SeedCode Support Forum

Hi John, I've found a few things I'd like to modify in SeedCode Complete that are not customizations, simply enhancements to your core module that I think many of your customers would benefit from. Can we open a discussion on whether or not you're in to this? They vary from very simple to more complex, but I really think they'd help the template.

Examples:
SIMPLE:
1) add 1 script for all email and weburl buttons so all of these buttons can be defined from one global point rather than resetting each one individually (as you've done already with the template title and logo)

COMPLEX:
2) Append a language module to enable swapping out of all field, button, tab, and layout labels to enable language switching from a pop-up list.

In my mind, considering the complex enhancements is a much bigger issue. Perhaps I should have split the question.

Just wanted to open the discussion to see if you'd consider such a thing. I'm not looking for payment or contractor work or anything, but I'd be glad to make a lot of these changes and send the modified file to you just to help with my development process and potential upgrade path. I can already see that modifying the files as much as I plan to removes a lot of my potential to utilize your potential upgrades in the future.

-Charlie

Hey Charlie,

Thanks for posting this. I'd certainly love to see the mods you're working on--or even just to hear about them--but adding new stuff to the calendar core is a difficult decision.

We're always trying to balance new features with the simplicity required to make the calendar easy to integrate and easy to modify. We wouldn't be adding things like on-the-fly language localization, for example, because it makes the layouts too complicated for beginners to modify / add new fields.

Of course I hear you about wanting to keep your upgrade options open. Truth is, though, that once you start modifying things your ability to take advantage of new versions changes. If we release a new version that has features you need, you can either re-make your modifications in the new version, or raid the new version for features and add code from it to your modified copy.

I will say that the conditional formatting in FileMaker 9 overs a ton of opportunities to simplify the calendar, and if any of those things occur to you I'd love to see what you're doing with them.

Thanks again for posting this.

- John

Cool John, yes, I totally hear you, and I understand too. From developing and marketing Indie Band Manager for the past 8 years I totally understand that "balance" equation. So many people ask for changes, most times just because they don't know that the software already does what they're asking for.

I'll post any suggestions I have as they come up. I've been trying to dream up ways to make *my* development as light as possible so it can be ported over to your future versions, and I'm trying to document my work as I go along in an attempt to quantify that effort.

Bottom line, your solution is great, a tremendous piece of work. The things I'm finding to change are mostly trivial, like dynamic merge field labels (changing the word "Project" on each field label for example to "Booking") and adding global button scripts rather than local calls from each button. They're not dramatic structural changes at all, just streamlined for maintenance. But I can completely see your side too, keeping it simple, so I'll leave the final choices on what to implement in the core in your able hands.

You've done soooo much of this "generalized" work already, it's remarkable. The tabs, the search, UI graphics, the forward/backward buttons, the calendar, the gantt... stuff I never could have dreamed up how to do. It's a remarkable piece of software you've made my man! Thank you for all your hard work and willingness to let it our into the wild. Your work is very much appreciated.