FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual by Geoff Coffey, Susan Prosser
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Book Reviews of FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual
Book Review: "FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual" Review-- Thomas Cremer
Summary: 5 Stars
FileMaker Pro 9 : The Missing Manual/ Geoff Coffey and Susan Prosser
Pogue Press/O'Reilly Sebastapol, California 2007. US $34.99
"FileMaker Pro 9 : The Missing Manual" Review -- Thomas Cremer
Filemaker Pro is a database application (a program for storing any systematic collection of information) compatible with both Mac OS X and Windows and other platforms. It is known for being easy to use and powerful as well.
FMP can handle relational databases, which are collections of related files that share data like invoice numbers which link important transaction information together, such as customer, inventory, or shipping and handling data.
Geoff Coffey and Susan Prosser are the authors of this "Missing Manual" and their book helps novices to create their own databases, covering the changes in versions 8.5 and 9. FMP comes with printed and online documentation, but it is not as user-friendly or as detailed as the Missing Manual.
Coffey and Prosser have been developers and users of FMP for over ten years, and their language is simple, helpful and non-technical, just the ticket for "newbies" eager to learn.Users can begin with ready to go templates or so-called starter solutions, which are available for many common database needs. The book, published in August this year, (2007), covers old and new features of FMP thoroughly, with many examples and sample databases. For readers who prefer the PDF format, that version of the book is available on the oreilly.com website, advertised on the last page.
FMP can be a very sophisticated tool, useful for much more than routine business inventories. Data can be output in the form of PDF or Excel files. Luckily for the novice database user, FMP can be used with about 40 different templates without requiring advanced scripting skills. This Missing Manual book illustrates what a powerful tool FileMaker Pro can be in its latest incarnation, depending on the skills of the developers and the users.
External sources of data like SQL and ODBC are discussed, data sharing over networks and the internet, and setting up a FileMaker server are all advanced topics covered in chapters sixteen to eighteen. FileMaker Pro 9 can now be integrated with external data sources such as Microsoft SQL servers, so FMP can talk to the rest of the information world.
The beauty of this book is that it gives readers an overall view of issues involved in working with FileMaker Pro from the basics right through to advanced problems.
The appendices on Getting Help and FileMaker Error Codes are very useful, while the table of contents and the index are excellent for finding help as users work with FileMaker Pro 9.
This "Missing Manual" book well and truly lives up to the formidable reputation that this series of software books deserves, and authors Geoff Coffey and Susan Prosser are to be congratulated for tackling a complex topic so well. FileMaker Pro 9 users are thus given the confidence they need to work with this popular database software.
Book Review: So much more than a "Missing Manual."
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is now in it's third writing. The first one (for Filekaker 7) never got printed as the release of Filemaker 8 made so many improvements to the software that a revision was mandatory. Nevertheless that early writing served its purpose as the precursor for the previous edition of this book on FileMaker 8. That edition was a real eye opener for me as it taught me so much more about the program than I had ever appreciated after many years of use. Now we have, what is in effect a third writing, for the latest version of FileMaker Pro and the benefit of those previous versions is certainly evident.
These authors have an excellent style of writing for a technical product like FileMaker Pro -- the style is both readable and accurate with plenty of light hearted quips to provide a delightful human touch to what could otherwise become fairly dreary tome. The book is thus not only a very readable tutorial on the methodology for setting up a relational database, but it also has a multitude of advice on ways to ensure that your development will follow guidelines for best practice. Explanations of "The FileMaker Way" are thus easy to follow and also display the authors' comprehensive knowledge of the program. This undoubtedly stems from their own credible work as practising FMP developers in their own right.
Some professional database gurus seem to take pleasure in deriding FileMaker for its simplicity of use and seeming inability to scale for enterprise tasks. What they overlook is that FileMaker is evolving into a data hub with its ability to exchange data so readily with an increasing number of other file formats. I can see how some of these folk will not find this book so useful as a reference work. It has not been written to be used in that way. If you come from a computer science training in DBMS, then you are only going to use Filemaker effectively if you take sufficient time to understand how and why FileMaker is different. The Missing Manual can certainly help you to achieve that but its style may not be as appropriate for your needs as it is for the database user who now wants to develop databases for their own projects.
In summary then, this book is certainly a manual "that should have been in the box" but it makes no claims to being the only source of FileMaker knowledge that you will ever need. There are plenty of other resources to meet that need but I firmly believe you will be hard pressed to find any other text or resource that can match this "Missing Manual" for its comprehensive introduction to FileMaker Pro..
Book Review: This book won't end up as a doorstop or a climbing platform for your cat(s)
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using FileMaker Pro for over ten years now, pretty much creating simple databases and runtime solutions for myself and fellow workers.
Earlier this year, however, I was commissioned to create a safety-related database (runtime solution) for none other than FedEx and its nine feeder-carriers. Talk about instant panic-attack! When I found out that I'd be the authoring it I immediately perused Amazon.com and bookstores for books that would help me get up to speed very quickly so I could start coding away; I ordered an armful of them, some were "bible" and "idiot"-titled tomes and others were so "up there" technically that my eyes glazed over just reading their Table of Contents. More often than not they made me feel dense because there weren't enough explanations or examples in them for me to fully understand what was trying to be explained.
The book I ended up using the most--and really appreciating its real-world use and easy-to-understand explanations--was "FileMaker Pro 8, The Missing Manual" by Geoff Coffey and Susan Prosser. I can honestly say without any hyperbole that their book, and downloadable practice files, gave me a solid foundation to work from so I could build the database. After some finishing touches supplied by FileMaker developer Matt Lygo of kantala.com, I submitted the database to FedEx...and they LOVED it--so much so I earned their prestigious BZ Award for Excellence.
Since then, I've been working on another project that requires much greater power and flexibility than what FileMaker 8 or 8.5 had to offer, so after upgrading to FileMaker 9.0 _the_ first book I bought was Coffey and Prosser's Missing Manual book for FileMaker 9.0. Still a winner, I'm reading it as both a refresher and to learn the new powers that come with 9.0. It's both time and money well-spent.
So, if you're looking for a book to get you going in FileMaker, make this one your first choice; you'll be glad you did.
Book Review: FileMaker lifesaver!
Summary: 5 Stars
It's been years since I used Filemaker, and then only as a database user...not the creator of the application. So when I set out to create a new FM database solution for a small private school I needed help! The tutorial provided with Filemaker9 is VERY basic and the application's "Help" tool is very thin. (I finally stopped clicking on it when search after search yielded no real help at all.)
I picked up a copy of the Missing Manual hoping it would save my neck. I found that I already knew the material in the first half of the book, which was actually comforting. It was the second half where I found the help that I needed to make my FM solution do what I wanted it to do. The Missing Manual is well written by real humans...even with a bit of a sense of humor thrown in. And downloadable files on the Missingmanuals.com site make it easy to learn through hands-on exercises.
I'm now rockin' & rollin' on my new database application! FileMaker is a powerful tool and the Missing Manual has helped me to unlock its secrets! A few dollars very well spent!
Book Review: Best Filemaker Pro Book Around!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
On my journey to create a relational database I realized the need for a teacher, a resource, and some inspiration. This book is awesome and provided all I needed. My Filemaker knowledge is growing every hour as a result of this book. In addition, my database is becoming more user-friendly, secure, and downright logical.
Thank you, Filemaker Pro 9 Missing Manual, for being there for me in the summer of 2008.