iPhone/iPad Demos of FileMaker Go

With the advent of FileMaker Go, many people now want to demonstrate their mobile applications to a larger audience. Unfortunately, the iPhone/iPad simulator included as part of the Apple iPhone SDK (Software Development Kit) will only allow you to run apps you are developing yourself, not actual apps downloaded from the Apple App Store like FileMaker Go.

Doing demos on the iPad or iPhone is a little tricky because they do not directly connect to a video projector in the same way a laptop can. One way to do a demo is to have a video camera on a tripod pointed down at the desk with your iPad or iPhone. Connect the video camera to your projector so that it shows the screen and your finger movements that control the display. This isn’t always easy or practical because it requires additional equipment and takes some extra time to set up.

You can, however, take screenshots of your solution and place them in your Keynote or PowerPoint presentation. It isn’t a live demo, but you can show the basic idea. To do this, you’ll need some screenshots of your solution and some templates of the iPhone/iPad frames to put them in.

To take a screenshot on the iPhone or iPad and prepare it for your presentation, follow these steps:
1. Open FileMaker Go and your FileMaker solution
2. Navigate to the screen you want to save.
3. Hold down the on/off button at the top right of the device and simultaneously pressing the Home button. The screen will flash and the device will take a screenshot.
4. Take additional screen shots as necessary by repeating step 2-3.
5. Open the Photos app and tap on the Camera Roll Album.
6. The screenshots you just took will be the last or most recent images you see. Tap on each shot and then the tap on the share icon in the lower left corner.
7. Tap on “Email Photo” to send the image to yourself or use one of the other options displayed. You can also access the image later when syncing to your computer with iPhoto.
8. Use an application like GraphicConverter to place the screen shot into one of the iPad/iPhone frames provided.

There you go, a quick way to demo your FileMaker Go apps in a presentation.