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| Special Edition Using FileMaker 8 (Special Edition Using) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Scott Love, Steve Lane
Publisher: Que
Category: Book
List Price: $44.99
Buy New: $31.60
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New (26) Used (9) from $23.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 343282
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1 Pap/Cdr
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 912
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 7 x 2.2
ISBN: 0789735121
Dewey Decimal Number: 005
EAN: 9780789735126
ASIN: 0789735121
Publication Date: May 22, 2006
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 7 | | NEXT » |
 The Best Filemaker Book I've Used... September 6, 2007
I bought a couple other Filemaker 8 books before I bought this one (I think the Filemaker 8 Bible was the biggest) and this book is head and shoulder above the rest. I can't put my finger on what makes it better because they all cover the same things, but I could really UNDERSTAND more from the Using Filemaker 8 book than all the rest. Plus the copy I bought came with the entire book on PDF which is nice for searching on specify terms or functions. I strongly suggest you get the Filemaker 8 Functions and Scripts Desk Reference that goes along with this book because it goes into good detail on the syntax and purposes of Functions. I only wish the book covered more methods to accomplish more complicated tasks but I suppose every database has it's unique challenges and they can't cover every conceivable thing. Great book, I highly recommend it.
I also have to say that I really love Filemaker 8. If you've never used it, it's very powerful and amazingly easy once you understand a few concepts. I learned Filemaker from scratch with no previous database or scripting experience mostly with the help of this book. Also, you can have Filemaker perform Applescript scripts (provided your a Mac user) which is very cool, but Applescript is another topic all-together.
Excellent book, for hard-core developers too. March 25, 2007
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Whatever part of the brain deals with the logic of handling information is quite a bit larger in Scott Love than most people. I consider myself a middling to advanced developer of Filemaker applications and Scott's book just blew me away! He introduced concepts to me that I had not even considered and did so with clear and detailed explanation and examples.
There is just too much to praise about this book in a review. It's not a lot of money so if you are stuck on Filemaker, feel it's the solution for you but can't seem to move ahead, BUY THIS BOOK! You will be happy. And, no I am not Scott Love's publisher.
 Delivers far less than it promises February 22, 2007
7 out of 14 found this review helpful
The tag line reads "The only FileMaker 8 book you need." In the acknowledgement - even before the main text of the book - you learn you have been lied to in a major way.
The authors take pride in having responded to their editor's request to cut the book's length by 10%, they were permitted to add 50%. Of course, that meant taking content out of this book and putting it into a second title. So they effectively "cheated" the reader out of the box.
This book is allegedly an update of the authors earlier "Special Edition Using FileMaker 7" for the UPCOMING release of FileMaker 8. In other words, the book was revised based on a beta version, always a danger sign. Worse, the reader's confidence is shaken by the incredibly shoddy proofreading and editing. There are many references to FileMaker 7 where, hopefully, FileMaker 8 is intended. No excuse for this kind of sloppiness.
The book is a group effort. As is common in such efforts, the quality of writing is uneven. There is an attempt to cover anything - and the attempt fails in terms of detail. And, bear in mind that the authors have essentially omitted an entire area of coverage and created a second (costly) book that you have to buy in order to get full coverage of the subject. (The second book, "FileMaker 8 Functions and Scripts Desk Referencee" is pretty good, but still the idea that the cover blurb is a lie doesn't sit well with me.)
Overall, my feeling is that the average FileMaker user will be much better served by "FileMaker Pro 8: The Missing Manual". "Special Edition" should be a second choice.
Jerry
An Extensive FileMaker 8 Book November 27, 2006
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
"Special Edition Using FileMaker 8," is 890-page book packed with extensive information on FileMaker Pro 8. The book was well written and is well laid out. The publisher makes good uses of icons, colored text, and text boxes to draw your attention to important items throughout the book.
The authors of the book gave the reader a quick introduction to FileMaker and quickly moved on to more advanced features. I highly recommend that beginning users look at a different book if they are not experienced in using FileMaker. The focus of the book is for people who are going to be developing FileMaker Pro databases. A more beginning user might look at the book "FileMaker Pro 8: The Missing Manual" by Geoff Coffey & Susan Prosser.
The book is written for both Mac and Windows users of FileMaker. The authors give short cuts for both operating systems. They also discuss some of the differences between the two platforms and how to make FileMaker cross platform compatible.
Throughout the book the authors point out the difference between FileMaker 7 qne FileMaker 8.0. It is easy to spot the differences because the information usually has icons next to it, in text boxes or in color. The book does not cover the new feature of FileMaker 8.5 which came out the summer of 2006. Some of the additional features of version 8.5 are additional web viewer and Universal Binary for Intel Macs.
On the DVD that is included with the book there is a PDF file of the book. PDF is great if you have a laptop and want to take the book on a trip or if you want to search the book by keywords. The PDF is protected so you cannot cut and past or print the document. The DVD also has projects examples the authors discuss in the book. I was able to view the projects with any problems.
I found the disk instructions for the DVD that came with the book did not work on the Mac. The instructions stated there would be a program that would install something but it did not work. I was able to copy the files to my hard-drive and use them. I did not test the DVD on a Microsoft Windows machine.
In order to do development work you will need a second book for the scripts. According to the authors they decided to split the book into two books for FileMaker 8. One book on FileMaker and the other book is on FileMaker scripts. The title of the script book is "FileMaker 8 Functions and Scripts Desk Reference" by Steve Lane, Scott Love and Bob Bowers published by Que. I did not review this book but I am planning on purchasing it.
If you are going to be performing FileMaker Pro development work this book is for you. If you are trying to learn the basics of FileMaker or will be an end user of a database, I would recommend that you look at another book.
For Once - A Book That Delivers More Than What It Promises! July 5, 2006
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
This book talks about everything imaginable in detail and with deep intent to enlighten the reader on every topic. They achieve it! In short - BUY IT!
I've been developing FileMaker Pro systems since version 3 and have made use of many books. Unfortunately, and as is the case with most technical books these days, all those books fell way short of my technical needs and wishes - at all levels. One book, for example, while being the only useful resource for CDML (custom web enabling of FileMaker databases), was actually frustrating to read and utilize (examples and text content). The 'Bible' series provided some depth to understanding FileMaker but I always felt that they weren't covering something that needed to be said - like the sort of motivation for turning to the book in the first place. Somewhat useful but insufficient.
This book, I'm very happy to declare, IS WORTH IT'S WEIGHT IN GOLD! Even though its a big, thick, heavy book, I can't seem to put it down for wanting more of its enlightenment (its so useful). Their writing style makes it easy to understand the material while providing a sense that you can actually achieve more than you might have attempted otherwise. Its a definite confidence builder (for real this time). I've read chapters in preparation for visiting clients in order to be better prepared. I'm very glad (and so are my clients) that I did.
I've glanced through many of the current books out there and simply returned them to the shelf. They helped somewhat but didn't really go out of their way to sufficiently illuminate the bigger picture or penetrate deeply enough into the details to provide enough insight for real world problems, solutions, or even theory. Most books seem written like they are some sort of cookbook or extended sales brochure. (Click here, read the obvious label and press this button in order to do this topic - yawn!!! - what a waste of paper, time and potential). This book goes all out to prepare any reader for developing anything in Filemaker.
Upon reading this book, it dawned on me that the authors might have developed a Filemaker database (I'm making an educated guess here) for compiling all the information and their associated thoughts. Its so well organized. The consistent delivery of truly useful detailed information, tips, caveats, related material page links, and even general database development theory at all the right spots (without having to revert to the index all the time; actually I've hardly needed to use the index at all) speaks to me of their efforts brilliantly prepared and executed. Its more like they're mentoring their readers than just a book about some topic.
Whatever methodology employed to write this book they sure got it right! I wish other authors would do something similar.
And there's more. The (optional) companion book "FileMaker 8 Functions and Scripts Desk Reference" is a 'next step' kind of reference book I'd also recommend highly. I was so impressed with the "Special Edition Using FileMaker 8" that I went out and bought the companion book. Excellent!
Since joining the Yahoo FileMaker user groups I've read postings from way too many people in way over their heads trying to accomplish things they simply aren't trained for (through no fault of their own). And for each posting it occurred to me that they would all greatly benefit reading from "Special Edition Using FileMaker 8". What they were seeking and were greatly in need of is readily available in this book. If only...
Oh, and one more thing - I apologize for understating things!
And in case you're wondering, I've never worked for, met, or even conversed with any of the authors. I'm finally satisfied to have these two great books to assist me in developing more FileMaker systems. YA HOO!
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