Just last year , enthusiastic computer software reviewers throughout the estimator manufacture greeted the release of FileMaker Pro 7 (; October 2004 ) as the most important upgrade in the production ’s history . With the release of FileMaker Pro 8 ( see our first looking ) , the company has done something surprising : Rather than resting on its laurels , FileMaker has released another significant rise about a year sooner than many diligence percipient gestate . In retrospect , it appear as if FileMaker 7 was really the precursor to FileMaker 8 .

Developer edition renamed

Starting with the spillage of adaptation 4 in 1997 , FileMaker has come in two flavour : a standard version , called FileMaker Pro , for end - user and users with special development demand , and a separate version , called FileMaker Developer , which had all the features in the standard version plus some features specifically for expert developer . With the release of version 8 , FileMaker Developer has been renamed FileMaker Pro Advanced , though the term “ FileMaker ” is usually used to refer to features both products partake in .

The advance version accounts for the biggest changes in the unexampled dismissal . Do n’t let the intelligence “ in advance ” scare you off . This is now the version I advocate for anyone project FileMaker databases .

FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced Army of the Pure you copy and glue fields , family relationship , script steps and whole book — even intact tables — not just within the same filing cabinet , but from one file to another . This is especially significant because when converting your quondam FileMaker 6 databases , you could now take greater vantage of the new relational feature in FileMaker by bring all your tables into a single file , and you no longer need a third - party utility to do it .

FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced also gives expert developer near complete control over what menus are displayed for which users and when , what command are in those menus , and what actions ( or scripts ) those command gun trigger . In most of my FileMaker Pro 8 databases , for exemplar , I ’ll get rid of the Delete All Records bidding and substitute my own New Record playscript action at law for the default New Record natural process .

A act of developer - tailor features are available both in FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced and in the standard version of FileMaker Pro 8 . developer can now define variables right in the scripts that use them . In the past , it was necessary to utilize predefined global fields to contain temporary values . I love variables , and my only ill is that they ca n’t be used in every representative , for lesson , to provide the text for buttons in usage dialogue .

The wonderful Tab - control feature of speech lets you allot the same space on a single layout to different groups of fields . When user fall into place on a tab , the fields assigned to it become visible and the others are hidden , as if they were in different layers . This used to require careful creation of multiple layouts . you’re able to now enhance a database ’s user interface in minutes , where it used to take hour .

Power to the (non-technical) people

But it ’s not all about developer . The standard edition of FileMaker Pro 8 includes a number of out - of - the - loge improvements for last - users , too — that is , people who use database as match to designing them . The File menu comprise a pair of novel commands that make it a snap for user to save reports as PDF files or export record set directly to Excel files , and at the same meter , e - get off these files instantly to fellow or client . FileMaker offer better live spell - checking ( it utilize a squiggly underline to foreground suspicious intelligence , or else of just beeping at you as you typecast ) and — finally — auto - completion of values entered in fields .

The new Find Matching Records statement permit users find all the records that have exactly the same data in the same field , without having to enter Find mode , type , and execute the command . you may now enter dates by press a daytime in the calendar rather of typing numbers , slash , and four - digit years . And there are a number of nice cutoff that make finding date and date ranges easier ; for example , you’re able to now find all the record with dates in April 2005 by searching for “ 4/2005 ” rather than “ 4/1/2005 .. 4/30/2005 ” .

Availability

FileMaker 8 ’s companion server products ( Server 8 and Server 8 Advanced ) wo n’t be out until later this fall . FileMaker Server 7 can host database files create in version 8 and users can get at them with either FileMaker 7 or 8 . Some of the more esoteric young features in adaptation 8 , especially those that involve server - side calculations , wo n’t work when Server 7 is hosting the database , but most of the exciting Modern version 8 features — let in variables and tab - command — will work fine for FileMaker 8 users .

Macworld’s buying advice

Anybody doing development work in FileMaker Pro 7 Developer , and anybody who hop-skip edition 7 , should kick upstairs to FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced as soon as possible . The usability enhancements in FileMaker Pro 8 are compelling enough to offend the sake of end - users , but the collateral benefits of FileMaker 8 may be even greater . Developers working in FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced can now drop a line impudent script , work up better user interface , and fork up databases more quickly than they could before . And that ’s salutary for end - users , too .

[ William Porter is an independent database applications developer and writer who lives in Dallas . He is write a book about FileMaker Pro . ]