Troi Dialog Plug-in

Give database users the precise feedback they need

Troi Dialog Plug-in adds powerful dialog functions to FileMaker Pro:

Show dialogs with variable text and up to 4 buttons

With the Dialog plug-in you can calculate the text and the buttons of your dialog box in a script. You can add data from fields or variables and also change the labels of the buttons. This enables you to give database users more detailed information, including text from fields or variables.

Let a user input text through a dialog

Show a dialog with up to twenty input fields, where the user can type text or a password (no need for a special bullet font to be installed!), choose an item from a pop-up list or mark a checkbox. All input fields can be filled with pre-entered values and you can specify in which field the input dialog will start. You can control the labels for the input fields: align them left or right (close to the input fields) and specify their color to be black or grey.

Show values from a second value list in popups

Popups in the input dialog can display values from a second value list. The selected value from the first value list is returned. You can use this for example with a list of ItemIDs and a list of ItemDescriptions. The descriptions are shown to the user, while the ID is returned.

Show a big input dialog

With Troi Dialog plug-in you can display a big input dialog box, in which the user can type (or edit) long pieces of text. You can specify how many characters the user needs to type before buttons are activated and also the maximum number of characters allowed. Moreover, you can prefill the text, set the size of the window, choose the title for the dialog and give it a standard icon or your own icon.

Use keyboard shortcuts in edit fields

We added support for using several keyboard shortcuts in the edit fields of the InputDialog and BigInputDialog functions. On macOS you can use undo (command-z), redo (command-shift-z), copy (command-c), paste (command-v), cut (command-x) and select all (command-a). On Windows you can use undo (control-z), copy (control-c), paste (control-v) and cut (control-x).

Show a list dialog

With Troi Dialog plug-in you can display a list dialog box, from which the user can choose an item. Note that the OK button is disabled until the user chooses an item. The list dialog box is completely customizable, including setting icons.
Using the switch -AllowMultipleSelection in the ListDialog function will allow the user to select multiple items from the list. Command-a (macOS) or control-a (Windows) can be used to select all items. The selected items are returned separated by the pipe character. You can also preselect multiple items.

Have the results of the dialog put into fields without parsing

We’ve added functions to make it easier to put the data entered and the number of the button clicked by a user into separate fields: ready for further use!

Show temporary flash dialogs

With Troi Dialog plug-in you can show a flash dialog that will stay visible only for a fixed amount of time, for example 4 seconds. Great to give extra instructions to a user, without the user having to dismiss the dialog. You can specify a countdown text to be displayed at the bottom of the dialog, for example the text “This flash dialog will dismiss in <secs> seconds”. The plug-in will substitute <secs> with the number of seconds remaining.

Show a progress dialog

For lengthy operations you can show a progress bar. Customize it with a standard or your own icon.

Schedule the display of notifications

Troi Dialog Plug-in lets you display a (local) notification on screen (and in the notification center), even when FileMaker is in the background or not running. This way your user can work in a different application and be notified for example when his report is ready. You can also choose to have a script triggered when the user clicks the notification, for example taking him to a specific layout.

Add versatile alert dialogs

The Show Alert Dialog script step lets you display an alert dialog to the user. This dialog has a main message and an optional extra and longer informational text, displayed in a smaller font. You can add up to 4 buttons and an (optional) custom title and custom icon. On macOS 11 (Big Sur) and later, the alert will be shown with a card-like user interface, with most content center aligned. Also note that in this case buttons can be shown vertically and you can show your custom icon as a small badge to the warning (exclamation) icon.

Real dialogs that you completely control

Position the dialog box anywhere on the screen

You can state precisely where you want the dialog box to appear on the screen. The plug-in will make sure the dialog remains visible even if your coordinates are outside the screen’s reach.

Set the text for the dialog title bar

Giving your solution that extra quality!

Add standard and custom icons to the dialog box

You can add a standard icon or your own icons, in standard size or extra large. Custom icons from a PNG image, including transparency, are supported.

Try Troi Dialog Plug-in before you buy

You are free and invited to test the plug-in before you pay. Troi Dialog Plug-in is fully functional in demo mode, it will only stop working after 5 hours of testing. Download your copy here.

Troi Dialog Plug-in 11

Troi Dialog Plug-in 11 adds a new switch “-AllowTallerDialogs” to the Dial_ Dialog function. With this switch the dialog will grow taller depending on the length of the prompt text.
We added a “-MonospacedFont” switch to the Dial_InputDialog function: when you add this switch the input and popup fields will be shown in a monospaced (fixed-pitch) font. The same switch was added to the Show List Dialog script step and the Dial_ListDialog function: when you add this switch the list items will be shown in a monospaced (fixed-pitch) font.
The Dial_Version function has a new “-GetStartupRegistrationLog” switch. This will return a text log of the plug-in’s registration process at startup time of FileMaker Pro. When you have problems registering the plug-in, you can see if the payment certificate was found and if a valid registration code was found.
We tested this version and made it compatible with Claris FileMaker Pro 19.6, Windows 11 Version 22H2 (2022 Update) and macOS 13 (Ventura). We also added initial compatibility with Claris Pro 40.1.1.

Please see the Version history below for a complete list of improvements and bug fixes in this and earlier versions.

Version history

Troi Dialog Plug-in 11.0 (for FileMaker 16 to 19.6) (January 10, 2023)

New functionality

• Added new switch “-AllowTallerDialogs” to the Dial_Dialog function: with this switch the dialog will be taller if the prompt text contains more text.
• Added a “-MonospacedFont” switch to the Dial_InputDialog function: when you add this switch the input and popup fields will be shown in a monospaced (fixed-pitch) font.
• Added a “-MonospacedFont” switch to the Show List Dialog script step and the Dial_ListDialog function: when you add this switch the list items will be shown in a monospaced (fixed-pitch) font.
• Added switch “-GetStartupRegistrationLog” to the Dial_Version function. This will return a text log of the plug-in’s registration process at startup time of FileMaker Pro. When you have problems registering the plug-in, you can see if the payment certificate was found and if a valid registration code was found.
• Added an example script to Version.fmp12, which gets the text log of the startup registration of the plug-in.
• Improved the EasyInstallTroiPlugins.fmp12 example file (v1.8.6):
  • Added a script which adds the Startup Registration Log to the log field. This will get a text log of the startup registration process of the plug-in.
  • The plug-in’s install script now indicates that it is recommended to restart FileMaker Pro after installing.

Improvements and bug fixes

• Tested and made compatible with Claris FileMaker Pro 19.6.
• Tested and made compatible with Windows 11, including Version 22H2 (2022 Update)
• Tested and made compatible with macOS 13 (Ventura).
• Added initial compatibility with Claris Pro 40.1.1.
• (macOS) Fixed a bug in the Show Big Input Dialog script step and the
  Dial_BigInputDialog function: when running FileMaker Pro 19 in dark mode the color of the inserted text could appear black on the dark background.
• Updated the ListDialog.fmp12 example file to use a modern theme.
• (Windows) Improved the Show List Dialog script step and the Dial_ListDialog function, they now handle scaling of the display better. Also fixed a bug where the list items could appear overlapped.
• (macOS) Fixed a regressed problem with the Show List Dialog script step and the Dial_ListDialog function, where long list items would not use the whole width of the dialog and would be truncated.
• Corrected a wrong switch in the entry for Dial_ListDialog in the Reference.fmp12 file.
• Modernized the code and made the code more secure.

Troi Dialog Plug-in 10.1.1 (for FileMaker 16 to 19) (November 19, 2021)

• (macOS) Fixed a problem on macOS 12 (Monterey) and FileMaker Pro 19.4, where the plug-in would not show the note icon in the dialogs.

Troi Dialog Plug-in 10.1 (for FileMaker 16 to 19) (November 18, 2021)

New functionality

• Added a new Show Alert Dialog script step, which shows a modal alert dialog to the user. On macOS 11 (Big Sur) and later the alert will be shown with the card-like user interface, with most content center aligned. Note that on macOS the buttons are laid out automatically en that buttons can be shown vertically.
• (Windows) Modernized the standard icons shown by all the dialog steps and functions. When using the switches “-NoteIcon”, “-CautionIcon”, or “-StopIcon” the icons are more sharp and follow the user interface of the latest Windows version.

Improvements and bug fixes

• Tested and made compatible with Claris FileMaker Pro 19.4.
• Tested and made compatible with Windows 11.
• Tested and made compatible with macOS 12 (Monterey).
• (Windows) Fixed a problem with FileMaker Pro 19.4, which would freeze the application.
• Fixed a problem with the Show List Dialog script step and the Dial_ListDialog function, where long list items would not use the whole width of the dialog and would be truncated.
• (macOS) Fixed a bug that prevented the plug-in from loading in FileMaker Pro 16 (installing it would result in error code 1550).

Troi Dialog Plug-in 10.0 (for FileMaker 16 to 19) (June 24, 2021)

• Tested and made compatible with Claris FileMaker Pro 19.3.
• (macOS) The plug-in now runs natively on Apple Silicon: made the plug-in a Universal binary by adding code for the arm64 architecture of macOS.
• Tested and made compatible with macOS 11.4 (Big Sur).
• Tested and made compatible with Windows 10 version 20H2 (October 2020 Update) and version 21H1 (May 2021 Update).
• Updated the plug-in to use the latest libraries or modern frameworks where possible.
• Updated the example files to beter handle newer plug-in versions.

Troi Dialog Plug-in 9.1 (for FileMaker 15 to 19) (March 26, 2021)

Improvements

• Tested and made compatible with Claris FileMaker Pro 19.2.2.
• (Windows) Improved the Show List Dialog script step and the Dial_ListDialog function:
  • The dialog is now better centered when you specify a very tall or wide list dialog. Also the bottom of the dialog will stay above the taskbar (if visible). Finally when specifying a custom position the plug-in makes sure the dialog will stay inside the boundaries of the screen.
  • When you preselect items, the list no longer scrolls to the last preselected item, but is shown from the first item, as is the case on macOS.
• (Windows) Improved the Show Big Input Dialog script step and the
  Dial_BigInputDialog function. The dialog is now better centered when using a very tall or wide dialog. Also the bottom of the dialog will stay above the taskbar (if visible). Finally when specifying a custom position the plug-in makes sure the dialog will stay inside the boundaries of the screen.
• (Windows) Improved the Show Big Input Dialog script step, the
  Dial_BigInputDialog function, the Show List Dialog script step and the Dial_ListDialog function. The prompt text is now using the entire width of the dialog and will also resize when the width of the dialogs window is changed.
• (Windows) Improved the Dial_InputDialog function: the prompt text is now using the entire width of the dialog.
• Improved the BigInputDialog.fmp12 example file.
• Improved the EasyInstallTroiPlugins.fmp12 example file: updated the plug-in install scripts. These scripts also give more detailed instructions.

Bug fixes

• (macOS) Fixed a bug in the Show Big Input Dialog script step and the
  Dial_BigInputDialog function: when using the switch “-noteIcon” on macOS Big Sur FileMaker Pro could crash.
• Fixed a bug in the Show Big Input Dialog script step and the
  Dial_BigInputDialog function: when using the switch “-customIcon” with a JPEG the icon would not always show in the dialog.
• Fixed a problem with the Show List Dialog script step and the Dial_ListDialog function, where a large list of items could freeze the application.
• Fixed a problem with the Show Flash Dialog script step where the countdown text would not be displayed at the bottom of the dialog.

Troi Dialog Plug-in 9.0 (for FileMaker 15 to 19) (November 10, 2020)

New functionality

• Tested and made compatible with Claris FileMaker Pro 19, including FileMaker Pro 19.1.2.
• Tested and made compatible with macOS 10.15 (Catalina) and macOS 11.0 (Big Sur).
• Tested and made compatible with Windows 10 version 1909 (November 2019 Update) and version 2004 (May 2020 Update).
• Improved the Dial_InputDialog function: you can now use up to 20 input fields!
• Added a “-AlignLabelsRight” switch to the Dial_InputDialog function. This will align the text of the labels to the right (close to the input field).
• You can now specify the text color of the labels of an input dialog to be gray, by adding the switch “-LabelTextColorGray” to the Dial_InputDialog function.
• Improved the Dial_InputDialog function: the text of labels is now better vertically aligned with the input text.
• (Windows) Added a “-Floating” switch to the Dial_ProgressBar function. This will open the progress bar as a floating window. When using this switch the focus is not tied to the front FileMaker window, enabling to use for example the “New Window” step in the script.

Other changes and improvements

• (macOS) Improved compatibility when running FileMaker Pro 19 in dark mode, the flash dialog is now more visible.
• (macOS) Fixed a bug in the Show List Dialog script step and the Dial_ListDialog function. When running FileMaker Pro 19 in dark mode the list items are now visible (white letters on black background).
• (Windows) Improved the Dial_ProgressBar function. The progress bar will now update better when FileMaker is in the background.
• (macOS) Improved loading the plug-in with runtime apps created with FileMaker Pro 18.
• (macOS) Modernized the plug-in. It now uses a more modern framework.
• (macOS) Improved error reporting when there is a problem loading the plug-in. Instead of reporting a generic error 24213 a more specific reason for the problem is given.
• (macOS) If the plug-in can’t load a bundle at start-up, the plug-in will now write a detailed error to the system.log. See the Console.app in this case (search for FileMaker in the system.log).
• macOS 11.0 (Big Sur): Fixed a problem where the note icon would not show up when running Big Sur (beta). Added a workaround so that you can use the note icon with all dialogs.
• IMPORTANT (macOS only) The minimum supported FileMaker version is now FileMaker Pro 15. Also the minimum supported Mac OS version is now macOS 10.12 (Sierra). You can keep using v7.5.x for older versions of FileMaker Pro or Mac OS X.

Version 8.0 (for FileMaker 14 to 18) (October 13, 2019)
New functionality

• Tested and made compatible with FileMaker Pro 18.
• Tested and made compatible with macOS 10.15 (Catalina).
• Tested and made compatible with Windows 10 version 1903 (May 2019 Update).
• Improved the Show Flash Dialog script step and the Dial_FlashDialog function. You can now specify a countdown text to be displayed at the bottom of the dialog, for example the text “This flash dialog will dismiss in <secs> seconds”. The plug-in will substitute <secs> with the seconds remaining.
• Improved the Dial_ProgressBar function. It can now display icons, including custom icons.

Other changes and improvements

• IMPORTANT (macOS only) The minimum supported FileMaker version is now FileMaker Pro 14. Also the minimum supported Mac OS version is now OS X 10.11 (El Capitan). You can keep using v7.5.4 for older versions of FileMaker Pro or Mac OS X.
• (macOS) The plug-in no longer has the 32-bit code included.
• (macOS) Fixed a problem with the Dial_IconControl function where a custom icon would not be shown on a dialog, for some JPEG based icons.
• (Windows) Improved the Dial_ProgressBar function. The plug-in now properly handles the case where the parent (FileMaker) window of the progress dialog is closed before the progress dialog is removed.
• Improved the Dial_ProgressBar function. The plug-in now properly handles the case where you show another Troi Dialog when the progress bar dialog is still visible. The new dialog will now be in front and have the keyboard focus.
• (Windows) Fixed a bug where improper handling of a closing FileMaker parent window could lead to a crash. This could happen when multiple Troi Dialogs where shown in one script.
• (Windows) Fixed a bug in the Dial_Dialog function where closing the dialog could lead to a crash.
• Modernized the Progress.fmp12 example file: by using more variables it is more modular and easier to copy to your app.
• Updated the code base, the plug-in now uses the modern libc++ library (with C++ 11 support).
• (macOS) Prepared the plug-in for notarization: the plug-in can now be added to a runtime, to create a hardened FileMaker runtime app which can be notarized by Apple. Notarization gives users more confidence, as the runtime has been checked by Apple for malicious components.
• Improved the initialization when installing the plug-in with the FileMaker Pro “Install Plug-In File” script step.
• Modernized the Regifunc.fmp12 file, it now demonstrates the cross-platform plug-in registration process.
• Updated the EasyInstallTroiPlugins.fmp12 file, it can show additional error information from Get(LastExternalErrorDetail) when running on FileMaker Pro 18.

Version 7.5.4 (for FileMaker 14 to 17) (October 13, 2019)

• (Windows) Fixed a bug in the Dial_Dialog function where closing the dialog could lead to a crash.
• (Windows) Fixed a bug where improper handling of a closing FileMaker parent window could lead to a crash. This could happen when multiple Troi Dialogs where shown in one script.
• (Windows) Improved the Dial_ProgressBar function. The plug-in now properly handles the case where the parent window of the progress bar is closed before the progress bar dialog is removed.
• Improved the Dial_ProgressBar function. The plug-in now properly handles the case where you show another Troi Dialog when the progress bar dialog is still visible. The new dialog will now be in front and have the keyboard focus.

Version 7.5.1 (for FileMaker 14 to 17) (February 25, 2019)

• (Windows) Fixed a problem where the plug-in would not be loaded on Windows 7.
  Note that the notification function Dial_ScheduleNotification and script step “Schedule Notification” are not available on Windows 7. In this case the plug-in returns with error code $$-4243 (kErrNotImplemented).
• (Windows) Fixed a problem for FileMaker Pro 14 and FileMaker Pro 15 where the FileMaker window could loose focus after showing a dialog.
• Updated the example file EasyInstallTroiPlugins.fmp12 to v1.7.3
• Updated the code base, the plug-in now uses more modern C++ libraries.
• (macOS) Modernized the code dealing with custom icons in the (deprecated) PICT format.
• (macOS) Removed old code dealing with resources.

Version 7.5 (for FileMaker 14 to 17) (November 14, 2018)

• Tested and made compatible with FileMaker Pro 17.
• Added a new Schedule Notification script step, which schedules the display of a (local) notification on screen (and in the notification center).
• Added a new Remove Notification script step, which removes a (delivered) notification.
• Added a new Dial_ScheduleNotification function, which schedules the display of a (local) notification on screen (and in the notification center).
• Added a new Dial_RemoveNotification function, which removes a (delivered) notification.
• Added a new Show List Dialog script step, which shows a dialog with a list of items.
• (Windows) Added code signing to the plug-in for Windows.
• The plug-in now indicates if an external script step is compatible with a product. The step is shown in grey if it is incompatible for that product (for example for iOS) in the script editing pane (center) and the script steps pane (right).
• (Windows) Improved several dialogs, so that they always stay in front. When you click on another (FileMaker) window those windows will no lo longer get in front of a dialog of the plug-in.
• (macOS) Fixed a problem with the Dial_FlashDialog function, where the custom dialog position would not be used.
• Added new Notifications.fmp12 example file and updated the example files for FileMaker Pro Advanced 17.
• (macOS) The minimum supported Mac OS X version is now OS X 10.10 (Yosemite).
• (Windows) The minimum supported Windows version is now Windows 8.

Version 7.0 (for FileMaker 12 to 16) (October 23, 2017)

• Tested and made compatible with FileMaker Pro 16.
• Tested and improved compatibility with Windows 10 (Creators Update) and macOS 10.13 (High Sierra).
• Rewrote the code in several places.
• Made various minor changes to the example files to better work with FileMaker Pro 16.
• Updated the User Guide and the Reference.fmp12 file.
• The plug-in now has a demo test time of 5 hours. You can continue to test the plug-in after a restart of FileMaker Pro.

Extra features when running FileMaker Pro 16

• The Dialog Plug-in adds script steps when running FileMaker Pro 16.
  You can select these script steps in the script steps pane in Script Workspace, or you can begin typing the script step name, then choose the script step from the list that appears.
  The script steps expand the possible actions you can perform with FileMaker Pro. The following external script steps are added:

• Show Big Input Dialog
• Show Flash Dialog
• Show Slideshow

NOTE Only steps that perform an action have been added as a script step. Functions that have no side effect (like for example Dial_GetButtons) are only available as an external function.

• Added new scripts to the BigInputDialog.fmp12, Flash.fmp12 and PresentImage.fmp12 example files, to demonstrate how to use the new external script steps of FileMaker Pro 16. The examples check if FileMaker Pro 16 is running and will then select these new scripts.
• Added support for online help for the functions and script steps of the plug-in. You can now easily get online help from the Troi website, by clicking the Help button (the small question mark button) next to the function description in the functions pane or the script step description in the script steps pane.

Bug fixes

• (Mac OS) Updated Dial_PresentImage function for 64-bit: this function can now show a fullscreen slide show of images and movies.
• Fixed a problem in the Dial_ListDialog function: when you specified that a selection is required, you can no longer exit the dialog by double clicking on an empty line.
• (Mac OS) Fixed a compilation problem with code signing and extended attributes in Mac OS 10.12 (Sierra).

Older release notes

For older release notes please see here.

We offer the following licenses for Troi Dialog Plug-in:

single user, 10-user and 25-user license: these are meant for using the plug-in client-side, on FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Pro Advanced, including with files hosted by FileMaker Server. You need a license for every user that makes calls to the plug-in’s functions.

developer license: this license is meant for FileMaker developers, who want to include the plug-in with their database(s) or custom app(s) and distribute it to their end-users. Each of your end-users may use the plug-in with up to 25 users (contact us if any of your customers has more than 25 users). The number of organizations you distribute the plug-in to and the number of databases or apps you distribute it with are not limited. Works on FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Pro Advanced, including with files hosted by FileMaker Server.
Go to the developer license page for more info.

All licenses work both on macOS and on Windows.

Pricing

New licenses

single user license	US $ 69 per user
10-user license	US $ 299
25-user license	US $ 489
developer license	US $ 489

Upgrades

If you have a license for a previous version, you can buy an upgrade for version 11. If you bought a license for version 10.x on or after November 18, 2021, the upgrade to version 11 is FREE! Note: eligible users have been sent a new v.11 registration code. Contact us if you have not received yours.
If you bought a license before November 18, 2021, you will need to buy an upgrade to use version 11:

single user license upgrade	US $ 39 per user
10-user license upgrade	US $ 149
25-user license upgrade	US $ 219
developer license upgrade	US $ 219

Below are a few things our users had to say about Troi Dialog Plug-in:

Timebox Solutions Ltd. use Troi Dialog Plug-in with their TBX Postcode Plug-in. They include it with their product “as it makes a very good demonstration of one way to implement postcoding functionality using AFD Postcode Plus. We are happy to recommend Troi Automatisering’s plugins and have used many Troi plugins for many years.”

“And may I say that I LOVE Troi Dialog, it just keeps getting better and better. My solution for music and art schools, StudioSchool Pro, relies heavily on it for a variety of custom dialogs handling everything from payments and refunds and to sort selections for label output.”
Will Loving, Human Data Design

“The dialog plug-in is without question the most important FileMaker plug-in in our arsenal (I would argue the most important FileMaker plug-in period). Easily worth ten times the price.”
Shawn Hogan, Lead Engineer at Digital Point Solutions

“Thanks very much for sending this version of the plug-in and answering my query so quickly. I’ve given the plug-in some testing and as far as I can tell it has fixed my problem. I’m extremely pleased with your level of customer service. Keep up the great work.”
Dan Burgess, Information Systems Administrator, South of England Open College Network, University of Brighton

“Troi Dialog was the first and it’s still the best. Now we’ve got a bunch of me-too software coming out four or five years after Troi led the way. They’re going to have an awfully tough time matching Troi’s record for stable code, stellar support, and indispensable features. I literally will refuse to work on any major FileMaker project without Troi Dialog. I trust it completely to be a key part of my solutions, and going without it is simply an incredible waste of time.”
Jay S. Levin, Turtle Solutions

“Your products are simply put… “GREAT”.”
Ernest A. Abrams, MacBusiness Consulting

“If you’re looking to produce a professional-looking solution using FileMaker, then this dialog box plug-in is a must-have.”
Richard Dyce, MacUser UK

“The Troi Dialog plug-in has lots of features making it worth every cent of the US$29.”
Kent Lendrum, HOD Computer Studies, Mount Maunganui College, New Zealand

“Buying the Developer’s License for the Dialog plug-in was the best FMP-related investment I’ve ever made!”
Kieren Richard MacMillan, head database developer of kierencom, Toronto, Canada

“Thanks, you make great products!”
Peter Payne, J-LIST, the Japanese anime web site, www.jlist.com

“I have been using your Troi Text, Dialog and ClipSave plug-ins with great success. Thank you very much.”
Doug Rider, FileMaker Pro database developer of InterRiderWork

“I have been testing your “Dialog” plug-in V2 …… It´s great!!!!”
Michael Junior Nielsen, database developer of FSA Partner member Junior, www.junior.dk

“This new version of the Dialog Plug-in is great. Thanks and I love it!”
Matt Klein, Small Business Computers of New England

We are still collecting more comments. If you have any remarks on the Dialog Plug-in please send us your comments. Thanks!