eBook FileMaker Pro 10: The Missing Manual download

This is a great book to learn FileMaker Pro 10.

That having been said I would like to say that FileMaker Pro has really missed the boat with their product. Here they put all of this time and effort in to making a great product and then they make it so you can't really use it easily with the internet. Profit is the only motivating factor here. The reason I bought FileMaker Pro 10 (and this book) was because I read that it would set up an entire website based on what you did with FileMaker Pro 10. That it would use MySQL, PHP, and you basically didn't have to write any code. Just build the database and screens to access the screens and FileMaker Pro would handle the rest. This is where this book has been invaluable to me. I skipped back to the part where it talks about interfacing to the internet and guess what? According to the book - it only works with its own database and they state, in the book, that FileMaker Pro's web server feature crashes a lot.

So I am very glad I got this book because it has shown me just how bad FileMaker Pro 10 really is and I don't need to spend my time trying to learn a program that just doesn't "GET IT" when it comes to working with the internet.

The Missing Manual series is, overall, quite good with few misses. "FileMaker Pro 10 - The Missing Manual" is no exception to the generally high quality of the series.

I've used FileMaker since its very first version when it was produced by a company called Nashoba Systems. FileMaker has always been an excellent product, but with each new version, new features add another level of complexity. The early Nashoba and Apple documentation was excellent, but bit by bit the standards slipped. Printed manuals gave way to online help.

A mini-industry developed as publishers introduced new titles. It was never a tsunami, but there were a number of books on various aspects of FileMaker, some very well developed references.

The Missing Manual neatly fills the gap.

Starting with the basics, you are guided through the basics in the first three chapters. In reality, many people will not need to go beyond this point. There's enough here to get you through the creation and maintenance of simple FileMaker databases.

Beginning with Chapter 4, on layouts, your knowledge will quickly expand. FileMaker was among the first, if not the first, microcomputer database product to allow you to design layouts to meet your needs. Since those early days, the power of the FileMaker layout engine has grown almost beyond comprehension. You can create whatever layout meets your needs - and you can have multiple layouts per database. The Missing Manual does a superb job of showing you how to create very sophisticated layouts. It is important to understand that a FileMaker layout differs considerably merely creating a user interface: in FileMaker, the various fields are also components of the database. For example, for summaries, you use a particular field and have to create a formula to manage it. The Missing Manual explains all this quite nicely.

The remaining nine chapters lead you into more complex areas of database design in general and FileMaker in particular. In order, the chapters cover using multiple tables and relationships and then advance relationship techniques. These can be difficult concepts to grasp and even more difficult to implement. The book helps you along, though it doesn't really get into very complex relationships.

The next four chapters cover calculations. You can create FileMaker fields that perform virtually any computational task. One of the reasons I've used FileMaker for so many years is because I can use it to rearrange, recombine, sort and do all manner of things with text. Though I don't it use it much for mathematical calculations, it has every function you might reasonably need. Obviously because four chapters are devoted to it, there's a lot to FileMaker calculations and the book is thorough in its approach.

Two chapters on scripting follow. Over the years, FileMaker scripting has progressed from being a hair-pulling experience to being occasionally frustrating. If you're developing databases that must perform for relatively unskilled users, scripting is a must. Only your imagination and the sometimes confusingly documented or undocumented FileMaker feature set will stop you.

The last four chapters are the ones that will be the least used. Most people simply will not need information on adding security to your database, sharing data with other systems, sharing the database itself and using developer utilities.

Overall, "FileMaker 10 - The Missing Manual" follows its earlier editions in being almost a model for a solid technical manual. If you own FileMaker 10, you need this book. It is not the only FileMaker book you'll need, since there are others that are more suited to the reference role, but it is essential.

Jerry

I've been using Access (and other databases) for many years and have now switched back to a Mac. Needing a good database, I got stuck in to Filemaker and found this manual a good introduction. It is very readable and will take you through from the basics to a building a reasonably complex application. If you're looking for a basic introduction to Filemaker, it's excellent -- if you're looking for a really in-depth application builder manual, I'd say that you might find the information here, but it will probably require significant digging to find it. There's at least one other manual which will help better with application building.

If you are new to this product or have been through the updated versions of Filemaker over the years this book is a must.

For the novice, it explains in plain language, how to set up and use this powerful program and get you up and running with well explained examples and screen shots and exercises. It gets one off and running and gathering understanding very quickly. It logically and simply moves the reader into databases with real examples.

For the seasoned expert, it is an excellent reference of the functionality and advanced techniques that will make your databases perform even better. The new features and functionality that have come with each Filemaker version are fully explained. I personally have found in a few weeks great improvements to old techniques and approaches that I either misunderstood or wasn't aware of. Well thought out examples and explanation of the steps for even the most complex functions help guide the reader .

Whilst Filemaker is a very powerful program, it most forgiving of sloppy database design. However the better the design, the better for both user and developer. The tools for this are available in Filemaker but not adequately discussed in my view. The chapter on Relationship graphs, table occurrences and techniques to work with relationships and keeping them simple and understandable is too focused on 'how to implement' in Filemaker rather than understanding design and how it can be organised, approached and improved. It could be argued this is not the books purpose, however good design benefits the approach and using Filemaker's functionality.

Filemaker Pro 10 - The Missing Manual is a well thought out, easy to understand text that explains how to use the program to its fullest extent and make your information more manageable, no matter what you are using Filemaker for.