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: Excellent introduction to the Filemaker Software!
Summary: 4 Stars
FileMaker Pro 9 is one of the most intuitive and user-friendly database programs available. But, as with all database programs, it is capable of so much that it is practically impossible for the typical user to deduce all of its functionality simply by searching the program's multiple menus.
Enter FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual - another edition of the Missing Manual series designed to enlighten non-technical persons on highly technical subjects.
The main selling point of the series is that it is very simple to read. O'Reilly's writers are also extremely knowledgeable in the subject area. Geoff Coffey, has been a FileMaker Pro trainer and consultant for over 10 years. Susan Prosser is also a FileMaker consultant, as well as a database program creator. Along with the Missing Manual creative team, these authors impart their wealth of knowledge in a way that anyone could understand. And since they aren't part of FileMaker, Inc., they aren't afraid to point out any of the software's problems.
When comparing FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual to the user's guide supplied in the software's box, several differences are notable. The biggest is size: the Missing Manual is wider, taller, and much thicker. So if you just need a quick introduction to the program, this book might not be what you need. Learning a program as extensive as FileMaker Pro takes time, and delving through the Missing Manual is going to take a lot of it. But if you want to get the most out of FileMaker Pro, then the user's guide just isn't enough. The Missing Manual also notably uses less complicated language, has more example images, and presents a intuitive flow of information than the user's guide.
One of the biggest benefits of FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual is the online support. Armed with just the software and user's guide, you have to learn from scratch. The Missing Manual, on the other hand, offers several pre-built databases that it guides you through. This not only gives you an example to work with while learning, but also shows you various ways that your final databases could be built and organized.
The indexing is also much more detailed in the Missing Manual. So if you ever forget how to work a specific function of the program, the answer is a quick look-up away, though there are several instances in which the index reference the wrong section of the book (but the right page number). This is probably due to a late chapter reorganization before publishing.
While the current Missing Manual is well supported with examples, it does not, as yet, support any new software updates being offered by FileMaker, Inc.. In other words, the book is written for the FileMaker Pro 9 program right out of the box. If the company puts out any updates that alter the software, then you need to do your own research to figure out the changes. Also, when FileMaker Pro 10 becomes available, there is no smaller Missing Manual explaining just those changes - you'll need to pick up a new edition. So if you're not new to the FileMaker Pro software, these manuals might be more than you need.
I found FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual to be perfect for someone just starting to work with database programs. It's step-by-step process will have you building your first personal or professional database in no time!
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: Mixed Bag
Summary: 3 Stars
Pros:
- The writing style is accessible and easy to understand
- You can download the database examples used in the book.
- It's the best FileMaker Pro 9 book I've seen.
Cons:
- Like a lot of computer books out there, this one is unnecessarily wordy. The publisher said, "I need a 750-page book," and the author complied.
-And you gotta read ALL of it (especially beginners), because important information is distributed like buried treasure.
- The wordiness and lack of consistent structure makes it easy to get lost. Let me give you an example:
This is my first stab at FileMaker Pro. The first chapter shows you how to find records. It starts out nicely with bolded text showing the steps to perform a find. Then it gets wordy. And then it shows a few figures of what you will see. Huge paragraphs of smaller, italicized text accompany the figures.
I skipped the figures and went on. Suddenly, I couldn't access most of my database entries. I went back to Browse mode, like the book told me to do, and still couldn't see them.
Finally, after much digging, I found the crucial step I had missed, buried in the smaller, italicized text of the gargantuan paragraph accompanying Figure 1-17. Inconsistencies like this make the book a tough slog.
I just brushed up on my Access 2003 (I haven't used it in 7 years) with one of those procedure-based illustrated books. It took me 3 hours to get through the 250-page book. It took me about an hour to get through chapter 1 (27 pages) of this book.
I recommend downloading the examples from their website (I doubt you got a CD-ROM with your book). See the Missing CD-ROM link on this book's web page.