New FileMaker Pro 8
The Easy Way to Manage and Share Information Available Now
Company also ships FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced with enhancements for advanced
users and unveils the new FileMaker 8 product line
Phoenix, AZ (FileMaker Developer Conference) — August 29, 2005 —
FileMaker today announced the immediate availability of FileMaker Pro 8,
the newest version of the most-awarded desktop database, featuring new ways
to work faster, share and manage information of all types, and be more
productive (full details at http://www.filemaker.com/products8).
The new PDF Maker in FileMaker Pro 8, featuring the Adobe PDF Library
licensed via Datalogics allows users to convert attractive graphic-rich
reports of their data into PDFs, which can be quickly emailed for sharing
with non-FileMaker users. The new Excel Maker works the same effortless
way. FileMaker Pro 8 users can save data as a Microsoft Excel file, and
just as painlessly include it as an attachment ready to send via email.
FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced (previously FileMaker Developer), also available
today, boasts many powerful new features designed to allow advanced users
and developers to add greater customization to their databases than ever
before.
At the FileMaker Developer Conference, attended by more than 1,000 database
and web developers, the company also unveiled the rest of the FileMaker 8
product line: FileMaker Server 8; FileMaker Server 8 Advanced and
FileMaker Mobile 8, which are planned to ship this Fall.
Because FileMaker Pro is one of the most popular databases for small
businesses, FileMaker also announced the FileMaker Business Productivity
Kit as part of the FileMaker Pro 8 trial download (see related
announcement), featuring several ready-to-use solutions designed
specifically for small businesses; available now for download at
http://www.filemakertrial.com/bpkpr.
“With FileMaker Pro 8, it is now even easier to manage and share
information of all types even with non-FileMaker users,” said Dominique
Goupil, president of FileMaker, Inc. “FileMaker 8 has set a new standard
for the database market by delivering the ultimate combination of power,
ease of use, and sharing. By making it easier to create, learn and use
shared information solutions, FileMaker 8 will bring even more new users
into the database category. Customers can now work faster and share data
with more people and office applications than any other desktop database.”
New Time-saving Features For Easy Managing and Sharing FileMaker Pro 8, for
Windows and Mac OS X, is even easier to learn and use, and features many
new capabilities to make information-sharing more prevalent.
Other new features include:
Fast Match — Select information from the current field, and with one
mouse click, find all matching records — even refine your search or
broaden it — all without typing!
Fast Send — E-mail the contents of virtually any field, including
images, documents, Excel files, and more – right from within FileMaker.
Auto-Complete — Get faster and more accurate data entry by adding the
ability to fill-in field content automatically based on previous entries or
Value Lists.
Calendar field format — Enter dates quickly and more accurately by adding
a simple point and click Calendar drop-down to any field.
Email Merge — For fast, personalized emails to individuals or groups.
Tab Panel Control — Build a layout with multiple tabs in a single step
rather than having multiple layouts — each with their own tabs.
Visual Spell Checker — Check spelling of data entry with the new visual
spell checker that underlines misspelled words and allows you to edit and
correct on the fly.
Mouse Wheel support — Scroll through records or fields faster and easier
using a mouse-wheel-including Apple’s new Mighty Mouse.
Improved Table Import — Add a new table to a database by simply
importing the new data.
Improved Relationship Graph — Easier ways to create and manage tables and
associated relationships
FileMaker Pro 8 comes with 30 ready-to-use Starter Solutions, including a
new Email Campaign Management solution that can quickly import data from
other formats, such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access or other software
formats.
Customers Praise FileMaker Pro 8
Early evaluator customers and developers praised the new capabilities of
FileMaker Pro 8:
“Moving to FileMaker Pro 8 was painless. Running on our FileMaker 7 Server,
we were able to run FileMaker Pro 7 and 8 clients side by side with no
adverse effects,” Andrew Struthers, IT Manager, True North Printed Plastics
Inc., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
“Our database clients will also be thrilled with the ability to save to
Excel and print to PDF — these two features fill a huge gap in providing
extended reporting capabilities without relying on third-party solutions.
And FileMaker Pro 8’s excellent rendition of the desktop solution to
Instant Web Publishing (IWP) makes the end user experience second to none,”
Terry Billingsley, President, AT Experts, Embrun (Ottawa), Ontario, Canada.
“Before, we’d print a proof sheet and save it as a PDF file and then we’d
email the PDF proof sheet and a PDF of the print job to the customer. With
FileMaker Pro 8, we wrote a script to create the PDF proof sheet and then
send an email to the customer, picking up the address information and
subject line from the job record. PDF Maker also picks up for the message
area the job information from the job record — all we have to do is attach
the PDF proof, and it’s on the way!” says J. E. Sequera, President,
Business Printers of San Diego, San Diego, CA
“Tooltips, the tabbed interface, Fast Match and Sort speed improvement, and
my favorite, Development Tools, have all improved my results and quickened
my development times. For my users, Tooltips save hours of training time,
and the tabbed dialogs take my layouts to a new level of professionalism,”
Brian Hightower, Lead Developer, Home Solution, Las Vegas, NV.
“We couldn’t even consider trying to develop our own database using Access,
SQL, or anything else. While our IT director is conversant in several of
those environments, we felt it was more important to choose a system that
could be designed, developed, and modified by our design staff. FileMaker
Pro 8 makes that easier than ever,” Matthew Edmonds, Job Captain, AR7
HooverDesmondArchitects, Denver, CO.
New FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced
To meet the needs of the growing number of professional developers and
advanced database creators, FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced includes all the
features of FileMaker Pro 8, plus breakthrough development and
customization tools. With the ability to customize menus and add custom
Tooltips, as well as robust troubleshooting and database analysis tools,
developers and advanced FileMaker users alike can efficiently build more
powerful, more customized databases. It is available now.
New features include:
Custom Menus — One of the most highly requested advanced user features,
Custom Menus provides maximum customization of FileMaker Pro solutions,
including the ability to execute scripts from menus; add, edit or delete
menus and menu items; and create custom scripts for toolbars, context
menus, window options and more. Custom Tooltips (static and calculated) —
For providing guided data entry guidance, pertinent information related to
a particular record, and enhanced training tips for new users. Data Viewer
— For monitoring fields, variables, and expressions when debugging scripts
or general troubleshooting and testing calculation formulas without
modifying the database schema.
“We renamed FileMaker Developer to FileMaker Pro Advanced because we found
that growing numbers of our users were building advanced solutions but did
not consider themselves traditional developers,” said Ryan Rosenberg, vice
president, Marketing and Services for FileMaker. “With FileMaker Pro 8
Advanced we deliver the tools needed to customize and manage powerful
databases, while retaining the ease of use that has made FileMaker a market
leader.”
FileMaker Server 8 and FileMaker Server 8 Advanced FileMaker Server 8
offers high-performance, reliable file sharing for teams of FileMaker
users. FileMaker Server 8 Advanced provides all that FileMaker Server 8
offers plus powerful web publishing and external connectivity options. In
FileMaker Server 8 Advanced, the extremely popular Instant Web Publishing
(IWP) has been updated to offer even more functionality and security. Both
Server products are scheduled to ship this Fall, the company said. Users
can find, add, edit, and delete information faster using the newly
optimized FileMaker Server 8 database engine. All of the features offered
within FileMaker Pro 8 are supported by FileMaker Server 8.
FileMaker Mobile 8
FileMaker Mobile 8, also scheduled to ship this Fall, is a companion
version of FileMaker Pro 8 designed specifically for Palm OS and Pocket PC
handhelds (supports Palm OS 5 and Windows Mobile 2003) that lets users take
their information on the road. FileMaker Mobile 8 supports FileMaker
Pro-based runtime applications and can synchronize multiple devices to the
desktop database.
Pricing and Availability
FileMaker Pro 8 is available now at (www.store.filemaker.com/) $299/$179
upgrade (for both FileMaker Pro 7 and 6 licensed users) (U.S. Suggested
List Price). FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced is $499. Licensed users of FileMaker
Developer 6 and 7 may upgrade to FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced for $299 (U.S.
Suggested List Price) and licensed users of FileMaker Pro 6, 7, 8 may
upgrade to FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced through June 30, 2006 for $299. All
five FileMaker Applications, including FileMaker Tasks, FileMaker Meetings,
FileMaker Recruiter FileMaker Donations and FileMaker Work Requests, are
compatible with the FileMaker 8 product line. For system requirements go
to http://www.filemaker.com/products/fmp/. Full purchase options, which
include the Apple Store online, are at
http://www.filemaker.com/purchase/store/purchase_options .
About FileMaker, Inc.
FileMaker Pro is used by millions of individuals and workgroups around the
world to be more productive and efficient. Business, education and
government customers rely on FileMaker to manage people, projects, images,
assets and other information. In addition to being the number one-selling
easy-to-use database software, the award-winning FileMaker product line
also includes low-cost Applications that automate basic business tasks,
ready-to-use Starter Solutions, and tools to create and share solutions
from the desktop to the web. FileMaker, Inc. is a subsidiary of Apple
Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).
