FileMaker

FileMaker Pro
Logo of FileMaker Pro 17 Advanced
Developer(s) FileMaker Inc.
(subsidiary of Apple Inc.)
Initial release April 1985 (1985-04)
Stable release
17 / May 15, 2018 (2018-05-15)
Operating system OS X 10.11, macOS 10.12, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, iOS
Type Database management system
License Proprietary
Website www.filemaker.com

FileMaker Pro is a cross-platform relational database application from FileMaker Inc., a subsidiary of Apple Inc. It integrates a database engine with a graphical user interface (GUI) and security features, allowing users to modify the database by dragging new elements into layouts, screens, or forms. Current versions are: FileMaker Pro Advanced 17, FileMaker Server 17, FileMaker Cloud 1.17, and FileMaker Go 17 for iPhone and iPad.

FileMaker Pro evolved from a DOS application, but was then developed primarily for the Apple Macintosh and released in April 1985. Since 1992 it has been available for Microsoft Windows and for the classic Mac OS and macOS, and can be used in a cross-platform environment. FileMaker server briefly ran on Linux, but Linux support was abandoned with FileMaker 7, thereafter only running on Windows or macOS servers. A client version was released for iOS devices in July 2010. It is available in desktop, server, iOS and web-delivery configurations. In 2016, FileMaker Cloud was introduced, including a Linux server (CentOS), which was offered exclusively through the Amazon Marketplace.

History

FileMaker Pro began as an MS-DOS–based computer program named Nutshell - developed by Nashoba Systems of Concord, Massachusetts, in the early 1980s. Nutshell was distributed by Leading Edge, an electronics marketer that had recently started selling IBM PC-compatible computers.[1][2]

With the introduction of the Macintosh, Nashoba combined the basic data engine with a new forms-based graphical user interface (GUI). Leading Edge was not interested in newer versions, preferring to remain a DOS-only vendor, and kept the Nutshell name. Nashoba found another distributor, Forethought Inc. (same company that developed PowerPoint and was bought out by Microsoft), and introduced the program on the Macintosh platform as FileMaker. When Apple introduced the Macintosh Plus in 1986 the next version of FileMaker was named FileMaker Plus to reflect the new model's name.

Forethought was purchased by Microsoft, which was then introducing their PowerPoint product that became part of Microsoft Office. Microsoft had introduced its own database application, Microsoft File, shortly before FileMaker, but was outsold by FileMaker and therefore Microsoft File was discontinued. Microsoft negotiated with Nashoba for the right to publish FileMaker, but Nashoba decided to self-publish the next version, FileMaker 4.[1]

Purchase by Claris

Shortly thereafter, Apple Computer formed Claris, a wholly owned subsidiary, to market software. Claris purchased Nashoba to round out its software suite. By then, Leading Edge and Nutshell had faded from the marketplace because of competition from other DOS- and later Windows-platform database products. FileMaker, however, continued to succeed on the Macintosh platform.

Claris changed the product's name to FileMaker II to conform to its naming scheme for other products, such as MacWrite II, but the product changed little from the last Nashoba version. Several minor versions followed, before its replacement by the release of FileMaker Pro 1.0 in 1990.

In September 1992, Claris released a multi-platform version for both the Mac and Windows; except for a few platform-specific functions, the program's features and user interface were the same. Up to this point FileMaker had no real relational feature; it was limited to automatically looking up and importing values from other files. It only had the ability to save a state—a filter and a sort, and a layout for the data. Version 3.0, released around 1995, introduced new relational and scripting features.

By 1995 FileMaker Pro was the only strong-selling product in Claris's lineup. In 1998, Apple moved development of some of the other Claris products in-house, dropped most of the rest, and changed Claris's name to FileMaker, Inc., to concentrate on that product.

Later updates

Version 4.0, introduced in 1997, added a plug-in architecture much like that of Adobe Photoshop, which enabled third-party developers to add features to FileMaker. A bundled plug-in, the Web Companion, allowed the database to act as a web server. Other "plugs" added features to the interface and enabled FileMaker to serve as an FTP client, perform external file operations, and send messages to remote FileMaker files over the Internet or an intranet.

Version 7, released in 2004, introduced a new file format (file extension .fp7) supporting file sizes up to 8 terabytes (an increase from the 2 gigabytes in previous versions). Individual fields could hold up to 4 gigabytes of binary data (container fields) or 2 gigabytes of 2-byte Unicode text per record (up from 64 kilobytes in previous versions). FileMaker's relational model was enriched, offering multiple tables per file and a graphical relationship editor that displayed and allowed manipulation of related tables in a manner that resembled the entity-relationship diagram format. Accompanying these foundational changes, FileMaker Inc. also introduced a developer certification program.

In 2005 FileMaker Inc. announced the FileMaker 8 product family, which offered the developer an expanded feature set. These included a tabbed interface, script variables, tooltips, enhanced debugging, custom menus, and the ability to copy and paste entire tables and field definitions, scripts, and script steps within and between files. Version 8.5, released in 2006, added an integrated web viewer (the ability to view such things as shipment tracking information from FedEx and Wikipedia entries) and named layout objects.

FileMaker 9, released on July 10, 2007, introduced a quick-start screen, conditional formatting, fluid layout auto-resizing, hyperlinked pointers into databases, and external SQL links. FileMaker 10 was released on January 5, 2009, before that year's Macworld Conference & Expo, and offered scripts to be triggered by user actions and a redesigned user interface similar to that of Mac OS X Leopard (10.5) applications.

FileMaker 11, released on March 9, 2010, introduced charting, which was further streamlined in FileMaker 12, released April 4, 2012. That version also added themes, more database templates (so-called starter solutions) and simplified creation of iOS databases. FileMaker Go 11 (July 20, 2010) and FileMaker Go 12 for iPhone and iPad (April 4, 2012) allow only the creation, modification, and deletion of records on these handheld devices. Design and schema changes must be made within the full FileMaker Pro application. FileMaker Go 12 offers multitasking, improved media integration, export of data to multiple formats and enhanced container fields.

FileMaker 13, released after the launches of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks (10.9), first shipped in December 2013. The client and server products were enhanced to support many mobile and web methods of data access. FileMaker Go 13, the parallel iPad-iPhone product, has now become a single client for both these handhelds, and the Server Admin tool now runs in HTML5, no longer requiring a Java app.

FileMaker 14 platform released on May 15, 2015.[3] This included FileMaker Pro 14, FileMaker Pro 14 Advanced, FileMaker Server 14 and FileMaker Go 14. This was followed by version 15 in May 2016 and version 16 in May 2017; both including equivalent Pro, Pro Advanced, Server and Go versions.

In late 2016, FileMaker began annually publicizing a software roadmap of future features they are working on as well as identifying features they are moving away from or may deprecate in the near future.

FileMaker Inc. had always had a hard time of describing what FileMaker software is because it is more than just a database, it includes the user interface, security, rapid application development tools, etc. FileMaker Inc. initiated a new marketing program at their annual developers conference in August 2018 to address its poor description categories: "Workplace Innovation Platform".

Version history

Date Version Comment[4]
Apr 1985FileMaker v1.0Published by Forethought Inc. Required Mac System 3.2 to 4.2 and Finder 5.3 to 6.0
1986FileMaker PlusPublished by Forethought Inc.
Jun 1988FileMaker 4Published by Nashoba Systems
Aug 1988FileMaker IIFirst version to be published by Claris Corporation after Claris bought it from Nashoba in July 1988. Claris was a subsidiary of Apple for software sales. Update 1.1v2 came in July 1989. Required System 4.2 and Finder 6.
Oct 1990FileMaker Pro 1.0Patch 1.0v2 in March 1991, and 1.0v3 in April 1992. Required System 6.
Oct 1992FileMaker Pro 2First Microsoft Windows version with cross platform sharing. ScriptMaker, field formatting, summary data export, Apple Events and QuickTime (Mac only), first runtime support. Sharing now supported through AppleTalk or TCP/IP.
Aug 1993FileMaker Pro 2.1NETBIOS and MacIPX support support and Quicktime for Windows added.
Jul 1994FileMaker Pro Server 2Sharing on FileMaker was really slow for even a handful of users. This significantly improved multi-user solutions. This included the first server administration tools.
Dec 1995FileMaker Pro 3Relational architecture, improved networking, portals, OLE support. New file format (*.fp3, previously *.fm) that could convert fm to fp3, but not the other way. Worked on System 7 through 9.2.2 and worked in Classic Mode in OS X.
Jan 1996FileMaker Pro Server 3Required System 7.1 or higher.
Sep 1997FileMaker Pro 4Plug-in architecture introduced, Web Companion, ability to import Excel files, sorted relationships, support for GIF/JPEG images, object rotation, exact field match.
May 1998FileMaker Pro 4 Developer EditionLast version to be published by Claris. Aimed at expert/professional FileMaker user.
Jun 1999FileMaker Pro 4.1v2First version to be published by FileMaker, Inc.[5] Added ODBC import via plugins (SQL), Euro symbol formatting support, and kiosk mode.
Sep 1999FileMaker Pro 5New *.fm5 file format, native ODBC driver, enhanced Web Publishing, conditional value lists, layout/report assistant, table view, data merge on import, script import, QuickTime VR. System 7.6 through 9.2.2 on PPC or in Classic Mode in OS X. First version to require a CD-ROM.
Nov 1999FileMaker Server 5Automatic Centralized backups.
Apr 2001FileMaker Pro 5.5Native support for Mac OS X, improved ODBC, record-level security, multi-threaded Web Companion.
Jul 2001FileMaker Pro Server 5.5Included support for OS X, Red Hat Linux, Windows Server 2000, Windows NT, and Mac OS 8.6+. Authentication against a Windows domain and support for LDAP added. Support for up to 250 users and 125 open files.
Sep 2002FileMaker Pro 6*Last version to support Mac OS 8 and 9, works on Mac OS X 10.1. XML support, multimedia and digital image import, Format Painter, import folder of files, custom dialog boxes, and constrain and extended found sets.
Mar 2004FileMaker Pro 7Very Major update making FileMaker enterprise ready. Multiple tables/file architecture introduced with support for a million tables in one file; multiple windows; relationships graph; calc variables; Improved security with individual accounts and passwords; Mac version requires Mac OS X. New file format *.fp7, which could not read or convert version 2 or earlier. Increased max database size to 8 terabytes. Entity Relationship Diagram. Variables introduced (previously had to use global fields). Supports binary import of any file into a container field, not just pictures and multimedia. Improvements to Web Publishing including better rendering, script steps, new status area. Can sort on summary field. Accounts and privilege-based security on scripts and buttons. For Macs, required G3, G4 or G5 on Mac OS X 10.2.8.
Aug 2005FileMaker Pro 8*Scriptable creation of PDF reports;[6]; tabs on layouts; Excel Maker; script variables, auto-complete for data entry; calendar dropdowns.
Sep 2005FileMaker Pro Server 8Database Engine performance improved significantly over version 7. Server Advanced 8.0 came out in January 2006. For Macs, required OS X 10.3.9 on G3, G4 or G5 cpu.
Dec 2005FileMaker Pro Advanced 8Menu controls. Added copy/paste support for scripts, fields and relationships. These features are not available in the FileMaker Pro version.
Jan 2006FileMaker Mobile 8FileMaker Mobile line discontinued
Jul 2006FileMaker Pro 8.5*Mac OS X Universal Binary support, embedded browser (Web Viewer), object names. FileMaker Learning Center added. For Macs, required 10.4.5 on G3 G4 or G5. The Advanced version came out in December 2007.
Jul 2007FileMaker Pro/Server 9*Native support for the SQL databases MS SQL Server, MySQL and Oracle through Extended SQL Services (ESS). Conditional formatting. Append PDF. Added secure connections to external SQL data sources. PHP Site Assistant. Perform Script on Server (server side scripting). New Admin console for Server. Both Pro and Server versions had optional "Advanced" versions. Macs required OS X 10.4.8 and G3, G4 or G5.
Jan 2009FileMaker Pro/Server 10*Status area now horizontal. Script triggering. Instant Web Publishing. Macs required OS X 10.4.11 on G4 G5 or Intel CPU.
Mar 2010FileMaker Pro/Server 11*Charts, snapshot link, filtered portals, and recurring imports. Macs required 10.5.7 on G4, G5 or Intel.
Jul 2010FileMaker Go 1.0FileMaker for iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch)
Sep 2010FileMaker Go 1.1PDF creation, photo support, import from FileMaker Pro
Apr 2011FileMaker Go 1.2Printing, signature capture, charts, enhanced PDF creation
Sep 2011FileMaker Pro/Advanced 11.0v4*Lion compatibility, fully implemented by October 2011
Apr 2012FileMaker Pro/Advanced 12Integrated themes (Pro/iOS); floating and modal windows; ExecuteSQL calculation and Execute SQL script step; enhanced container field; improved charting
Apr 2012FileMaker Server 1264-bit, faster WAN, progressive backups, rewritten web publishing engine
Apr 2012FileMaker Go 12iOS client is now free. Supports the .fmp12 file format.
Dec 2013FileMaker Pro/Advanced 13WebDirect and HTML5 features; better mobile app development;
enhanced GUI design tools, themes and behaviors; more dynamic data refreshing, "Hide object when..." layout object option based on calculation, encryption at rest (EAR 256bit AES) data protection, new summary list feature, enhanced ExecuteSQL expressions, perform script on server script step, 256bit SSL client server connection
Dec 2013FileMaker Go 13Free universal client for iPhones and iPads supports iOS 6 and iOS 7. Supports barcode scanning from camera.
Dec 2013FileMaker Server 13FileMaker WebDirect, Perform Script on Server, Platform Security; new HTML5 Admin Console replaced need for Java
May 2015FileMaker Pro/Advanced 14Script workspace, Button bar, Tooltips in layout mode, Launch Center
May 2015FileMaker Server 14Standby server, FileMaker Pro auto-reconnect, WebDirect support for Android
May 2015FileMaker Go 14Improved signature capture, iOS 8-style interface, Video/audio controls, Keyboard control, Rich editing
May 2016FileMaker Pro/Advanced 15In-Product Updates, Portal In-line Progress Bar, Concealed Edit Box, Script Workspace highlighting and unlimited undo
May 2016FileMaker Server 15External SQL Support extended to DB2 and PostgreSQL, SSL Certificate installation made easier, eliminated shared hosting, Licensing for Teams
May 2016FileMaker Go 15iOS SDK, Touch ID and 3D Touch, App Extensions and iBeacons
Sept 2016FileMaker Cloud 1.0FileMaker Server via Amazon Web Services (AWS) running on CentOS Linux
May 2017 FileMaker Pro/Advanced 16 Layout Objects window (control layers in layouts), Cards feature (better control of prompts), cURL support added for "Insert from URL" function (HTTP/S methods such as POST/GET), JSON text manipulation functions, data viewer auto calc
May 2017 FileMaker Server 16 REST-based FileMaker Data API, WebDirect browser support scalability up to 500 concurrent users, PDF generation on server and WebDirect, OAuth 2.0 support (Amazon, Google, Microsoft) at the Security layer
May 2017 FileMaker Go 16 Enhanced signature capture, geofence, plugin compatibility, animations and transitions
May 2018 FileMaker Server 17 redesigned server admin console with dashboard, new Admin API, new Data API completely re-written from v16.
May 2018 FileMaker Go 17 FileMaker Go push notifications, auto-complete, drag and drop, improved iOS app SDK
May 2018 FileMaker Pro Advanced 17 FileMaker Pro Advanced only client application (no longer selling light client FileMaker Pro without Advanced tools), Pre-made add-on tables to templates, Layout modification tool improvements, sensor support (barometer, GPS etc), Self-Lookup table for Master-detail layouts, multiple email attachments, new data migration tool (separate application).

* (*) indicates both FileMaker Pro / FileMaker Pro Advanced (Developer Edition in v4-6) or FileMaker Server / FileMaker Server Advanced

FileMaker files are compatible between Mac and Windows. File type extensions are:

  • .fm since FileMaker Pro 2.0
  • .fp3 since FileMaker Pro 3.0
  • .fp5 since FileMaker Pro 5.0 (including 5, 5.5, 6.0)
  • .fp7 since FileMaker Pro 7.0 (including 7, 8, 8.5, 9, 10, 11 and FileMaker Go 1.0)
  • .fmp12 since FileMaker Pro 12 (including 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)

Self-running applications (runtime, kiosk mode) are platform-specific only.

Internationalization and localization

FileMaker is available in worldwide English, Simplified Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish, and Swedish.

There are also specific versions of FileMaker for users of Central European, Indian and Middle Eastern languages. The custom versions offer spell checking, data entry, sorting and printing options for languages of the respective region. They also contain localized templates and localized instant web publishing.

The Central European version FileMaker includes English, Russian, Polish, Czech and Turkish interfaces. There are customized templates for Russian, Polish, Czech, Turkish. In addition Russian, Greek, Estonian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Serbian, Bulgarian and Hungarian are supported to varying degrees.

The version intended for Southeast Asian languages has only an English user interface, but supports Indic-language data entry, sorting and indexing in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Panjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

Similarly, the Middle Eastern version has only English and French user interfaces, but with its option to change the text direction to right-to-left, it does support Arabic and Hebrew data entry.

Scripting

FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Pro Advanced include scripting capabilities and a variety of built-in functions for automation of common tasks and complex calculations. Numerous steps are available for navigation, conditional execution of script steps, editing records, and other utilities. FileMaker Pro Advanced provides a script debugger which allows the developer to set break points, monitor data values and step through script lines.

FileMaker 13 introduced a useful script that more deeply queries container field document metadata.

Dynamic Markup Language

The FileMaker Dynamic Markup Language or FDML was a markup language used in the earlier versions of FileMaker introduced in 1998. FDML is also often referred to as Claris Dynamic Markup Language or CDML, named after the old company Claris. FDML was an extension of HTML that used special tags, such as [FMP-Record][/FMP-Record] to display FileMaker data on Web pages. FileMaker officially dropped support for FDML in 2004.

SQL and ODBC support

FileMaker, since version 9, includes the ability to connect to a number of SQL databases without resorting to using SQL, including MySQL, SQL Server, and Oracle. This requires installation of the SQL database ODBC driver (in many cases a third-party license per client driver) to connect to a SQL database. SQL databases can be used as data sources in FileMaker's relationship graph, thus allowing the developer to create new layouts based on the SQL database; create, edit, and delete SQL records via FileMaker layouts and functions; and reference SQL fields in FileMaker calculations and script steps. It is a cross-platform relational database application.

Versions from FileMaker Pro 5.5 onwards also have an ODBC interface.

FileMaker 12 introduced a new function, ExecuteSQL, which allows the user to perform an SQL query against the FileMaker database to retrieve data, but not for modification or deletion, or schema changes.[7]

One major flaw with ODBC support is the lack of 1:1 field type mapping from FileMaker to external industry standard databases. Further issues are caused by the fact that FileMaker is not "strict" in its data types. A FileMaker field can be marked as "numeric" and will return this mapping to an ODBC driver; however, FileMaker allows non-numeric characters to be stored in this "numeric" field type unless the field is specifically marked as strictly "numeric".

FileMaker 15, through actualtechnologies LLC ODBC driver[8], allowed for regular ODBC and Extended SQL Services (ESS) connectivity with PostgresSQL 9 database and IBM DB2 database (Series i (AS/400), Linux, Unix and Windows).

Integration

FileMaker Server 16 empowered integrations via cURL, JSON, REST-based FileMaker Data API support. Tableau Web Data Connector is offered to visualise FileMaker data. The FM 16 REST-based API license was a free Trial that expired September 27, 2018. When FileMaker Server 17 was released in 2018, it included a re-written RESTful Data API with better security. However, it was not backwards compatible. FMS 17 also came with a new Admin Console RESTful API.

See also

  • Bento, a simplified personal database application from FileMaker Inc. (discontinued mid-2013)

References

  1. 1 2 Glenn Koenig (August 7, 2015). "The Origin of FileMaker". Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Nashoba Systems and the Early Days of FileMaker Pro". Briandunning.com. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  3. ↑ "FileMaker Release History".
  4. ↑ Mike Weber (September 15, 2008). "FileMaker History". Low End Mac. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Custhelp.com". Filemaker.custhelp.com. November 19, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  6. ↑ Cohen, Dennis R. (2006). FileMaker Pro 8.5 Bible. John Wiley & Sons. p. 354. ISBN 9780470109618.
  7. ↑ "ExecuteSQL". Filemaker.com. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  8. ↑ {{cite web| url=http://www.actualtech.com/product_essadapter.php |title=ODBC Driver for Postgres and DB2 |publisher=actualtech.com
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.