

Codabar

Code 11

Code 39

Code 39 Extended

Code 93

Code 128

EAN-8

EAN-13

GS1-128 (EAN-128)

ISBN-10 / ISBN-13

Interleaved 2 of 5

Standard 2 of 5

MSI Plessey

UPC-A

UPC-E

UPC Extension 2

UPC Extension 5

PostNet

QRCode

PDF417

[foxtailtech]

Over 17000 Mac Machines Affected by 'iWorm' Botnet Malware

A newly discovered zombie network that exclusively targets Apple computers running Mac OS X across the globe has compromised roughly 17,000 machines so far, giving hackers backdoor access to infected computers, researchers at Russian antivirus firm Dr.Web warned.

According to a survey of traffic conducted in September by researchers at Dr. Web, over 17,000 Macs globally are part of the Mac.BackDoor.iWorm botnet, which creates a backdoor on machines running OS X. Researchers say almost a quarter of iWorm botnet are located in the US.

The most interesting thing to notice about this botnet is that it uses a special method of spreading via a search service of Reddit posts to a Minecraft server list subreddit to collect the IP addresses for its command and control (CnC) network. The user who had posted that subreddit data has now been shut down though the malware creators are likely to form another server list.

"It is worth mentioning that in order to acquire a control server address list, the bot uses the search service at reddit.com, and – as a search query – specifies hexadecimal values of the first 8 bytes of the MD5 hash of the current date," the Russian company said in a statement on its website.

"The reddit.com search returns a web page containing a list of botnet C&C servers and ports published by criminals in comments to the post minecraftserverlists under the account vtnhiaovyd."

Though the researchers did not mention how Mac.BackDoor.iWorm spreads, but they shared that the "dropper" program of the malware allows it to be installed in the Library directory within the affected user’s account home folder, disguised as an Application Support directory for "JavaW" and sets itself to autostart.

Once a Mac has been infected, the software establishes a connection with the command and control server. The backdoor on the user's system can be used to receive instructions in order to perform a variety of tasks, from stealing sensitive information to receiving or spreading other malicious software. It could also change configuration or put a Mac to sleep.

"Criminals developed this malware using C++ and Lua. It should also be noted that the backdoor makes extensive use of encryption in its routines. During installation it is extracted into /Library/Application Support/JavaW, after which the dropper generates a p-list file so that the backdoor is launched automatically," the company added.

The Mac.BackDoor.iWorm is likely to send spam emails, flood websites with traffic, or mine bitcoins. Most of the compromised machines are located in the US, Canada ranked second, with 1,235 comprised addresses, followed by the United Kingdom with 1,227 addresses and the rest is in Europe, Australia, the Russian Federation, Brazil and Mexico.

See the original article by Swati Khandelwal, here.

[foxtailtech]

Why Upgrade To FileMaker 13?

What’s New in FileMaker Pro 13 and FileMaker Pro 13 Advanced

Top New Features in FileMaker Pro 13 and FileMaker Pro 13 Advanced 

Get new features to help you create stunning databases for iPad, iPhone, Windows, and Mac like never before. 

New! Custom themes — Modify and save changes to existing layout themes to match your exact business needs. Reuse or share these themes with your team. 

New! Styles — Themes now have styles (sets of attributes like colors, fonts and text sizes applied to objects such as buttons, fields, and backgrounds) to give your solutions a consistent and professional look. Choose from predefined styles or create your own. Modify a style once and it changes everywhere. 

New! Improved Starter Solutions — The Contacts, Assets, Content Management and Invoices Starter Solutions have been entirely re- designed with a fresh look. 

New! Field Picker — Drag and drop fields directly onto your layout with the new Field Picker. Includes convenient options for controlling field and label placement. 

New! Control Object Visibility — Make your layouts more interactive by hiding or displaying objects, such as fields and buttons, based on a condition or calculation. 

New! Use FileMaker Pro 13 Advanced to enable AES 256-bit database encryption so that your data is protected whether it’s hosted on FileMaker Server 13 or on a local FileMaker client. 

Learn more: www.filemaker.com/products/fmp/features.html

Top New Features in FileMaker Go 13 for iPad and iPhone

Get new features for an ideal iPad and iPhone experience. 

New! Bar code scanner — Automatically scan bar codes using your iPad and iPhone with FileMaker Go – no plug-ins required. 

New! More iOS keyboards — Choose one of 7 new keyboards to match the type of data you want to collect including URL, number, email, phone, and more. 

New! Slide control — Manage images and other data in separate slide panels all within the same layout. Just swipe to change panels. 

New! Popovers — Use iOS-style popovers on iPad, iPhone and desktop to group fields, links and other information without changing layouts or windows.

Learn more: www.filemaker.com/fmgo/features.html 

Top New Features in FileMaker Server 13

Get new features to help you manage and share information in a web browser.

New! FileMaker WebDirect — Breakthrough web technology that runs custom business solutions directly in a web browser on a desktop or laptop.

New! Database encryption — Use powerful AES 256-bit encryption to secure databases hosted on FileMaker Server 13.

New! Encryption state indicator —Visual indicator appears when securely connecting to FileMaker Server 13 from FileMaker Pro 13.

Learn more: www.filemaker.com/products/fms/features.html

To learn more about FileMaker 13 Hosting and related services, please visit: http://www.foxtailtech.com/fmsharedhosting/

[foxtailtech]

FileMaker Server 13 v2 just released!

This update fixes a ton of issues on WebDirect, CLI SSL Import, Server Side Script issues, and the Database Server.

This release should make FileMaker 13 Server much more stable and a better product for our customers to use!

http://help.filemaker.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/13183/?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRokuqTNdO%2FhmjTEU5z14%2BouXqGxlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4DSsJrPa%2BTFAwTG5toziV8R7XBLM1j3dsQUhTl

[foxtailtech]

Path character limit (gotcha)

We've been really excited for FileMaker 12 Server and its external container storage feature. It's been an extremely popular feature with our clients, but with new technology, brings new potential issues.

One issue we've recently run into is, OS path length restrictions with Windows Server 2008 R2. The documented maximum length seems to be around 260 characters on Windows OS (and 1024 characters on Mac OS).

The error we see is (we generalized the path names, file names and field names): 2013-02-26 17:01:34.216 -0800    Error 852              [Record ID 15666, field FileMaker Table Name::Container Field Name] Saving container data resulted in error (852): Can not write file to the external storage.

When we took a look at the path being used by external containers, we see something like this:

C:\Program Files\FileMaker\FileMaker Server\Databases\User Folder Name\RC_Data_FMS\FileMaker Database File Name\Files\FileMaker Database File Name\FileMaker Table Name Here\FileMaker Field Name Here\Record Info\Image or document name here.ext

(again, we generalized the path names)

As you can see, it can be very easy to approach the Windows path length limit. The above is around 242 characters. Database users and administrators should be conscience of all aspects of naming, most importantly the calculated path for for the externally stored path and the file name of the object being placed into the container field.

We hope this helps someone who is troubleshooting this type of issue on Windows OS.

[foxtailtech]

New Labs Site

Today we launched our new Labs site (http://labs.foxtailtech.com) and the initial response has been great!

We started with our barcode API which is demoed in a FileMaker 12 example file. This grabs your text and a bunch of parameters, sends it to our API, and gives you the image of the barcode. With FileMaker 12, you have a script step called Insert From URL which allows you to take data (image or text) and directly insert it into a field. With this, you can bypass the plug-ins and go directly to job done!

Please visit our Labs site for more details.

[foxtailtech]

ScriptMaster (Java) FTP & Windows 7

In a recent troubleshooting session, working with some Java code (FTP Functionality) in 360Works ScriptMaster, I discovered this lovely little gem:

Problem: When using Java FTP functions, before a file is transferred a PASV command must be sent. As soon as the command is sent, the Windows Firewall closes the socket that sent it. This only seems to happen in Windows 7 and Vista (probably 2008 Server too), if the firewall is turned on and Java 7 is used.

Here is a list of potential solutions I was able to use to get around the issue. Solution 1: You must disable Stateful FTP rules on the Windows Firewall. Open Command Line Prompt and type this line (without the quotes): "netsh advfirewall set global StatefulFTP disable" The problem is with Windows Firewall, Microsoft has been informed. Solution 2: You must disable IPv6 on your server and use only IPv4 stack, this will force all Windows clients to connect with the IPv4 stack and the problem will not appear. Solution 3:  At runtime in the java startup command, add the following switch: -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true Solution 4: Enable SSL Security (FTPS), Stateful Firewall inspection must be able to read the traffic which is not possible when FTPS is used.

[foxtailtech]

Check if FileMaker Server is Listening

If you're like me, you like to know if your servers are doing what they're suppose to do!

For the Mac users, there is a little command line tool called "NC" that can help. The command is as follows:

nc -zw 3 server.ip.address 5003

And returns something like this (if successful):

[9/19/11 10:55:21 AM] User Name: That returns: Connection to server.ip.address 5003 port [tcp/fmpro-internal] succeeded!

If there is no process or service listening on that TCP port, it returns a blank line.

The command breakdown is as follows:

NC is the NetCat command -z is instructing NetCat to listen only. It will not send any data to the port -w is creating a timeout for 3 seconds. server.ip.address is the address of the server you wish to connect to. 5003 is the port for FileMaker Server. You can use this with any port you would like.

For Windows users, it looks like there is a port of this: http://joncraton.org/blog/netcat-for-windows

[foxtailtech]

Make a Mac OS Lion Bootable USB Flash Drive

01.) Download OS X Lion from the Mac App Store.

02.) Once downloaded, go to the Applications folder and find the copy of Lion you just downloaded.

03.) Right click on the downloaded file and select "Show Package Contents".

04.) Go to “Contents” and jump inside the “SharedSupport” folder and you’ll find a file titled “InstallESD.dmg”. Copy this over to the desktop or anywhere you have room.

05.) Plug a USB flash drive into your Mac which has at least 4GB of memory. We highly suggest using an 8GB flash drive just to be on the safe side.

06.) Now open up “Disk Utility” and drag InstallESD.dmg from the copied location to the left-hand sidebar.

07.) Select the attached USB from left side and click on “Partition” tab.

08.) Select “1 Partition” from the Volume Scheme drop down menu and choose “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” from the left.

09.) Now click on “Option” at the bottom. Select “GUID Partition Table” and press OK. Click on Apply at the bottom right to start formatting (NOTE: This is will erase all data on your USB flash drive).

10.) Once the drive has been formatted, click on “Restore” (it’s right next to where you clicked on “Partition" in step 08).

11.) Drag the InstallESD.dmg from the left hand tray into the "Source" field.

12.) Drag the untitled partition on the USB Flash Drive into the "Destination" field.

13.) Click Restore and type in your password. This will create the bootable Mac OS Lion USB flash drive.

Now you may use the USB drive in a Mac to boot into the Lion Installer (hold down the “Option” key on your keyboard when you hear the startup chime). Follow the install directions from here. 

[foxtailtech]

Google Voice Project

**UPDATE** 2015-08-04

As of August 4th, 2015 Google has deprecated and removed the login method we were using for this project. We are looking into the way they authorize users to see if we can update this project. Please check back for updates relating to this.

---------------------------------------

We recently posted a sample download on FMForums.com of our Google Voice and FileMaker integration file, and we would love to hear what you are doing with it!

Here is some information about the file:

This sample contact management application is built with FileMaker 11, utilizing script triggers, hidden tab tricks, and the 360Works ScriptMaster Plug-in. We put together a custom Java JAR to essentially take apart the Google Voice site. Functions were built using Groovy in ScriptMaster to interact with the Java JAR. There is no official API for Google Voice (yet), so this library is essentially a code scrapper for the Google Voice site.

The features in the demo file are basic at the moment. It allows you to dial a phone number or Google Voice address and send/receive SMS messages.

The History button will start a script trigger that will collect new SMS messages every 30 seconds.

Please let us know if you have questions or just drop us a note to let us know how you're using the functions.

[foxtailtech]

Installing FileMaker Server 11 on Windows XP

As you are probably aware, Windows XP support for the FileMaker Server 11 installer was removed. The installer was built with support of the following Windows operating systems:

Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

Windows 7 Professional Edition

Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition SP2

Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition SP2

There is a way to allow Windows XP SP3 support back into the installer package.

Download and install the InstEd MSI package editor. Visit: http://www.instedit.com/download.html - Install & Launch.

Locate the FileMaker Server 11.msi file in the FileMaker Server Install Folder, and in the Files subfolder through File>Open with InstEd.

While in the Tables section of the Open MSI file, scroll down to LaunchCondition.

Edit the Condition calculation to this: ((VersionNT = 501 And ServicePackLevel >= 3) Or (VersionNT = 502 And ServicePackLevel >= 2) Or (VersionNT = 600 And ServicePackLevel >= 1) Or (VersionNT > 600)) And Privileged

For a detailed look at VersionNT and ServicePackLevel vist: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa370556(v=vs.85).aspx

Save As to a new file name and Exit the InstEd application.

Locate the folder with the MSI files (both the original and the new).

Rename the original to FileMaker Server 11 OLD.msi

Rename the new file to FileMaker Server 11.msi

That should allow the installer to install on a Windows XP, Service Pack 3 box. Remember! This is not supported by FileMaker nor is this supported by us. Use at your own risk.