New FileMaker Command: Perform Script on Server with Callback

by | Oct 9, 2024 | FileMaker Speed, FM News, FM Tips | 0 comments

Rabbits vs turtle, speed vs slow

FileMaker 2023 offered a bunch of new features.
This is one of our favorites!
[Perform Script on Server]

What is it?

Previous versions of Perform Script on Server (PSOS), gave two options: Wait, or Don’t Wait (essentially). So this meant that either the user was forced to wait while the command ran on the server, (which could take quite a while with some reporting scripts), or the command would skip displaying the results of the PSOS and continue on its merry way as though it never happened. (This never made sense to me, and I never used this option, because if a PSOS script runs, there’s usually a reason for needing the results RIGHT NOW! )

So, the only options were to pause the script to view the results, or don’t view the results at all. Neither is an optimal choice.

But the new PSOS with Callback (PSOSWC), solves this bad-choice dilemma by allowing the original script to continue running with no delay, but then notifying that the script has completed via a customized follow-up script that the PSOS script has completed its work. This is great! Now the user doesn’t have to wait, wait, wait while the script performs its task.

Here is what one of our FileMaker engineers, Gary Salgado, had to say about it:

It allows you to perform scripts on server, not wait for Completion, and still be able to display the results of the script when it does finish. I think it should be used for any client-facing script that is expected to take over a minute to finish. As a user, it’s annoying when the system freezes your machine.

Three helpful reminders about this script, from The Support Group:

  • This feature will only work if the server and client run FileMaker 2023 or later.
  • The callback script will only run when the client is idle and no other scripts are running.
  • WebDirect supports PSOSWC.

There are a number of other use-cases, but we find that the usage for reports is especially helpful.

This is a great new feature, and you should add it to your toolkit. It’s already in FileMaker 2023, so get your FileMaker servers upgraded to FM2023 and start using it.