Paste Command, Cheap, 7 Habits

The Simple Paste Command

Matt Larson of Cimbura.com digs into the simple paste command–it turns out it’s not as simple as one might think:

FileMaker’s default Paste behavior is to paste formatted text in a FileMaker text field. Additional steps, either by the user or the developer, must be taken to paste unformatted text. Text stored with custom formatting may interfere with readability issues, especially when a print layout is designed to display a company name in 18 pt Arial Bold, but …

Attached is a very helpful sample file* detailing five different ways to deal with pasting text in FileMaker:

  1. Undo
  2. Paste Text Only
  3. Auto-Enter Calculated Value
  4. Script Trigger
  5. Custom Menus

*Notice there is a free FileMaker Example file available for download at the site.

The free sample file includes a nice custom function that handles stripping formatted text. And Larsen goes into detail with each option by giving the pro’s and con’s of each.  Nice.

Source: Enhancing the FileMaker Paste Command – Cimbura.com, Inc. Tech


The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is an oldie but goodie when it comes to self-improvement books.

And lest you think it does not work in today’s world with smart phones, internet, smart apps, and such, don’t worry:  It’s been updated and adapted to address those challenges.

I highly recommend it. I am working my way through the audio book, but you can get it on Kindle and in paperback.


Seth Godin’s In Pursuit of Cheap

I don’t know where Godin gets his ideas, but he always has something good to say every day:

The race to the bottom is unforgiving and relentless.

I ordered some straw hats for a small party. The shipper sent them in a plastic bag, with no box, because it was cheaper. Of course, they were crushed and worthless.

I wrote a note to the company’s customer service address, but they merely sent an autoreply, because it was cheaper.

And they don’t answer the phone… you guessed it, because it’s cheaper.

Of course, you have competition. But the big companies that are winning the price war aren’t winning because they’ve eliminated customer service and common sense. They’re winning because of significant advances in scale and process, advances that aren’t available to you.

Many people go to online services and find the cheapest possible developers, then are astonished when things don’t go well.

I once called a person about an online posting who wanted several FileMaker layouts, a basic database, and a pretty good amount of scripting.  She had listed the budget at $30.  Since many people put a ridiculously low figure in their budget field, I thought it worth talking to her.   Turns out she was serious.  I hope things turned out well for her, but I doubt it.

The moral is, you get what you pay for.  Go cheap, get cheap results.


We have an opportunity for everyone in the world to have access to all the world’s information. This has never before been possible. Why is ubiquitous information so profound? It’s a tremendous equalizer. Information is power.

Eric Schmidt, University of Pennsylvania Commencement Address, 2009

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