ISO FileMaker Magazine

Ahhh, the panacea of being able to improve my FileMaker database offline, then simply applying all the dev changes to the live production file. This is the great promise of the new FMUpgradeTool. It was released along with FileMaker 19 and it's a bit hard to dig into. Unless, you have the time like I did.

Fortunately, I'm going to save you the many hours of slogging through the documentation and the trial-n-error which comes with learning any new tech.

In this video, I spend an ample amount of time covering the FMUpgradeTool and how it might impact us in the future. I'd gather that, like Add-ons, the "preview" nature of this tool means that Claris hasn't been able to complete out their vision - at least not when it comes to documentation. The good thing, however, is we get to see what's coming and the tool can currently be used for small micro changes and the like. It certainly will need to be put through its paces and we'll have a lot of opportunity to do that when the time comes.

For right now, the process of making a FileMaker patch is pretty manual and will need to be automated by either Claris or a third party. Claris has seen what's been done with their XML in the past, primarily by companies who choose to make analytical tools, so, it makes sense that they'd love to see something which automates the creation of a complete FileMaker patch.

If learning about FileMaker's guts is something you're into, or checking out what the future might be like, then give this video your undivided attention. You'll gain a lot of insight about what these new tools will be doing behind the scenes!

Simply creating a single FileMaker file to store your data is a perfectly fine way to start your solution. However, the first few times any number of users start complaining about the workflow taking too long, is when you may need to evaluate your architecture.

For sure, FileMaker Pro is a very capable platform. Like any thing else in the world of tech, there are less efficient implementations and highly optimized solutions. A knowledgable developer will known how to squeeze every bit of performance out of the environment they've chosen to develop within. The same holds true for FileMaker as for any other programming language.

In this video, I walk though some of the most common and also some of the more exotic deployment models you can use with FileMaker. Essentially, it all boils down to this. Knowing that FileMaker does not care where the data is. If you can point to it, and FileMaker can see it, then it's up to you as to how you structure things. We're not just using computers now, we're using smartphones, tablets and who knows what else will be coming. Touch sensitive wallpaper within our homes of the future? Watch this video for a sense of how it's possible to vary the deployment of your FileMaker solutions.