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Using FM Agent to Solve Real Data Problems ​

FM Agent is designed to help you answer questions that are difficult, time consuming, or impractical to solve using standard FileMaker finds, manual filters, or custom reports.

Instead of building a new layout, writing a script, or creating a saved find, you can ask a question in plain language and receive quick results.

How to Access FM Agent ​

FM Agent can be accessed in two ways:

Use the Script Menu ​

The add-on installs a script called:

FM Agent - Open Agent Window

You can run this script from:

  • The Script Workspace
  • A button attached to it
  • The Script Menu

This opens the agent in a separate window.

Embed the Chat Interface ​

FM Agent also includes a chat layout within the add-on layout element.

You can:

  1. Enter Layout Mode.
  2. Locate the FM Agent chat layout element in the FM Agent tab of the plugin layout.
  3. Drag the chat component onto any layout.

This allows the agent to live directly inside your workflow.

What Problems FM Agent Solves ​

FM Agent excels at:

  • One off reporting
  • Cross table analysis
  • Multi condition queries
  • Exploratory questions
  • Data that is hard to retrieve with standard finds

It reduces the need to:

  • Create temporary layouts
  • Build throwaway scripts
  • Run multiple manual finds
  • Export to Excel for analysis

Use Case Examples ​

One Off Reporting ​

Instead of building a report for a question you may never ask again:

  • “How many customers ordered more than three times last quarter?”
  • “Which projects went over budget in the last six months?”
  • “List invoices over $5,000 that are still unpaid.”

FM Agent generates the query and presents the results immediately.

Cross Table Questions ​

FileMaker finds are often limited to the current context. FM Agent can reason across related tables.

Examples:

  • “Which sales reps generated the most revenue from wholesale customers?”
  • “Show open service tickets for customers with overdue invoices.”
  • “Which technicians completed jobs faster than the average time?”

The agent understands relationships based on your configuration and key annotations.

Trend and Summary Analysis ​

FM Agent can compute aggregates and summaries without requiring summary fields or report layouts.

Examples:

  • “What is our average job duration?”
  • “What was total revenue by month this year?”
  • “Which product category has grown the most year over year?”

Visualizing Results ​

When appropriate, FM Agent will automatically present results as a chart.

You can also explicitly request a visualization:

  • “Create a bar chart of revenue by month.”
  • “Show a pie chart of orders by status.”
  • “Generate a timeline of project milestones.”
  • “Build a Gantt chart of active jobs.”

Supported visualizations include:

  • Bar charts
  • Pie charts
  • Flow charts
  • Gantt charts
  • Timelines

Charts appear directly inside the chat.

Exporting Visualizations ​

To export a generated chart:

  1. Click on the image.
  2. Select Download.

The image can then be used in presentations, reports, or email summaries.

How the Agent Determines Results ​

FM Agent:

  • Uses only configured tables and fields
  • Respects FileMaker privilege sets
  • Runs queries as the logged in user
  • Generates structured queries automatically
  • Formats results for clarity

It does not guess outside of the schema it has been given.

When to Use FM Agent ​

FM Agent is most valuable when:

  • You need an answer quickly.
  • The report is temporary.
  • The question is exploratory.
  • The request spans multiple tables.
  • Building a traditional layout would take longer than the analysis itself.

It transforms your FileMaker data into something you can interrogate conversationally without restructuring your solution.

FM Agent is not just a search tool. It is a flexible reporting and analysis layer designed to remove friction between questions and answers.