Learn FileMaker Pro 7 (Wordware Library for FileMaker) [Paperback]

Jonathan Stars (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wordware Library for FileMaker | Publication Date: July 25, 2004

FileMaker Pro 7 is a radical update to this award winning database program. Essential not only to beginners but also intermediate users and professionals needing to get up to speed with all the changes, this book covers all of it.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jonathan Stars is a professional FileMaker consultant in Michigan. He has developed databases for Michigan state government agencies, associations, music publishers, and universities. He is a member of the FileMaker Solution Alliance, a writer for FileMaker Pro Advisor magazine, and the author of three previous versions of Learn FileMaker Pro from Wordware Publishing.

Janice Child uses FileMaker to manage her event-planning responsibilities for a multi-line insurance company. She has also developed manuals for FileMaker solutions and is an adjunct faculty member at Lansing Community College in Michigan where she teaches business and technical writing.

Nonie Bernard is director of curriculum development for FMPTraining and an instructor with the Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona. She has a degree in human resources and has developed and taught train-the-trainer curricula in higher education.

Product Details

• Paperback: 550 pages
• Publisher: Wordware Publishing, Inc. (July 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556220987
• ISBN-13: 978-1556220982
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,666,368 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In my previous life, I was an award-winning singer, songwriter, and comedian. I got the FileMaker (database) bug in 1986 when I started using it to keep track of my entertainment business. My book, Learn FileMaker Pro 10, (Wordware Publishing ISBN 1-59822-071-3) is now in its seventh edition.

When I was in school I dreaded writing. It was the days before computers. I wasn't a very good typist and always hated it when I had to revise something I'd written since it required starting over. Writing on the computer was a Godsend! I could type as fast as the ideas flowed out of my brain and then organize and spellcheck them later. After I'd written a number of articles about computer software and other more personal pieces, my plan was to write about ten articles on FileMaker and then pull them together and do a book on the software. That was my plan. It turns out writing a book is not the same thing as writing ten articles. In fact...

Writing my first FileMaker book was the hardest thing I'd ever done in my life - and I've been divorced twice! As I finished up the last chapter, a writer friend of mine said, "Uh, oh. Now you have to write the foreword." I said, "Are you kidding? I've been saving that for dessert. It doesn't have to be in a step-by-step format. I can just write anything I want - what I think and feel." And it really was a treat. I still like to write that way and hope I can write a memoir or a novel sometime in the near future. (Hmmm... But then there are things like outlines and arcs and emotional high points.)

Among my many non-writing projects, I've developed databases for The State of Michigan governmental agencies, CRG Regional Telephone Directories, ICT Cable, various international associations, Marco Music Publishing in Nashville, TN, and Yale University's NARCOMS database. My company, Data Design Pros, LLC, is a member of the FileMaker Business Alliance and I have my own column in FileMaker Pro Advisor magazine online. I've also written for EQ Magazine, Apple COREspondent and numerous association newsletters. Musical projects include a CD for the MSU Jazz Octet, Ray Kamalay's Jazz Improvisation instructional CD and audio engineering on the Boogie Stomp documentary featuring boogie woogie piano wizards Bob Baldori and Bob Seeley due out in the fall of 2010.

I have a number of websites I'm in charge of including: www.DataDesignPros.com (my database business website), MoviTraX.com (a site devoted to software I've developed for movie editors) and TheTechnoGrouch.com (a site where I act out my love-hate relationship with technology). I'll be starting a writing website soon at www.JonathanStars.com, but right now that address points to my business site.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Great Book, September 10, 2004

By 

Ben Damari - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learn FileMaker Pro 7 (Wordware Library for FileMaker) (Paperback)

I have taken advanced filemaker pro 7 classes and I wish I had read this book prior to taking them, as it would have given me a much better foundation to build on. The book is easy to read, simple to undrestand, and loaded with important data and tricks on filemaker pro 7.0.

I do not know of very many authors that can deliver such a complex subject in such an easy to understand way. After the information is presented, and practice example is given that puts it all together. If you follow them, you are sure to be able to use filemaker pro 7.0 to create your own databases by the time you are finished.

There are obviusly different levels of knowledge, however this give you a good solid base to expand upon. I would reccommend this book to anyone who wants to use filemaker pro 7.0.

And the most important thing about the book? It is fun to read and esay to follow.

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good--But Not Excellent--Workbook, August 7, 2004

By 

Ronald W. Satz (Trevose, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Learn FileMaker Pro 7 (Wordware Library for FileMaker) (Paperback)

This is a very good--but not excellent--workbook to master FileMaker Pro 7. It is not suitable for beginners because the screen shots are way too small and because the many mistakes in the book would frustrate them. It is also not for advanced programmers because there are no chapters on FileMaker Developer, FileMaker Server, or third-party Plug-Ins (although they are discussed on the authors' Web site); also, although the problems, index, and glossary are great, there is no categorized reference section tabulating all the functions and script steps with examples.

For intermediate-level programmers, the book is a must have, despite the mistakes--because they can be instructive to correct. For example, Script 10 in Chapter 17 is missing (the one on p. 261 is inapplicable and the one from the authors' Web site needs work). Various steps in Scripts 14 and 19 are omitted, etc. I was able to fix them, though, without too much difficulty, and get everything to work properly.

Other nuisances include the authors' spelling of Web site as web site; missing the "100" factor in the round function on p. 303, an incorrect answer (p. 466) given to problem 11 on p. 264; p. 302 has a spurious quote mark ("); on p. 146 the authors use the obsolete "status" function and then tell us on p. 223 that the "old status functions are now the Get functions" (which is true); and others--you get the point that the editing could have been better.

The principal author (Jonathan Stars) is a singer cum data base programmer, with 15 years experience with FileMaker. He does provide plenty of useful, real-world tips. I've been programming for over 28 years, using 17 different computer languages. My company, Transpower Corporation, located in metropolitan Philadelphia, is a commercial and custom software manufacturing and systems engineering company. We first tried FileMaker Pro 5 back in 1999 but decided that it wasn't powerful enough for us or our clients. But FileMaker Pro 7 definitely is (although it is still missing field event trapping, a contains function, and an array or matrix field type and the associated matrix math functions). A nice feature of the book is that it highlights (with a superscript 7) the changes made in version 7.

To sum up, this is a four star book, not a five star book. Perhaps the authors and the editors can improve it for the next edition so that it will deserve five stars.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn FileMaker Pro 7 the easy way, August 25, 2004

By 

Beverly - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learn FileMaker Pro 7 (Wordware Library for FileMaker) (Paperback)

If you are new to FileMaker Pro, you may go through the included tutorial and find that you need more! This book takes you further without rehashing what you can find in the help files. It's written by people who use FileMaker Pro, so you get included insights not found when you read the User Guides.
If you are familiar with previous versions of FileMaker Pro, you may have found that you need to switch gears for FileMaker Pro 7! The reviews and questions at the end of each chapter challenge you to think about how you would use what you've learned.
As with every new product, there may be errors and omissions. The book is no exception, so the authors have decided to post corrections. What other books can do that?