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| FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual | 
 enlarge | Authors: Geoff Coffey, Susan Prosser
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
Category: Book
List Price: $34.99
Buy New: $23.09
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Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 7405
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 799
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.9
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7.1 x 1.7
ISBN: 0596514131
Dewey Decimal Number: 005.74
EAN: 9780596514136
ASIN: 0596514131
Publication Date: August 2, 2007
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Product Description
FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual is the clear, thorough and accessible guide to the latest version of this popular desktop database program. FileMaker Pro lets you do almost anything with the information you give it. You can print corporate reports, plan your retirement, or run a small country -- if you know what you're doing. This book helps non-technical folks like you get in, get your database built, and get the results you need. Pronto.
The new edition gives novices and experienced users the scoop on versions 8.5 and 9. It offers complete coverage of timesaving new features such as the Quick Start screen that lets you open or a create a database in a snap, the handy "save to" buttons for making Excel documents or PDFs, the multiple level Undo and Redo commands let you step backwards through your typing tasks, and much more. With FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual, you can: - Get your first database running in minutes and perform basic tasks right away.
- Catalog people, processes and things with streamlined data entry and sorting tools.
- Learn to use layout tools to organize the appearance of your database.
- Use your data to generate reports, correspondence and other documents with ease.
- Create, connect, and manage multiple tables and set up complex relationships that show you just the data you need.
- Crunch numbers, search text, or pin down dates and times with dozens of built-in formulas.
- Automate repetitive tasks with FileMaker Pro 9's easy-to-learn scripting language.
- Protect your database with passwords and set up privileges to determine what others can do once they gain entry.
- Outfit your database for the Web and import and export data to other formats.
Each chapter in the book contains "living examples" -- downloadable tutorials that help you learn how to build a database by actually doing it. You also get plenty of sound, objective advice that lets you know which features are really useful, and which ones you'll barely touch. To make the most of FileMaker Pro 9, you need the book that should have been in the box.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 Best Filemaker Pro Book Around!!! August 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
 Excellent reference August 27, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book does a good job of explaining the features of the product. It's clear and easy to use. Well recommended.
Excellent introduction to the Filemaker Software! June 3, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
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!
 Filemaker Pro 9 the missing manual March 3, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a thorough review of how to set up various database features of the Filemaker system. Like many such manuals I have had in the past, I found myself reading and re-reading instructions feeling there must be clearer, better ways to instruct someone on the various procedures of this fine database software. Nevertheless this reader got over some difficult spots in setting up his database and gives the book a positive review...
Mixed Bag February 17, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
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.
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