fmTrace 1.87

Install

Run the installer, confirm the plug-in loaded, activate your trial, and record your first session.

Before you start

Quit FileMaker Pro. The installer writes into FileMaker’s plug-in folder, and a running copy will not pick up a plug-in that appears underneath it.

Install

  1. Run the installer. Double-click fmTrace-Installer-1.87.763.pkg. It installs exactly two items — fmTrace.fmplugin and fmTrace.app — and puts each one where it belongs. The installer requires an administrator password because the plug-in goes into a shared location.

  2. Launch FileMaker Pro and confirm the plug-in loaded. Open FileMaker Pro → Settings → Plug-Ins. fmTrace should be listed with a checked box next to it. If the checkbox is clear, tick it and restart FileMaker Pro.

  3. Open Script Workspace and click the fmTrace button. The fmTrace panel opens with four tabs: Tracking, Settings, Help and About.

  4. Activate your trial. Follow the prompt on first launch. Activation happens inside the panel; the download itself is not gated.

  5. Start recording. On the Tracking tab, flip Track Scripts on. A red indicator appears with an elapsed timer, and the Scripts / Steps / Errors counts climb as you work. Use the database exactly as you normally would.

  6. Stop, and read the result. Flip Track Scripts off. fmTrace.app launches and opens the recording it just wrote.

Troubleshooting

“fmTrace can’t be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software”

Gatekeeper is holding the installer. Control-click fmTrace-Installer-1.87.763.pkg in Finder and choose Open, then confirm. This is a per-file decision — you only have to do it once.

The plug-in is not listed in Settings → Plug-Ins

Three usual causes, in order of likelihood:

  • FileMaker Pro was running while the installer ran. Quit it completely — check that it is gone from the Dock — and relaunch.
  • The plug-in checkbox is present but clear. Tick it and restart FileMaker Pro.
  • Use advanced tools is off in Settings → General, so Script Workspace does not show the fmTrace button. Turn it on.

Do not gate the plug-in from the checkbox while it is off.

A plug-in that is disabled in FileMaker’s preferences never receives an initialisation call, so it cannot re-enable itself. If you turn fmTrace off there, turn it back on from the same place.

“fmTrace requires an Apple Silicon Mac”

The installer checks the architecture and stops on Intel hardware. fmTrace hooks into FileMaker’s ARM64 runtime directly and has no Intel build.

The viewer does not open when I stop recording

Launch fmTrace.app from /Applications and open the .fmtrace file by hand. The recording is already written and complete; only the hand-off failed.

Uninstall

  1. Quit FileMaker Pro.
  2. Remove the plug-in from FileMaker’s plug-in folder — open Settings → Plug-Ins, note the path shown for fmTrace, and delete fmTrace.fmplugin from it.
  3. Drag fmTrace.app from /Applications to the Trash.
  4. Your .fmtrace recordings are ordinary files and are left alone. Delete them if you no longer want them.

Next

  • Documentation — what the viewer shows you and how to read it
  • FAQ — requirements, privacy, trial limits
  • Community — the mailing list and how to report a bug