There ’s good news for devotees of ProVue ’s Panorama : Panorama V ( or version 5 ) runs in OS X. And this version adds a boat - burden of enhancement — including unrecorded clairvoyance ( similar to the easy search feature in OS X ’s Finder ) , more ways to get information from the Internet , file name extension to Panorama ’s programing language , custom social function , and a great new way to create custom menu — to the neat features Panorama has had for age , such as cross - tab reports , charts , and quick subtotaling of groups .
Is Panorama V Right for You?
If you ’re grow even moderately complex databases , or if you need to portion out your database with many users over a connection , Panorama ca n’t compete with FileMaker Pro 7 (; October 2004 ) , 4D 2004 , Servoy , or other fantabulous guest - host relational database systems . Panorama V is currently only for individual users . ( ProVue say that it ’s working on a server version , but no release date has been annunciate . ) Panorama does have putz for connect files using lookups , but defining these links is not as easy as defining relationships in FileMaker Pro or 4D , and Panorama supply no way to keep track of relationships after they ’ve been delimit . Panorama ’s programing language is not as brawny as 4D ’s ( you ca n’t compile a Panorama database ) , not as well docu - mented as Servoy ’s ( which uses standard JavaScript ) , and not as easy to pick up as FileMaker Pro ’s .
If your needs are uncomplicated , Panorama may not be as practiced a alternative as FileMaker Pro or even Excel (; August 2004 ) . After all , Excel can also do cross – tab write up , charts , and quick summaries . Panorama V ’s documentation is extensive ( three full volumes ! ) , but at times it seems to be a labyrinth of cross – references .
However , Panorama can take you right smart beyond Excel ’s database feature film . you could colligate data file , build attractive forms and reports , and exchange data with Web site such as FedEx ’s on-line tracking system . I peculiarly liked Panorama ’s new elastic - forms feature , which countenance you create fields that get wider or narrower as a exploiter resize the window . With Panorama ’s programming linguistic process , you’re able to manipulate your data in almost any way you’re able to suppose . And ProVue provide free on-line tech support .
Quirky Interface
Panorama V ca n’t straight spell an Excel spreadsheet , and most of its meaning and export choice are hidden in a wizard rather than readily accessible in the File menu . And its user user interface is peculiar . For deterrent example , there are three unlike command in three different places for deleting phonograph record . To edit one book , you habituate a button in the toolbar ; to erase all the records in a database , you use a command in the Edit menu ; and to delete the records currently displayed , you first expend the Select Reverse dictation , whichhidesthe records you want to delete and displays the ones you want to keep , and then use the Remove Unselected program line to delete the records that are not displayed .
Macworld’s Buying Advice
If you ’ve used and like previous versions of Panorama , you ’ll want to advance to this rendering . Otherwise , Panorama V is best suited to people who work mainly with flat - file or only moderately complicated relational database , who desire quick – made datum analysis pecker , and who occasionally want a powerful programming language .
[ William Porter is an independent database developer and generator of an upcoming rule book on FileMaker Pro 7 for No Starch Press . ]
