Troi has released Troi Serial Plug-in 5.5 for FileMaker Pro 17. It’s an update of the plug-in that provides FileMaker Pro with access to external devices with a serial interface. Version 5.5 has the following new functionality:
° Added new Serial_SetDirectInsert function to let you directly insert incoming serial data into your database. The data is inserted in the background without any script triggering. You can specify a match string, so the data is inserted only when the match string is encountered (for example wait for a return character to insert a complete line of data).
°Added switch “-GetLastMatch” to the Serial_SetDirectInsert function. When you add this switch only the last matching data is directly added to the database (based on the match string). This will provide you with the most current data from the serial port.
° Added new Set Serial Direct Insert script step, which can also add incoming serial data into your database. With the checkbox “Get Last Match” only the last matching data is directly added to the database (based on the match string).
° Added new Measure Temperature.fmp12 example, which can directly insert data from temperature sensors. It uses a serial connection with an Arduino micro computer.
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). A demo version of Troi Serial Plug-in 5.5 is available at https://www.troi.com/products/serialplugin/ A cross platform developer license costs $999. Details can be found on the product web site.