RATING: General
VERSION: FileMaker 6
PLATFORM: Macintosh & Windows
TECHNIQUE FILES: NONE
From the moment I launched FileMaker Pro 6, I could tell that some nice changes were about to unfold. For starters, my travel into the new world of FileMaker Pro 6 began with a soothing new blue splash screen. I had definitely grown tired of looking at the old one. Change was needed. FileMaker, Inc. delivered. I was ready to explore what else had FileMaker, Inc. delivered in FileMaker Pro 6.
Out With The Old, In With The New... Templates
One of the first stops on my journey through the FileMaker Pro 6 metropolis was the templates. FileMaker, Inc. had finally ditched the old, outdated and now buggy templates that have accompanied FileMaker Pro since version 4.0. While some of the new templates are merely new GUI's on top of the old template structures, many of the new templates boast some of FileMaker Pro 6's new features. Gone are the days of dark, under-sized templates in favor of a new GUI that looked like an amalgamation of Windows XP and Mac OS X graphical elements that was then run through Adobe PhotoShop's Color Dodge Blending Mode. I like the change. FileMaker, Inc. has delivered some useable templates once again with FileMaker Pro 6.
Download a demo from < http://www.filemaker.com/products/try_filemaker.html > to check them out for yourself!
Give Me Data
Have Mac OS X and a digital camera? Take advantage of iPhoto's OS-level frameworks to import images directly into FileMaker Pro 6. Use the File ? Import Records ? Digital Camera feature to batch import photos directly into container fields. Cool - my memory card was almost full. I imported the photos of my journey into the new Asset Management.FP5 template and began moving again.
Wait a minute, what about Windows and Mac OS 9 users?
All three operating systems can make ample use of FileMaker Pro 6's new Import ? File and Import ? Folder features to import either images or any other supported data formats. Point to an image or file and import it directly into a field. Or point to a folder full of images or files and import them directly into a field (one new record per image or file). Of course you can choose to only store a reference to an image in either scenario.
All of the new Import features are also supported in ScriptMaker's Import command syntax.
Unexpected Detour
Can you believe that a misplaced keystroke by my oversized fingers on my undersized PowerBook G4 Titanium keyboard revealed a new destination?
I wanted to see the photo I took of FileMaker Pro 6's new splash screen. I had previously imported it directly from my digital camera into the Asset Management.FP5 template, so I hit the command+F keys. Or, more accurately, I attempted to hit the command+F keys. All I wanted to do was find the new splash screen photo, but it turns out I mistakenly hit the shift+command+F key and ended up NOT in Find mode, but in facing a new "Find/Replace" dialog.
Huh?
Familiar with the Find/Replace dialog of Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel? Bare Bones Software BBEdit? The Find/Change dialog of Adobe Illustrator, Adobe PhotoShop or Adobe GoLive? If so, you will feel right at home with this new feature.
Not only can you continue performing traditional Finds in a field across multiple records, but you can now perform a Find in a field or all fields in all records or the current records. But it gets better. You can choose to begin your find at the current record and foray forward, backward, or through all records. Want more? Choose to match the case or whole words of your find criterion; FileMaker Pro 6 can handle it all. You can also choose to step through each found occurrence and replace it with a new value continuing on to the next occurrence, just replace this occurrence and stop, or replace all occurrences of your find criterion.
Wow, incredible feature. And it's about time, too! But, there may be a problem. I just tested Access Privileges settings and the only way to block a user from not accessing this incredible but highly dangerous feature is to either not give Edit access or to give access to the "None" setting of Available Menu Commands.
Why has my trip turned dangerous? Any user with access to "Editing Only" or "Normal" setting of Available Menu Commands can potentially do a Find/Replace across all fields of all records in the entire database and replace all. Don't like the name "Clint"? Wipe it from the database with eight keystrokes and three clicks. Incredible feature, but you should be aware of access levels.
All is not lost in the world of Finds, however. The Find command also boasts a new Replace Found Set, Constrain Found Set, and Expand Found Set feature. And, these are part of ScriptMaker's Perform Find command syntax! (For backward compatibility, Modify Found Set is still a ScriptMaker command.)
While the speed advantages of these new features are not yet apparent, using these commands and Script Steps make the user experience richer, and the development experience more enjoyable.
Many new features, and yet only two destinations to date! At this point in my journey the momentum was steadily building. I was rapidly snapping pictures like a tourist on holiday (pictures in my handy Kodak DC-240 digital camera, of course).
Data. Just The Way You Like It
My next destination might as well be called the library. It's time to tour the terminologies and we'll start with Extensible Markup Language (XML).
While XML was formed and adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in 1996, the major web browsers took years to adopt even parts of the version 1.0 standard. Even today Internet Explorer and Netscape Communicator support different parts of the standard. Even today, Internet Explorer on Windows, Mac OS, and Mac OS X each support different parts of the standard! The result was that XML looked plain and code-like in web browsers. Even combined with the sometimes supported cascading style sheets, the results were largely unpredictable. Thus XML was not widely used -- except in server-to-server data transmissions.
Today FileMaker Pro 6 has taken a quantum leap forward and now includes the ability to export data in XML format.
In 2001, the W3C adopted the Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT) standard. XSLT is a powerful scripting language that can transform XML output into just about any format imaginable with the aid of an XSLT processor.
XML combined with XSLT is powerful and FileMaker Pro 6 includes a XSL processor. The results are you can serve a perfect HTML page to your web site visitors.
Export XML from FileMaker Pro and have its XSLT processor parse and format the data with a supplied XSLT to contain the necessary Quark Tags needed for avenue.quark to import. Automate publishing without the headaches of memorizing complex Quark Tags, or adding FileMaker Pro database file size-bloating calculations.
FileMaker Pro 6 ships with sample XSLT files which demonstrate the scripting language's ability to dynamically generate complex tables.
Visit < http://www.filemaker.com/xml/index.html > for details, resources, links, and demo files related to XML and XSLT.
Don't miss this destination. The XML and XSLT destination, while arduous at times, is fun and rewarding. ISO FileMaker Magazine will be covering XML and XSLT in future issues.
Along my journey I have discovered that FileMaker Pro 6 contains numerous tweaks, bug fixes and attractions.
Tweaking the Application
FileMaker Pro 6 has so many features, FileMaker, Inc. doesn't even mention them all on their FileMaker Pro 6 product web page < http://www.filemaker.com/products/fm_home.html >. It's like taking a journey to the Grand Canyon. The destination point(s) that you choose to look out over the Canyon helps to form the direct impression that you receive. Just like it is impossible to visit all destination points of the Grand Canyon at the same time, or even in the same trip (given any reasonable amount of time), it is similarly impossible to cover all aspects of FileMaker Pro 6. But here's a list of other features I met along the way:
1. Speed improvements on Mac OS X
2. Context Menu Sorting (Sort Ascending, Sort Descending, Sort By Value List)
3. ODBC Driver Manager for Mac OS X by DataDirect (formerly Merant)
4. 2-Way Dynamically Calculated ODBC Exchange via SQL Queries
5. Format Painter to copy and paste object and text styles (similar to that found in Microsoft Office products)
6. Enhanced web security by allowing users to store proprietary CDML format files in the new cdml_format_files folder.
Along my journey, I enjoyed the new "road" signs provided by FileMaker Pro 6's new customizable dialog boxes. While not offering as many features as the dialog plug-ins offered by Troi Automatisering, New Millennium Communications, 24U Productions, etc., the custom and dynamic titles and messages meet most database solution needs.
The Return Home
Some would argue that the best feature of FileMaker Pro 6 is the lack of a new file format, or "force upgrade" like what happened from FileMaker Pro 4.x to FileMaker Pro 5.x.
Others have asked, why upgrade? This question is at least as old as software itself, and is certainly not new to the FileMaker Pro application. The answer is quite simple: Do the benefits of the upgrade support the cost of the upgrade? What is the cost-benefit analysis? I've noted the new features in FileMaker Pro 6. If you need, or can benefit from the above features and it is either costing you more not to have them, or you can justify the cost to obtain them, upgrade today. I did.
Keeping with the last four major releases of FileMaker Pro, FileMaker, Inc. has bolstered the product's feature set from the outside in. Integrated technologies such as ODBC, JDBC, XML, OLE, ActiveX, AppleScript, etc. have become stronger with each release while the core of FileMaker Pro appears to have gone largely unchanged.
While FileMaker, Inc.'s concentration on integrated technologies and lack of major revision to the calculation and graphics engine of FileMaker Pro have been much criticized, a few points should be remembered:
1. FileMaker Pro's ability to play well with others will ensure its survival.
2. Major revisions to the calculation and graphics engine mean major revisions to existing solutions. That would translate to hefty consulting costs in order to migrate solutions.
3. Change is best introduced slowly, steadily and predictably.
4. FileMaker Pro is a tri-platform product and, therefore, can only be as powerful as the weakest OS allows it to be in the tri-platform lineup.
FileMaker Pro 6 is rumored to be the last version of FileMaker Pro to run on Mac OS 8/9. If this rumor is true, stronghold Mac OS fans may now begin grieving. However, with this passing will come the potential of great change.
While I have a deep and long affection for Mac OS 8/9, the Mac OS 8/9 has severe limitations. FileMaker, Inc.'s final farewell to supporting an aging operating system is exciting. Even Apple, Inc. knew and noted that Mac OS had marvelously outlived its intended shelf life. Mac OS X has been introduced and steadily pushed by Apple, Inc. In fact, attendees at Apple World Wide Developer's Conference 2002's keynote address by Steve Jobs were given the dubious honor of attending the funeral of Mac OS 8/9 (coffin and all).
I marvel at how well FileMaker, Inc. has been able to keep FileMaker Pro in tact while bolstering its features in the tri-platform market. Not many applications share this position. I look forward to the day when FileMaker Pro will be a native Cocoa application on Mac OS X, taking full advantage of all of Mac OS X's features. Even though I spend most of my development hours in the Mac OS X environment, I look forward to the day when FileMaker Pro will also be able to take full advantage of all of Windows XP's features, too.
Happy FileMaking!
Clint Roberts is the Chief Geek at ISO FileMaker Magazine. Email him at < clint@dbpublishing.com >.