FileMaker DDR XML Compressor

Converts a FileMaker Database Design Report (DDR) XML file into compact, LLM-friendly text files that Claude can actually work with.

What It Does

Takes your 146MB+ DDR XML and produces ~10 small text files organized by category, typically 95-97% smaller than the original. It:

• Strips all <DisplayCalculation> blocks (redundant - just formatted versions of the raw calc)
• Strips all styling/positioning data (bounds, CSS, coordinates, colors, fonts)
• Strips theme definitions, UUIDs, and internal tracking data
• Preserves every table, field, calculation, relationship, script step, layout object, value list, custom function, and security setting
• Deduplicates data that FileMaker repeats across sections
• Uses a custom shorthand format (not XML or JSON) designed for maximum token efficiency

Requirements

• Python 3.6+ (no external packages needed - uses only the standard library)

Setup

1. Copy fm_ddr_compress.py to any convenient folder
2. That's it. No pip install, no dependencies.

Usage

Step 1: Generate Your DDR

In FileMaker Pro:

1. File → Save/Send Records As → Database Design Report (or Tools → Database Design Report in older versions)
2. Select XML format
3. Check all the sections you want (recommended: check everything)
4. Choose an output folder and click Create

This produces a folder with Summary.xml and one or more detail files like YourFile_fmp12.xml. You want the detail file (the big one), not Summary.xml.

Step 2: Run the Compressor

# Basic usage - outputs to a DDR_Compressed subfolder next to your XML
python fm_ddr_compress.py /path/to/YourFile_fmp12.xml

# Custom output directory
python fm_ddr_compress.py /path/to/YourFile_fmp12.xml --output-dir /path/to/output

# On Windows
python fm_ddr_compress.py "C:\Users\You\Documents\DDR\YourFile_fmp12.xml"

# On Mac
python3 fm_ddr_compress.py ~/Documents/DDR/YourFile_fmp12.xml

Step 3: Upload to Claude

The output folder contains 10 files. Upload what you need based on your task:

File	Contents	Upload when...
01_SCHEMA.txt	Tables, fields, calcs, auto-enter, validation, storage	Working on data model, field calcs, or schema questions
02_RELATIONSHIPS.txt	Table occurrences, relationship predicates, sort orders	Debugging relationships or building new ones
03_SCRIPTS.txt	All scripts with every step and parameter	Working on script logic, debugging, or writing new scripts
04_LAYOUTS.txt	Layout objects, portals, triggers, conditional visibility	Working on UI, layout triggers, or object scripting
05_VALUELISTS.txt	Value list definitions (custom and field-based)	Working with dropdowns, pop-up menus
06_CUSTOM_FUNCS.txt	Custom function names, params, and full bodies	Debugging or writing calculations using custom functions
07_ACCOUNTS.txt	Accounts, privilege sets, extended privileges	Security questions
08_MENUS.txt	Custom menus and menu sets	Menu customization
09_FILE_REFS.txt	External data source paths	Multi-file solutions
10_SUMMARY.txt	Stats overview and file guide	Quick reference

Common combos:

• Schema work: 01 + 02 (+ 06 if you use custom functions in calcs)
• Script development: 03 (+ 01 if scripts reference field structures)
• Layout/UI work: 04 + 03 (scripts are often triggered from layouts)
• Full picture: 01 + 02 + 03 + 06 (usually fits in context)

If Files Are Still Too Large

The 03_SCRIPTS.txt file tends to be the largest. If it's still too big:

1. Open it in a text editor
2. Search for SCRIPT: to find script boundaries
3. Copy just the scripts you're working on into a separate file
4. Upload that instead

Same approach works for 01_SCHEMA.txt - search for T: to find table boundaries.

Output Format Explained

The format uses a compact shorthand with a key at the top of each file. Example from SCHEMA:

T: Contacts (1523 records) [id:129]
  F: __pk_ContactID | N | T [id:1]
    AE: Serial(OnCreation,next:1524,inc:1)
    VAL: when:Always, notEmpty, unique
    STOR: idx:All
  F: NameFirst | N | T [id:2]
    STOR: idx:Minimal
  F: NameFull | C | T [id:5]
    CALC: NameFirst & " " & NameLast
    STOR: UNSTORED
  F: _cAge | C | N [id:12]
    CALC: Year(Get(CurrentDate)) - Year(DOB)
    STOR: UNSTORED
    CMT: Calculated age in years

This is roughly 10-20x more token-efficient than the equivalent XML while preserving all the information you'd need for development work.

Troubleshooting

"This appears to be the Summary XML file" → You pointed it at Summary.xml. Use the detail file instead (usually named like YourFile_fmp12.xml).

MemoryError on very large files → The script loads the entire XML into memory. For files over 500MB, you may need a machine with 8GB+ RAM available. Close other applications first.

Missing sections in output → The DDR only includes sections you checked when generating it. Re-generate with all sections checked.

Encoding errors → Try: python fm_ddr_compress.py yourfile.xml 2>&1 | head -50 to see where it fails. The DDR should be UTF-8 but some FileMaker versions produce inconsistent encoding.