Schedule

Whether we like it or not AI is a technology that is rapidly becoming part of the FileMaker ecosystem, but if you're new to it the terminology alone can be daunting. This session is a practical introduction to the core concepts.

I'll unpack the jargon, explain what the different technologies actually do, and show how the pieces fit together.

Topics will include concepts such as the core components of AI (LLMs, neural networks, vectors and context), techniques such as semantic search, RAG, natural language queries, and tools such as MCP, agents and tool calling. The aim is to demystify these and understand them in a straightforward way without the hype.

Armed with the vocabulary and mental models discussed, you'll end up with a foundation for understanding what AI is and how it can fit into your FileMaker development, whether as a technique that helps you or a tool that can enhance your FileMaker apps.

Opportunities abound for FileMaker in the Finance Industry that thrives on data and innovation in digitising money and assets. In the land of Accounting and Managed Investments Schemes, Excel is used extensively but struggles to cope. In comes FileMaker, the "Excel on steroids", and with it, the small enterprise that is willing to encompass agile development to streamline workflows.

An 8-year case study examines the merging of domain knowledge and in-house citizen development (Sue) with ad hoc professional assistance (Goya). The story covers experience with:

• Multiple integrations — including online application forms, Xero, stock and crypto exchange data, unit register for investors, auto mailings to investors, multiple remote in-house users.
• Techniques adopted — Master Unit Register, Version Control system, WebDirect, WordPress, WebHooks, REST API, Excel (yes, even Excel!).
• Reflection — dealing with entrenched industry practice, bad data sources, negativity towards FileMaker and user/client experience.

A community of like-minded people holds incredible power, yet keeping it alive over time is a major challenge. In this session, we'll explore the long-standing regional and industry-specific FileMaker communities across Japan and share practical insights on sustaining long-term engagement.

• An overview of prominent FileMaker communities across Japan
• The secret sauce: what keeps these communities sustainable and energised
• Laying the groundwork and strategies for future community growth
• What it truly means to become a community founder

Having learned so much from these communities myself, I now lead vibrant groups in Hokkaido and the education sector. In this session you will discover actionable ideas you can take back to foster and contribute to your own local community.

Great user interfaces don't depend on artistic talent: they come from applying a few practical design principles consistently. In this session, we'll explore simple but effective techniques that can dramatically improve the look and usability of your FileMaker solutions. You'll learn how alignment, visual hierarchy, spacing, consistency, and thoughtful layout choices help users navigate your solution more efficiently while creating a more polished and professional experience.

Rather than just talking about good design, we'll put these principles into practice with a step by step makeover of a FileMaker layout. Starting with a functional but ordinary interface, we'll progressively refine it using practical design techniques, explaining the thinking behind each improvement so you can apply the same process to your own solutions.

We'll also look at how AI tools can act as your personal design assistant, helping identify UI issues, suggest improvements, and generate fresh ideas when you're stuck. Finally, we'll take a glimpse at what's coming next with modern web technologies and Web Viewer enhancements, and how these advances are opening up exciting new possibilities for FileMaker interfaces.

Whether you're a seasoned developer or just beginning to think more intentionally about design, you'll leave with a practical framework for improving your own layouts, along with techniques and ideas you can immediately apply to create cleaner, more intuitive, and more engaging FileMaker solutions.

It's early afternoon. Business operations go into meltdown because critical services are offline, a rogue AI deleted your database. What do you do?

FileMaker 2026 introduces native Standby Server and Remote Backup — business continuity and disaster recovery tools now built into the platform. But technology alone doesn't keep a business running. This session covers not just the tools you can utilise to keep the show going, but the plans and processes to have in place before the curtain goes up.

• Business Continuity — the "Break the Glass" plan when everything hits the fan
• Disaster Recovery — the smoke has cleared, getting things back up and running
• FileMaker Standby Server — mitigate server failure, whether the drive fails or you're being affected by a DDoS attack
• FileMaker Remote Backup — your data, offsite, encrypted, secure, and ready to re-deploy at a moment's notice
• What could, does and often goes wrong — from the common to the just plain ludicrous. Mick will be asking attendees for their own everyday to worst case thoughts and lived experiences with tech downtime, and discuss effects and mitigation strategies.

This session will look at the new PDF script steps introduced into FileMaker 26 and how they can be used to streamline how you work with PDFs in your solution.

• Working with the new PDF script steps
• Create multipage PDFs from different layouts and files
• Advantages compared to the old append approach (performance being a key one)
• Printing PDFs and saving your print settings
• Considerations when using in SASE and WebDirect

Once your FileMaker tables begin to grow you may find that performance becomes an issue, particularly if you have a long-lived system which contains millions of records in a "wide" table. Faced with this issue we developed a series of systems which allows records to be archived — we started with shadow tables, then archive tables, then moved to a more sophisticated approach using an external service, but one which still allows seamless functionality within FileMaker.

In this session I'll take you on that journey, and then demonstrate the final working process.

FileMaker Developers who've tried AI and walked away frustrated usually hit the same wall: Claude confidently writing functions that don't exist. That's not a Claude problem. That's a context problem.

When you configure Claude with the right environment, hallucinations drop sharply. This session is about building that environment: a personal AI workspace that references the right documentation, knows your conventions, and responds like a Developer, not a chatbot.

The session covers:

• What a Skill is: a lightweight file that loads context into Claude, and how to create, install and share one
• How to write Skills that reference live FileMaker documentation, so Claude always works from the source
• Structuring and triggering Skills so the right context loads before Claude writes a single line of code
• Skill versioning, and how to maintain a Skill "library" as your confidence and methods evolve

The world of AI is full of acronyms. One of those is RAG — Retrieval-Augmented Generation. In this session, we will cover:

• What RAG is, and why it is useful in a FileMaker solution
• The difference between sending prompts to an LLM and grounding responses with retrieved data
• Possible architectures for implementing RAG alongside FileMaker
• The practical trade-offs between different providers and platforms
• Considerations around cost, complexity, performance, privacy, and control of data
• Some real-world examples of the kinds of problems RAG can help solve for FileMaker developers and their clients

Nobody puts "salesperson" on their FileMaker CV. But that demo you just gave? That was sales. That support call where you mentioned a better way to do things? Also sales. Turns out we're all selling — developers, project managers, even the person who answers the phone.

Andrew and Stuart explain why technical skill alone won't grow a FileMaker business. They'll share simple ways to build client trust and spot new opportunities. No cold calling. No pushy pitches. No polyester suits required.

Every IT system these days has risks that need to be evaluated and managed, and everyone's risk profile is different. Because FileMaker often sits outside the usual IT systems, it can often escape the sort of risk analysis that might normally be undertaken.

This session will go through the sorts of risks that every FileMaker Owner, Administrator, and Developer should be aware of, and what changes to make to their FileMaker setup to reduce the risk of damage to themselves, their business and their customers.

From the lone developer working in their own business, to the large company managing personal health information, this session will open your eyes to things you hadn't considered that should be part of everyone's process.