© 1992 by Lawrence L Charters
AppleTree, June 1, 1992, pp. 1, 3.
The Macintosh is not known as a database machine, which is a pity. Two of the world’s best database programs run only on the Macintosh, 4th Dimension by Acius (Apple once had the option of publishing the program) and FileMaker Pro by Apple subsidiary Claris. 4th Dimension has the virtue of being one of the most powerful, flexible database programs ever written. FileMaker Pro has the virtue of being perhaps the easiest to use database program in the world, and still amazingly powerful and flexible. It also is by far the most popular Macintosh database package, accounting for at least 50% of the market since its introduction long ago, in a far less sophisticated form, as simply “FileMaker.”
But easy to use doesn’t necessarily mean that people know how to get the most out of it, and here is where The Macintosh Guide to FileMaker Pro (hereafter called Guide) comes in handy. Charles Rubin, author of the famed The Macintosh Bible, has a knack for making almost any task seem easier and less daunting. Though FileMaker’s manuals are quite good, often they fail to tell you why you would like to use a certain feature, even as they show you how.
Few users, for example, devote much attention to FileMaker Pro’s excellent
layout tools, but the longest chapter in the Guide is devoted to this subject. Not only does he demonstrate how to arrange things so that everything has a proper and logical place, but he also spends time on alternate layouts, designed to filter select data into a more meaningful form.
Finding, sorting and selecting are also covered in depth. While all such functions are the “meat and potatoes” of any database, few users really know how to slice and dice their data, but Rubin covers these subjects in depth. Next to layouts, the essentials of slicing and dicing are probably the
best covered topics.
Another common failing is a lack of appreciation for FileMaker Pro’s superb
import and export functions. Through use of Claris’ X1ND technology ( one of the few subjects not covered in the Guide’s otherwise superb index), it is fairly easy to have FileMaker Pro suck up an Excel spreadsheet,
a text file created in a word processor, or even information from another database, including data in MS-DOS-style dBASE files. But most people don’t understand how the import function works, and also don’t understand the possible pitfalls, such as mismatched fields. Rubin covers both areas quite well.
Scripts, another powerful feature that few FileMaker Pro users put to use, are covered, but here the presentation may be a bit too conventional. While covering all the basics, Rubin doesn’t show much imagination — and it is a lack of imagination that plagues most FileMaker Pro databases. When used with summary fields and summary layouts — another topic Rubin should develop in more detail — scripts are one of the true joys of FileMaker Pro.
Lookup fields and files, another FileMaker Pro goodie, are also treated adequately, but unimaginatively. Many people think they need a relational database ( one that maintains links between different sets of data in different files) when FileMaker Pro’s Lookup capability would be more than adequate. But these abilities are mentioned only in passing throughout the book, and never given the creative attention they deserve.
These criticisms are not to suggest the book is unworthy – far from it. Given
the lack of materials on File Maker Pro ( there don’t appear to be any other books on the subject), the Guide would be recommended in any case. But the fact remains that FileMaker Pro is not difficult to use. Rubin, in many cases, would have served the reader better not by explaining a function, but by giving some creative examples of its use. Maybe we can persuade him to write a companion volume?
Until then, for those in need of a fast, quick overview of FileMaker, together with clear explanations of the most important functions, this book is a winner. All Macintosh Bible books are now available through Peachpit Press, which has an excellent user group discount program. For information on the group discount, contact Columbia Slice Mac Vice President Tun Helsing at 730-7272.
Charles Rubin, The Macintosh Bible Guide to FileMaker Pro. Goldstein & Blair, 1991. 280pp., $18.00. ISBN 0-94023522-6.
Goldstein & Blair
Box 7635
Berkeley, CA 94707
(510) 524-4000.