The FileMaker community at large—including PK Information!—was excited for the recent release of FileMaker 19.3.1; however, it quickly came to light that this release had several substantial bugs. We documented those problems and any workarounds as we tested them, but as a whole recommended the majority of users not upgrade yet.
Thankfully, the agile development process that Claris has switched to allows for quick responses to release troubles such as these, and FileMaker 19.3.2 is now available! We’ve once again dug into this release and are happy to share our findings.
What’s New or Fixed
Updating on mac OS
If you’re on a Mac computer, you’ll need to first install 19.3.1 before you can update to 19.3.2. You cannot go from 19.2.2. to 19.3.2. This isn’t a major hoop to jump through, but you should be aware of it.
PDF files in interactive container fields (Windows)
The most significant element of 19.3.2 is fixing how PDF files within interactive container fields are displayed, particularly when in a hosted database and accessed from a Windows computer. We’ve tested this solution on multiple hosted databases and believe that Claris has completely fixed the problem.
So you’re aware, this solution involves adjusting FileMaker so that it temporarily downloads the PDFs in question. These PDFs are removed when no longer in use to prevent software bloat. Claris reports they don’t anticipate end users will be able to perceive a difference, and we agree that we haven’t noticed. This solution is similar to the workaround we documented when 19.3.1 was first released.
Note: This solution is only for PDFs. Other media in interactive container fields will continue to stream from the server.
Blank screen when entering quick start experience (mac OS)
Users who upgraded from FileMaker 19.2.2 to 19.3.1 (rather than installing 19.3.1 on a fresh computer) had problems with the Quick Start Experience. It would generate a blank white screen when they attempted to use it. This was caused by a few remnant processes remaining from 19.2.2, but is now fixed.
Unknown Error: -01 when launching FileMaker (mac OS on M1 processor)
Despite FileMaker being recompiled to work on the M1 processor available in new Macs, it still required the Rosetta software to be installed (though not necessarily activated). If you were installing FileMaker 19.3.1 on a new Mac that hadn’t been used previously—which is what we did in our testing—you’d receive the Unknown Error: -1 message.
In the grand scheme of things, this was a simple problem to encounter and easy to fix. However, Claris has now fixed the programming on their end so users shouldn’t encounter it at all.
What’s Unresolved
Based on our testing, we believe these bugs have carried over from 19.3.1 and still exist in 19.3.2:
Apex Theme second style missing in selector (Mac)
All open databases close when OnLastWindowClose is triggered (Mac)
Databases not opening (Windows)
Web Viewer memory leak (Windows)
What’s Newly Broken
So far, we haven’t encountered any new bugs or broken features in 19.3.2!
Full Release Notes
We’re excited at PK Information for all of these new features, bug fixes, and changes. At this point, we’re actively testing the newest release with the goal of rolling out updates to our clients in the near future.
THIS IS AN ONGOING STORY AND WILL BE UPDATED AS MORE BUGS AND WORKAROUNDS ARE DISCOVERED.
LEARN MORE
PK Information is a FileMaker-certified development agency serving the Tampa Bay, Miami Lakes, and Knoxville regions. We believe software should work the way you do, with business priorities first and technology second.
Would you like to learn more about the latest updates and releases for FileMaker? We’d love to discuss with you! Please complete this form and we’ll connect shortly.