FileMaker Pro 7 Bible (Bible (Wiley))

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 932 pages
• Published by: For Dummies September 24, 2004
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0764543474
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0764543470
• Book Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 2.1 inches
• Weighs: 2.8 pounds

Product Description

• Updated to cover the latest program version, this comprehensive guide helps users make the most of FileMaker Pro, the sophisticated workgroup database application with nine million registered users
• Offers complete step-by-step guidance on FileMaker Pro features and tasks, covering both the Mac and Windows versions
• Features expanded coverage of ODBC, JDBC, and XML connectivity and includes a new chapter on the developer tools used to create more complex databases
• Other topics covered include calculations and computations, data exchange, creating and using templates, linking databases, using FileMaker in workgroups, Web publishing, plug-ins, and advanced database connectivity

Download Description
Updated to cover the latest program version, this comprehensive guide helps users make the most of FileMaker Pro, the sophisticated workgroup database application with nine million registered users
* Offers complete step-by-step guidance on FileMaker Pro features and tasks, covering both the Mac and Windows versions
* Features expanded coverage of ODBC, JDBC, and XML connectivity and includes a new chapter on the developer tools used to create more complex databases
* Other topics covered include calculations and computations, data exchange, creating and using templates, linking databases, using FileMaker in workgroups, Web publishing, plug-ins, and advanced database connectivity

Reader Reviews
Apologies--this is a long review. I am an intermediate user of Filemaker, and this book did not work too well for me. Beginners will find a nice primer on how to design and execute databases, and advanced users will find documentation for some of the new features in version 7. Where this book falls short for me is in examples. I am not a database pro--I am a person who relies on a home-made database to make a living. Most of the new features are described in a "this is definition of the function, here is the syntax" way. Very businesslike, but the fact of the matter is that I can't tell from the text provided what the functions are actually for. This, to me, is a major weakness, because the main strength of Filemaker is how accesible it is to any Joe Bloggs like me. The beauty of the program is that it can allow you to execute a design of astonishing complexity without having to study programming. But to do this, you have to be able to understand all the tools at your disposal. Sometimes, until you know how easy a particular task can be, you don't even dare to dream about being able to accomplish it. So if the authors happen to see this review, I'll offer the following constructive criticism for future editions: 1. More examples of the "this function can do this--here is what you might use it for" type, particularly on any new functions. 2. Formatting--the book uses a different font for the text you are to type into windows. The same should be done for script steps, etc. As it is, the first letter of the step is capitalized, but you have to be familiar with the list of functions to know exactly what is being discussed. 3. My first Filemaker book was the Filemaker 3 Bible, and I have to say that some of the example databases in the current edition look awfully familiar. I am fully aware of the challenges of putting together a 1000 page book, but I was not psyched to see the old Video Rentals example still in there, without even so much as an effort to change the look of the layout. FM 7 is a major overhaul, but seeing that in the book suggested the authors were treating it like an update. Based on all the changes made (many of them behind the scenes), maybe the progam should have been called Filemaker 15. The FM pro Bible series are very useful books to people of the appropriate skill level. My current FM based system was initially designed totally with information from the Bible for version 3, and has been upgraded since. It's now a pretty cool system that tracks inventory, contacts, sales and purchases, and even writes checks, but it was not the Bible series that really got it to this point. I may have grown out of it in one sense and not grown into it in another.