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10 February 2009
Posted in
Office
Everyday we use databases in one form or another. Be it iTunes or iPhoto, or even the phonebook, there is no escaping databases. Right now reading this document you've accessed a database called MySQL which Joomla uses to store all manner of things. Some databases like Bento are in your face databases whereas others like data stored in a spreadsheet aren't so noticeable.
Then we have the big boys. Oracle, WebObjects, MS SQL Server, and of course FileMaker.
Ease of use
Value for money
Price approx
$ 559 NZ
Software/Hardware Requirements
Mac OS X 10.4.11+
PowerPC G4 (867MHz+), Power PC G5, Intel-based Mac
512MB of RAM
FileMaker Pro 10 - CD drive
Pro 10 Advanced - DVD drive
Digital download available
Available from
Apple Store NZ and
Buyers Guide
FileMaker Pro 10 is the latest incarnation of the well known database application...and I have to admit, I'm having a world of trouble believing this is from the same people who brought us Bento. The interface is ugly, the manual is rubbish, and don't even get me started on the tutorials.
Let's start with the manual and tutorials. Technically the manual is good. Only there needs to be a manual for the Mac version and a separate manual for the Windows version (yes there is a Windows version). The problem is that as you work through the manual you find that some of the screenshots are for Mac and others for Windows. This is poor show for a manual because it becomes incredibly confusing as to what you should be seeing. Unfortunately the manual writers also seem to be from the Microsoft school of manual writing with some of the text effectively being along the lines of "yes FileMaker can do this" but not explain how. For a product that new users need to read, the manual often for this is not good and will turn users off. In many respects I had to figure things out for myself.
The tutorials are very similar...being more often than not useless and once again confusing due to the use of both Windows and Mac screenshots. When writing a manual or in particular tutorials, you need to write for the lowest common denominator, which means screenshots are vital. Having a mix of opposing platforms in the same document is very very poor show.
Now we come to the interface. This does not in anyway feel like a Mac app. It feels like a Windows app ported to the Mac. FileMaker has made a big song and dance about its interface but there's nothing that makes me like it at all. I know FileMaker is very very powerful (I'll get to this later) but there is no valid reason why extreme power cannot be harnessed by a super simple design. Apple has been doing this for years with Aperture, Logic, Final Cut, and even iMovie '08 so why not FileMaker? You see this is the thing, FileMaker is a subsidiary of Apple so I would have thought that it would have to follow Apple's interface guidelines. This is not the case at all.
With regards to this, the interface is a mix of nice to use and horrible to use. For example, the dialogue boxes for setting up tables, fields, and relationships is very nice and very well setup...
It is simple to set up these aspects of the database, however there are a number of issues with this interface as well. A dialogue box like Bento's would be really really good because in reality you're not doing anything overly complex when you're adding tables and fields.
Setting up relationships however is pretty nice. What you do is have fields in the tableset that you need access to and fields in the table set that you need to access in the other table set. Then you simply drag them together to form a relationship...
You can set whether each will update each other by double clicking the small box that appears between the two tables and selecting the options you desire.
Relationships in FileMaker are far more powerful than in Bento (as you could imagine) but I did have a number of issues with them as well. For instance, creating a portal to the required table should allow you to access the data on the other table from the one you are currently working on...according to the documentation. However, when I try to enter data into these fields I get this error message which comes up no matter what field I try to enter data into...
Now this may be because I'm doing something wrong but this returns me back to my issue about the documentation. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong because the tutorials are not written very well. The fields I created in the current table that are supposed to have a relationship with the fields in the other table also don't seem to work properly. I'm stumped and at some stage I will need to visit the forums to see if anyone else is experiencing this.
Once fields are created and you've clicked OK, you will be greeted with a very basic looking form. It is very ugly compared to what you get with Bento and unfortunately there seems to be no way to develop the really nice look that I've grown accustomed to with Bento. I know it seems superficial but data is boring, and when you're doing data entry sometimes you just need a visual break from the boringness. FileMaker offers no ability to have nice gradients or rounded text boxes or anything like that. No matter how much effort you still can't get the gorgeous themes of Bento in FileMaker. It's not a biggie, but once again FileMaker is going on about how nice their templates are (which I might be mistaking for themes so that might be my problem here) but even then the templates I seem to have are only the same blue bar with grey boxes and the only difference seems to be fields...
Hardly what I would call great templates. I am however picking this is because I have a review version. I believe that the boxed edition comes with the templates. Once again all this is pretty much superfluous and doesn't really affect your ability to use FileMaker to input data.
At the moment I seem to be painting FileMaker in a bad light but this is mainly due to me being such a newbie to FileMaker. I know what FileMaker is capable of because I've seen FileMaker databases in action, so in reality up until now has been more about me trying to get my head around FileMaker...and it is confusing me a lot.
However FileMaker is super powerful and so I have to go into more detail about what can be done, although from a very limited view point.
As with many powerful databases FileMaker allows multiple users to access the data. This is done by setting accounts...
Once an account is setup you must now login every time you open up the database even from the file system. Obviously to allow multiple users to access a database it will have to have some very powerful tools to stop data corruption which is why databases are required as opposed to using spreadsheets and the like.
There are three ways in which a FileMaker database can be shared via the network where users map FileMaker to the given IP Address of the shared database, via Web Publishing where FileMaker creates a webpage that users access via a web browser, or via ODBC/JDBC which allows non-FileMaker apps like Access, Oracle clients, OpenOffice, or custom applications (or custom websites) access to the database via a driver. In each of these cases FileMaker must be running, so it makes sense to have it sitting on a machine that can act as a server. FileMaker is very valuable in any form of business environment from small to large corporates although the larger the business the more you should look at either FileMaker Pro Advanced or FileMaker Pro Server.
Considering FileMaker Pro is the baby of the lot, what it can do is really quite phenomenal. It has everything that most small businesses will ever need in a database and for web developers it is also no slouch either.
Do I recommend FileMaker Pro? Yes, that's an emphatic yes. Am I frustrated by it? Yes, that's an emphatic yes.
FileMaker needs to sort the documentation out and maybe throw in a bit of the magic they performed with Bento, but what is there is extremely valuable. If you are running a business, FileMaker Pro will handle most of what you throw at it, for everything else there's FileMaker Pro Advanced or FileMaker Pro Server. I recommend a good FileMaker book over the stuff FileMaker provides [Note from Phil - The FileMaker Bible series is great!] but of course on saying that you'll need to hold off for a couple of months for the FileMaker Pro 10 books, on account of it being so new.
FileMaker Pro's value for money is pretty good. Oracle Enterprise is very very expensive and is out of reach for small businesses. Microsoft Access not only doesn't exist on the Mac but is the worst database on the face of the planet and everyone using it deserves the hassles it brings.
FileMaker Pro 10 is around $560 which is roughly the same price as Access, has a Windows version which is 100% compatible and trounces Access in terms of power. The fact that you can share databases with not only other FileMaker Pro users or web users, but you can also hook into them with applications on both Mac and PC, makes FileMaker Pro a very valuable tool indeed.
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