We’re delighted to bring you LCFM Native Beta 4 today. This version is a huge step forward, doing away with the time consuming scrape step and adding a raft of big features like popover buttons, JSON functions and send mail. We’ve added compatibility for FileMaker 18 as well as FM17, and by using the new XML features in FM18 we are able to export your solution without locking up your machine.
Thanks to everyone who has been testing with their solutions, we have also fixed a bucket list of issues ensuring this is the smoothest and most fully functional beta yet.
Some screenshots of the sample solution “Sample Assets” running on Android:
Speed
We did a bit of benchmarking on Beta 3 vs Beta 4. In Beta 3, it took 1hour 17 minutes to compile our test solution. In Beta 4, it took just 8 minutes. Here is a video showing the difference.
FileMaker 18 contains a new DDR2 XML export format with far more information than previous versions. This has allowed us to reduce the role of the scraping tool we were using with the Apple accessibility framework. The amount of time the tool needs to lock up your computer for has been reduced to a small piece at the beginning and end. You can now test and retest compiled solutions much faster as you make changes.
Features
The number of features added in Beta 4 is too long to list out in this post. You will find the full list in the Guide for Beta 4, it runs to 16 pages. Highlights include:
- JSON functions
- Send Mail
- Popover buttons
- Slide and tab controls
- Local Data Storage
- Web Viewer Object
- Full range of theming
- Multi file solution support
- 64 bit Android builds
- 167 fixes, features and enhancements in total in this beta!
If you already have beta access, please visit your account here and download Beta 4. If you haven’t you can purchase the LCFM Native Compiler here. Remember, Beta pricing will end 1 month after we ship the first full version 1, until then you can lock in savings of 38% on your user packs.
Try our sample Android app
Would you like to try a sample Android solution built with LCFM Native Beta 4? We have compiled a sample FileMaker solution and produced an Android SDK that we can share with you to install on your Android device. With this sample solution, you can take photos, capture signatures and scan barcodes on Android. If you would like to try this sample app out send us an email on support@livecode.com
Join the conversation