Foundation Database Systems

Over your head?
Are you working on an in-house FileMaker project that has you pulling your hair out?

Is your budget too small for an outside developer?

Is your credibility, or even your job on the line?

We have the solution!
(Just click the SOS button.)

“I'm working on a huge project... I can't imagine how much time this tabbed interface would have cost me without AutoNavigator. Great time saver!”

Peter Soetens

“...I guarantee you at some point, the bulb in your head will basically explode! The functionality of AN is endless.”

Omar Ahsan

“I found it did decrease my development time by quite a bit, and its ease-of-use and versatility make it a tool I will definitely continue to use.
Guys, nice job on this product.”

John Graves
FileMaker Pro list moderator at Yahoo

“...I'm working on a solution that requires 12 tabs in each of the first two levels. That's 144 layouts. Then there's the 3rd and possibly 4th levels... I was spending almost all of my time with the navigation system, to the neglect of the actual solution I was working on.
What's REALLY cool is that as I use the database and decide that I could use a new tab for something, I just duplicate an existing layout, rename it, run (one) script.., and I have a new tab on all of my layouts... you may also include my email address so prospective buyers can contact me if they want to.”

Paul Jones
breadmanpaul@mac.com
jones_paul@mac.com

“You can't imagine how much a help AN is.....I'm a developer for a client
of one (me) for nearly 20 years now, and am a serial navigation changer.
I've made more progress in a month than in the previous 10 years on some projects.”

Mark Staples

Foundation Database Systems is a custom software development house. We concentrate our efforts on writing code for our clients. However, we have a developer tool we built for in-house use that was so good, we decided to make it available to other FileMaker Pro™ developers. Of the variety of tools and documents we offer to developers, this is the only one that is not free (see our downloads page for our free tools/documents).

AutoNavigator for FileMaker Pro™ version 2.0
released 10-13-06

HOLIDAY SPECIAL — $99 November 10 through December 10, 2008

New DEMO video! 11-07-08

($150 ; single developer, unlimited use; see bottom of page for purchasing information)

New Features in Version 2.0:

1. Navigation control of FileMaker Pro™'s built-in tab objects.
2. Now up to 7 AutoNavigator tab levels per layout (formerly 5).
3. Now up to 20 AutoNavigator tabs per level (formerly 10).
4. Built-in Pre- and Post- tab scripts allow developers to control before and after Navigation tasks.
5. Reset script allows developers to quickly correct the system during development.

Download NEW Demo Video:

AutoNavigator 2.0 Demo (83 megabyte video download in .mp4 format)

Read the Instruction Manual (PDF format)

AutoNavigator (currently at version 2.0v1) is a ready-to-use FileMaker Pro™ template and layout and navigation building system that will save you many, many hours of work. Much of the time building a database is expended on the navigation system. The more layouts you have, the more complicated the navigation system. If your layouts are more than one level deep, keeping everything working and bug-free can be a nightmare. Plus, there is all that code you have to write to make sure each user is returned to the last layout he/she was on at every level of every hierarchy and from session to session. AutoNavigator solves these problems forever.

Need a new layout? Just duplicate an existing layout, rename it and run one script. Your layout is automatically added to the navigation system and remembered as your users navigate through the layouts. A new tab for the layout automatically appears on all other relevant layouts. Simple, fast and reliable. A fifty layout system that might have taken two or three days to build conventionally can be built with AutoNavigator in under an hour.

At left above is a screen shot of AutoNavigator as it comes to you. It has one user layout and one tab. At right is a screen shot from our AutoNavigator demo file (previous, older demo, see above). In a matter of minutes, we were able to build the entire navigation system (53 user layouts) for this demo from the AutoNavigator template on the left. Notice there are seven top level hierarchies (the seven tabs at the top of the layout). Each hierarchy in the demo has a number of tabs and levels below it. This particular layout has five levels of tabs representing 13 different layouts. Imagine how long it would take to do this without AutoNavigator! AutoNavigator will let you build up to twenty layouts per level, seven levels deep: that's thousands of layouts without writing a single line of code or creating a single field, calculation or script. And it's all automatic. For each new layout, just run one script. You're done.

In version 2.0, AutoNavigator will now also track all of your FileMaker Pro™ tab objects, no matter how many you place on a layout or how deeply they may be nested. Just give each tab panel a name and AutoNavigator does the rest automatically. Always return to the same tab panels you were last on, on every layout. No more "drilling back down" to the last tab panel every time you change layouts. (This feature only works with FileMaker Pro™ version 8.5 and above.)

And AutoNavigator will automatically remember every user's history in every layout hierarchy and sub-hierarchy. Everyone gets taken back to the last layout they were on throughout the entire system, no matter how large or complicated you make it. When users log out and then back in, they will be taken to the same layout they last viewed (you can override this).

AutoNavigator is completely open. You can view all of the code and modify it any way you like for your projects. Run scripts before entering and upon leaving a layout, use your own tab graphics, place the tabs anywhere you like. You can even disguise the tabs as something else or not use any tabs at all. Use AutoNavigator on an unlimited number of projects (each developer must have a separate license). There is no limit to the adaptability of AutoNavigator and best of all, like all really good software, AutoNavigator just works.

Note: don't confuse AutoNavigator's tabs with the tab object introduced in version 8 of Filemaker. Each of the tabs you see here represents a different layout or set of layouts. Though quite useful in its own right, the tab object in FileMaker 8 and above is not a tab system at all in the usual sense. It cannot take you to any other layouts, or let you view data from different primary tables. It is merely a tool for placing more fields from the same table (or related tables) on the same, single layout. Though both use the word tab, there is no similarity or cross-functionality between the two.

How to purchase AutoNavigator:

Holiday Special - $99 through December 10, 2008, full standard developer license
Standard Developer License - $150
Multi-Developer License - call for pricing
Custom Modification - $100 (US) per hour

Purchases can be made with a credit card or checking account via PayPal:

Our PayPal account is: support@foundationdbs.com (go to paypal.com and click the "send money" tab). Read the paragraph below before purchasing.

We apologize, but because we supply the complete source code, no personal checks will be accepted, and no refunds will be given under any circumstances. Software will be emailed or mailed to you, as per your preference. Please provide both email and postal address info with your request. Your invoice will be sent to you as a PDF email attachment, unless you request an invoice by regular mail. If you have any questions, give us a call (432-386-2121) or email us ( support@foundationdbs.com ) any time.