Messaging

Messaging is intended to be used for real-time features, such as notifications, chat or auto updates. Messaging also allows data to be pushed from FileMaker into your BetterForms apps.

Messaging is the BetterForms implementation of the WebSocket protocol, which enables a persistent connection between the client and the server.

Requires version 0.10.14 or later

Concepts

In order to send messages from your FileMaker server to users actively viewing your BetterForms app, users need to join channels. Channels can be divided in two different scopes:

• anonymous channels

  • available for anyone to join, login not requied

• authenticated channels

  • the user must be logged in to join the channel

TIP: All messaging is scoped to the domain of the application. If your app has multiple domains, you will not be able to send messages directly across domains.

( This can be handled from within FileMaker )

Each new tab that a user opens will join its own private channel that will be namespaced as tab|connectionID.

For authenticated channels, users are automatically set to listen to their added channels once they log in. On the other hand, anonymous channels will not be persistent and users will not be automatically reconnected to this type of channel if they refresh the page or open a new tab.

All messages sent to a channel are broadcasted to all users currently listening to that channel. Therefore, it is important to architect well the scope of each channel to optimize and control what and how much data each channel/user will receive.