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21 March 2008
Posted in
Office
I've been a serious FileMaker Pro user for the past 8 years or so, but have used the software on and off before then also. It's only in the past few years that I've started using it almost exclusively any time I want to automate business or work processes on my Mac. From creating and sending invoices, to a neat little 'reminder' system (that sends personalised emails out to people after 4 weeks to check how they are going with the help I've given them) FileMaker has always been an incredibly powerful, yet amazingly simply to use database system.
For this review, rather than try to look at the product as a whole (something I find admittedly hard to do after using it for so long and having reviewed it previously) I decided to focus on what the reported new features are and comment on them.
Ease of use
Value for money
Price approx
$ 519.75 NZ + GST
Software/Hardware Requirements
Mac OS X 10.4.8
PowerPC G3, G4, G5 or Intel-based Mac
256MB of RAM
CD-ROM drive
Available from
FileMaker.com.au and
Buyers Guide
Start screens are becoming a more and more regular occurrence on Mac applications. The iLife and iWork programs have them and FileMaker's own Bento has one as well, as commented in my recent review. Like Bento, the startup screen here has links to help information, which is very useful for those wanting to get to know the application, as well the ability to create databases from an always impressive set of templates.
Conditional formatting - It is now much easier to apply conditional formatting to fields and objects
In short, this is an easier way to format the look of a field or format based upon a condition that can be assigned directly to this field. I really like this feature. It means that on pages such as invoices, you can easily assign a condition or calculation (for example) that puts "OVERDUE" in big red colours for you every time to grab your attention. This has been possible in the past, but in a far more complex way.
Email a link to a hosted database - Rather than figuring out the URL for your hosted database and then writing and distributing instructions, you can now choose a single command to generate an email with an automatically generated hyperlink.
This is a useful new addition for those wanting to share a database across a network, but who find the process of getting this up and running a challenge. I've worked with staff that have shared a database but didn't know what IP addresses and the like were, so I had to come and help with the creation of the connection from one machine to the next. With this feature, it makes FMPro users a little more capable without making the challenge too difficult.
Append to PDF - Now you can consolidate multiple reports into one PDF
This seems to be an excellent and simple-to-use addition to the PDF functionality. I can see that it would be great if you are running various scripts and then wanting to collate the output gradually into one master PDF.
Software update notification - FileMaker Pro 9 automatically checks for new software updates every week
Great...but this kinda thing is fairly standard and should have been implemented some time ago.
Connect to SQL - You can easily create a live connection between SQL Server, Oracle, and MySQL databasesFileMaker is and has always been, a robust, powerful and easy-to-use database solution
This is a fantastic change for those wanting database connectivity. Previously, data from other databases had to be imported into tables and then queries run from there. This new version provides live data querying to SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2000, Oracle 10g, Oracle 9g or MySQL Community Edition 5.0 databases, but keep in mind on a Mac you'll need to have the appropriate ODBC driver(s) installed.
It means that data added to an external database becomes part of any connected FileMaker database without any import processes having to be scripted or manually run. This is a very useful change.
Script grouping and editing tools - help you organise your scripts so that you can find them more quickly
A nice new feature that lets you group a series of scripts into a folder in the script listing window (see image below), so that you have a lot of complex scripts you can make the script listing page a bit more manageable. It's a little like being able to take multiple layers in Photoshop and store them all in one related folder in the layers pallete.
However, what really surprises me is that they haven't taken the concept further. Is it the list of lots of scripts that is hard for developers or is it excessively long scripts that you write that are the hardest to work with? Why they didn't take a great feature similar to Adobe's Dreamweaver, where you can select a series of HTML code and collapse it into its own section is beyond me (see the image below).
It would have meant that in exceptionally long codes where you know a small sub-routine is definitely working, you could collapse it out of the way for a moment whilst you examined other parts of one script. However this would have meant a reworking of their scripting display window I suspect.
Enhanced layout objects - Auto-Resize Layout Objects, Enhanced Tab Control, and Enhanced FileMaker Web Viewer
These enhancement are great, but it's starting to feel a little like Apple's promotion of the number of features in Leopard. When slight enhancements are listed as a significant change (and a change they are...admittedly) then it's concerning to know that perhaps not much under the hood has changed? That said, the features such as auto-resizing an object on a layout is a great additional to your layout tools.
There are some other minor additions to the software but the ones listed above are the changes promoted by FileMaker as being the most significant.
Conclusion
I wrote the review in a way that highlighted the changes in this version for two reasons. First, FileMaker is and has always been, a robust, powerful and easy-to-use database solution. Secondly, it shows a small concern that I've had with FileMaker; that in producing a new version with so few changes, it makes me question the release rate for the product...or rather, why a jump in numbers from version 8.5 to 9? Whilst the process isn't incorrect (what is known as a "dot/point release" such as 8.6, 8.7 etc usually are seen as bug fixes and full releases as a new product) I've still felt with releases for some time a sense of "is that all?". Again, this isn't a criticism of the product, but perhaps a reflection of its maturity. It leads me to say however that I don't think those using a previous version that they are happy with need to rush out and get this product, unless it meets new needs that other versions have failed to provide.
FileMaker Pro updates don't hold that much excitement for me as many other application updates do. It's not like the nervous wait of a new product, it's more the recognition when an update comes out, of some nice new features and the occasional "wow". But the last time that "wow" happened for me with FileMaker was with the introduction of tables in FileMaker Pro 7. Don't get me wrong, I love FileMaker Pro and use it almost daily. I was gutted the other day when I thought I had trashed (and not backed up) one of the best databases (and the most easiest to use) that I had created. Luckily, I'd just accidentally bumped it into another folder on my desktop.
FileMaker Pro 9 is a superb product and one that still amazes me with its simplicity for database creation and its versatility and power. Every new version builds upon that strength, but perhaps not in such a way that ever person needs to rush out and get the new version. Check out the new features...then make your mind up yourself.
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