FileMaker Pro 4.0 Companion (Claris Press) [Paperback]

Maria Langer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0124365752 | ISBN-13: 978-0124365759 | Publication Date: June 12, 1998 | Edition: 1st

This book serves as a complete overview of FileMaker Pro 4.0, the popular cross-platform (Macintosh and Windows) database application software from Claris Corporation. It offers tips and how-to information on everything from the basics to advanced features, like defining relationships, working with functions, and using ScriptMaker. The book also contains practice exercises which help readers apply the program's features to real-life situations. Fun tips and tricks abound in this book -- both novice and experienced FileMaker Pro fans will find it interesting and useful.



* Covers introductory through advanced topics for FileMaker Pro 4.0, from simple sorting and printing records to designing a FileMaker Pro database from scratch
* Emphasizes layout and database sharing information across platforms
* Step-by-step instructions to create or modify two database files
* Both novice and experienced FMP fans will find it interesting and useful
* Includes tips, tricks, anecdotes, and real-life examples
* Covers the new Web publishing features of version 4.0

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Maria Langer is the author of over two dozen computer books, most of which are about popular applications by FileMaker, Microsoft, Adobe, and Intuit. She is a Contributing Editor for FileMaker Pro Advisor and Mac Today magazines and has written reviews and articles for MacAddict, Net Professional, Computer User, and others. Maria has created custom FileMaker Pro solutions for a number of Fortune 500 companies and speaks at Macintosh conferences, seminars, and user group meetings, including Macworld Expo.

Product Details

• Paperback: 736 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press; 1st edition (June 12, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0124365752
• ISBN-13: 978-0124365759
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,450,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Maria Langer has been a freelance writer since 1990. She has written more than 75 books and hundreds of articles about using computers, software, and online services. She provides support for her work, as well as new content, on the Maria's Guides website. These days, she also writes about aviation and travel for a variety of print and online publications.

Maria is also a commercial helicopter pilot and owner of Flying M Air, a helicopter tour and charter company based in Arizona. Her company offers tours, day trips, multi-day excursions, and aerial photography services throughout the southwest.

And if that's not enough to keep her busy and out of trouble, she's also a serious amateur photographer. She shows off her best work on her photo gallery, Flying M Photos.

Maria blogs at Eclectic Mind, her personal journal of thoughts and experiences.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate, June 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: FileMaker Pro 4.0 Companion (Claris Press) (Paperback)

Buy this book before you buy your first copy of FM Pro. This book will help beginners the most, and should provide useful information for intermediate developers. For help with advanced solutions, look some where else.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars if you're good w/ computers, DON'T buy this book, May 4, 2000

By 

levl289 (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: FileMaker Pro 4.0 Companion (Claris Press) (Paperback)

I recently took over the job of network admin at a company that uses Filemaker. I'd never used a database before, and from what I'd heard, they were quite difficult, so I bought this book, as it was aimed at beginners.

Don't make my same mistake. FMP is a database for the computer illiterate. It allows people to get off the ground with their ideas fast. It is intuitive, and therefore a little toying around will get you through anythign this book has to offer (and much faster). The scripting section is a joke, and basically says you CAN script, but doesn't show you any specific syntax.

If you know how to use a computer, don't get this book!

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars don't waste time with it - time is limited, April 21, 1999

By 

Ulrich Graser (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: FileMaker Pro 4.0 Companion (Claris Press) (Paperback)

This book is really telling again and again about the clicking tasks for every possible menu interaction of a normal Macintosh or Wiindows application. It's a shame that obvious things are discribed and discussed in a kind of never ending smalltalk about the primitive and lowest basics about managing with FileMaker. It sounds like a home school course where people are proud that they learned the difference between a mouse and a keyboard. So maybe readers who are affraid about abstraction will like it and for them it is aimed to.

I am very sorry that I couldn't find a competent book about FileMaker in this one I coudn't find anything useable - I already read Gagne and Crabb which is a little bit better since it mentions some really important things about relations and other techniques. Academic literature of course handles only high end databases. So there is a big leak.

I wouldn't recommend this heavy companion without weight to anybody. I think that the beginners too know very quickly how to interact with mouse and menues. Maybe it would be good for them if you write it down to maybe 45 pages.