Customer Reviews

FileMaker Pro 8.5 Win/Mac

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

FileMaker Pro [FMP] is without a doubt the best and easiest database software for home or small business users -- far easier to learn and use than Microsoft Access, and great flexibility. Constructing a relational database (tying together, for instance, client names, invoices, expenses, etc) is a snap and the Help files really are helpful. Lack of a printed manual [rather than just a scanned file] is a downer.

As for upgrading from previous versions [like FMP6] is a bummer however, in that the recently introduced [with version 7] security change is utterly frustratirng. Yes, the old *.fp6 files do convert easily and swiftly, but if you can't open your old 'flat' unsecured Rolodex people files because you don't know the proper password to use, you won't be happy. Took me hours to figure it out -- for upgraders at least, the company should have included printed instructions in plain words so you can go right to work. As to upgrading from ver 8.0 to ver 8.5: the company charges nearly a hundred bucks for the multi-megabyte download, forget it. On-line support is good, with an active user forum.

The software itself rates five stars - but the needlessly complex transition from prior file structure, the lack of a decent printed manual in the box, and the ludicrous charge for an intra-version upgrade take away some of the luster. Still, all considered, FMP beats the Microsoft product by miles.

This may be a good database program but I can't tell due to the truly awful instructions. They talk all about how to use a data base once it is constructed but how to actually create the layouts and instructions is just not covered in the provided manuals, online help or PDF file. You will have to spend hours trying to analyze the provided example files as to how to actually do things. The most basic explanation of how steps and procedure actually work or what is required is just not there.

The on line help is filled with jargon and confusing explanations. Some times the terms used will change within the explanation with no warning leading to more confusion. A typical example is in the developers manual on page 12 which explains how to copy a script. Problem is when it gets to the click on copy part, there is no copy option on the screen. I guess they just forgot to include it in the actual program. This is just one of many examples I have encountered. I doubt they ever had outside users actually try to use the program so they could understand what instructions were needed.

If you want to create your own system, not use one of the templets provided, then plan on many hours trying to understand how the basic nuts and bolts work. It will be mostly trial and error. And consider it necessary to purchase outside books and video tutorials. Considering I taught myself to program in assembly language in the early days and made a good living doing so and that I have learned programs such as SolidWorks parametric modeling I dont think the problem is on my end.

i've been using this fmp for a few months now. i was able to get the general gist of how to use it but personally found taking a class really helped my understanding. the program can do so many things! well worth the money.

however... one of the books i read on the program "FileMaker Pro Design & Scripting for Dummies" stated, "FileMaker provides full, multiuser support for up to five users without requiring the user to add any additional licenses or patches." that statement is misleading. i understood that statement to mean one license would allow five user. not true! as long as each computer attempting to view the same file has a unique license number, five users can access the same file at the same time. if more than five users at a time are going to be using the file, you'll need to buy filemaker server.

This is a fine product until you upgrade past a version that uses a different file format. Then, very little will work. The company doesn't tend to write very good utilities that upgrades from one file format to another. For example, version 5 to 6 was a disaster. we had to rewrite everything. You couldn't just upgrade.

When I heard that you could actually insert a Web brower such as IE or Safari right into a database, I was a little skeptical. But after downloading the FileMaker Pro 8.5 free trial and actually doing it, it blew my mind and I purchased the software. I tried doing adding a Web browser to my Access database but I gave up after days of struggling away with a bunch of Active X controls, etc. Now, I just simply add a URL to a the details of a record and I've got updated info on the customers I track in my Marketing Research practice. I can also add just about anything to my database records, video clips, digital photos, sound files and I can send off records to my clients in PDFs or in Excel right out of FileMaker. Very cool!

This program works well. It has a learning curve, although not nearly as steep as other databases. In addition, with versions 7 on up it is trivial to publish your databases to the web.

I recommend the quikstart books for getting started with Filemaker. It has no useful documentaion for beginners to databases.

It does however integrate beautifully with Excel and has very powerful reporting features. It also works perfectly in a cross platform (Mac and PC) environment.

I've always been a bit of a technophobe, but as a small business owner, I grew out of spreadsheets long ago and realized I needed a database for invoicing, project management, and other business tasks. The thought of building a database nearly gave me hives but I tried FileMaker Pro and was pleasantly surprised. Templates let me get a jump start on designing my database and now with version 8.5 I've found it easier than ever to customize menus, use fields and tables, and create relationships between tables to make the database meet my needs. I can also easily export content as PDF files to exchange information with clients or contractors. I love this product! It makes file sharing and web publishing a breeze.

We have stretched the power of this program to the limit and we have been able to produce the most amazing databases. This is basically THE program to have if you want a great database. We run it on a Mac and it is fantastic.

Our small real estate agency (5 brokers) has been on FileMaker Pro 7 for a couple of years now. I hesitated upgrading to FM 8 because we had only just built a couple of solutions using 7. But then I saw the Web Viewer feature in FileMaker 8.5 and we had to have it. I had heard that upgrading might be a challenge, but it only took about an 45 mins. of work after installation to check that everything worked. We immediately began adding the new features of 8.5 to our apps. We have a customer database which is pretty extensive and shows pictures of their existing homes and images of the types of homes they are looking for. Our other solution ties into the multiple listing service, plus has our own home data files and we included links to Google Earth in the Web Viewer so our customers can log into our "homes database" and look at location, lot configuration and how the home is situated on the street. While checking out all the info associated with the listing, our buyers can check out all the images associted with it. Very cool. This has definitely given us the competitive edge against agencies larger than we are. What's more, we didn't have to hire a consultant to do this - although admittedly I've been using FileMaker for 2-1/2 years now. The price of this database is an absolute steal given what it's done for our business.

I paid the company almost $200 for a downloadable upgrade to version 8.5. When I downloaded it, the disk image file downloaded fine and opened into a nice CD icon. But after that, bupkus. Double clicking did NOT launch an installer, just a windoow of the file contents. Double clicking the (supposed) application file did nothing but launch an incomprehensible script window of some sort. Tried to change the file name to add a .pkg or .app extension, but no dice, locked and can't change it. Even went so far as to use disk utility to make a new .dmg image from the mounted cd-icon, made it read-write, then changed the file name, still no installation. Then tried to submit an e-mail help request using their web page, got all the way thru the e-mail, then got a message saying sorry we only do phone support for this. Phone support of course is only during "business" hours. I used to think the product was good, but their customer support STINKS.