Customer Reviews

Sams Teach Yourself FileMaker 7 in 24 Hours

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

Wow! for FileMaker and Wow! for Feiler's book. I've used FileMaker since Version 1 on an original Mac. I've also worked on large-scale databases. Over the years, FileMaker made a valiant effort to move towards the power and flexibility of the big databases, but I always felt it was somewhat of a compromise. With FileMaker 7, I honestly think that FileMaker is ahead of the big databases.

FileMaker's big advantage is its integrated development tools--scripting, layouts, etc. Feiler starts with the concepts and immediately does something I was dubious about--he jumps into the templates and shows you how to modify them. To me, the logical choice would have been to start at the beginning with a blank database. I quickly saw what he was after, and it works. Instead of starting from scratch, you start from databases that work (supplied with FileMaker), and you use them from the beginning. Then you start to modify them. Only then do you start designing your own databases from scratch. Even though I really know FileMaker, this approach taught me some basics that I never knew.

Feiler's description of FileMaker's new relational model is terrific. It not only explains relational databases, but it also explains clearly what FileMaker relationships really are (relationships as well as canned queries).

The book looks good, reads well, and is organized intelligently. In a way, we're all beginners with FileMaker 7. This is a great book for anyone who wants to learn FileMaker 7--whether you have experience with prior versions or not.

I can't imagine this book would be of much help to most readers. I can't tell who it is written for. The level of language could only be understood by someone quite familiar with FileMaker, but anyone who is that familiar with FileMaker would learn very little from the book since it only covers the very basics of FileMaker. I bought the book to get insight into version 7 (I'm already pretty familiar with version 6). If I was not very familiar with version 6, I would have understood very little by reading this book because it assumes too much of a background. Beginners will NOT understand FileMaker from reading this book! Unfortunately, even though the language seems to be targeted toward experienced users, all that is introduced is basic concepts. Experienced users of FileMaker will also learn very, very little. I learned next to nothing about the peculiarities of version 7. Very disappointing. FileMaker users who are neither beginners nor experienced might learn something, but they'd be much better off with a different book (unfortunately, there is not much written on version 7 at this point, so better wait). I would not recommend this book to anyone.

If you want a smooth way to learn FileMaker 7 do not turn to "Teach Yourself FileMaker 7 in 24 Hours." It is lacking in examples, is confusing and is extremely hard to follow. Even in areas where I am fairly comfortable using the program, this book failed to provide clear directions for something I already knew. Had I simply put my $25 down the garbage disposal, I would have been better off than I am having spent it on this book. Unfortunately, the other tomes on the bookstore shelf relating to FileMaker 7 were not much of an improvement. Mr. Feiler may know all there is to know about FileMaker 7, but he needs to learn to communicate far better.

I don't think SAMS Teach Yourself Filemaker 7 in 24 Hours is a very good book. Except for lots of screen shots almost to tiny to read, it does not contain much more than the manual that comes with Filemaker Pro. Its presentation is based on a few examples, but there is little about how Filemaker works or how it operates. So if you want to go beyond the examples, you don't have the information. 24 hours is not enough; I need chapters.

at least for me. It does cover the basics of the items in filemaker but all I really got out of it was a rudimentary knowledge. It was a good idea to have practical exercises that you could download from the author's website. I found that there were many times that I could not reproduce the results stated in the book. The presentation was not logical enough for me to achieve a good foundation of the fundamentals to build the database reporting project I need for work. I am now reading Learn Filemaker pro 7 by Stars and Filemaker pro 7 Advanced by Baron. These books are much clearer and enjoyable to read.

I completely agree with the previous reviews. I've never used Filemaker before and was looking for a book to help me create a database step-by-step. This book wasn't it. It jumps all over the place and is filled with technical terms that aren't explained clearly. It was difficult to find the information that I needed in any sort of logical way. I found myself becoming increasingly frustrated as I tried to work my way through the book, wishing that I could find someone to explain to me what I'd just read. This might be a good book for someone already familiar with Filemaker, but I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner.