Hello all,

I am starting this thread as a way to exchange information/ideas or experiences with FMP. I have been given the task of creating a database for my company using this program and wondered if anyone here was using this as well.


(Mods: If this is too specific a thread, maybe change it to "Database Discussion" or something akin to that.)

Just curious as to why you chose File Maker Pro?

No idea what file maker pro is, but if you read up on normalisation and build the tables yourself I can almost 100% guarantee it will be better than anything automated could design.

Basically, My boss chose it. She was at a convention and a guy there was telling her how he built a database for his (small) company with FMP by himself. I have an IT degree (Associate's in Software Applications and Programming) that I've never used, but she thought this was something we needed, and I got the assignment.

Reading through the FMP forums, it seems like this happens to a lot of people, their boss decides they need a db and since it's "so easy" with FMP they task an employee with the gig instead of hiring (and paying for) a professional db person.

How complicated is the db that needs to be built? What's the rough spec? Often these sorts of tools turn simple problems into difficult ones.

It's very complicated, and therein lies the problem. I'm expected to build it in my "spare time" at work.

Sounds like it's simple for non-programmers. But since we think about things more deeply and want finer control it would be easier to do it they way you want it. Managers shouldn't be allowed to talk to be people at conventions, they come up with decisions based on the sample size of that one guy they talked to.

+1000
One thing in this industry that ticks me off more than anything else is non technical people making technical decissions.

http://code.google.com/p/wwwsqldesigner/

Im a huge fan of this, d/l unzip, point browser to index.html (or put it up on the web for collaboration) you can visually design your dbase, then generate the MYSQL code and use the source command to import your database automagically into mysql

Not sure your position/experience wahtever - but you really need to talk to her and find out what she wants, which is very different than what she thinks she wants.

She doesn't want a FMP database. Nobody wants a database. What she wants is to be able to answer random questions like "What are our sales numbers for each month?" (or whatever).

Once you find that out - build it whichever way makes the most sense to you. And I'm pretty sure it won't be FMP.

Good advice, all, but she has already purchased not only FMP 11 Advanced but the File Maker Server as well...

Do any of you have any experience at all with FMP?

+100000000 and the reason why i drink

I was amazed at how common situations like this were (source: FMP forums). It happens all the time, apparently.

Too late now, though.

It is a common situation everywhere, but it's funny that it's particularly common for this product.

I watched the demo video. I'm amazed how much they put emphasis on that it is a database because the whole point of the product is you never need to actually think about the database. Not only that, you don't need to even make code that interacts with it. Also, someone needs to tell the guy who did the voice over how commas are used and when to pause during a sentence.

All true, but apparently many business owners find him persuasive.

Ugh, we compete against some other companies that use FMP, and their customers bitch about it all the time.

Good luck.

Two things amaze me the most (so far):

1) FMP doesn't appear to work like any other database I've ever seen

2) For a product that sells well and is fairly common, finding someone who is knowledgeable is next to impossible.

I think we're all in agreement that you're proper ****ed (but at least it's in your spare time right?)

Sadly I know nothing useful about FMP. :/

Spare time apparently = squeezing it into the hours I'm normally at work.

These kinds of products try to sell themselves on the idea that the only reason Joe Schmo can't create a good database is that he doesn't have a shiny designer and form generation tools. Manager types eat it up because they think "hey, I don't need to learn anything! this will do it all for me!", then they go on to make all the exact same mistakes they'd make if they tried to create a database with a visual designer in MySQL, with the difference that they've spent a ton of money and won't be able to find anyone who can fix it or do anything useful with the data because the driver for php/python/.net is probably buggy as **** with a bizarre undocumented API, if it even exists.

Even if FMP is a piece of crap, it's a great lesson in knowing your market and selling to the right people. Their marketing is very slick.

This.

We use FMP in our manufacturing company (I am the owner). I created the three linked databases that we use daily. Sadly, it was 15 years ago and I would be of ZERO value for you as you move forward. But I will tell you from a nonIT guy, after a somewhat rough start, FMP delivered what we needed. (I built a very simple db.....and have never had to tweak it over all these years)

Yeah, I have a very simple one running, but I wouldn't call it a database...A "glorified searchable spreadsheet", perhaps.

The problem is, I am expected to deliver an all-encompassing, company-wide, easy to use database that does everything the owner can dream of (and then some).

Previous purchases should not matter when all you need to do the job properly is Free. waste of money yes, but at least there's no need to spend more.

Need a basic spec "what questions is it supposed to answer?" to even guess if it's troublesome or not, but if it's on you to do it right and will come down on you if it breaks, I really wouldn't like build on top of a probable toy database I know nothing about!

Is your boss so unapproachable that she would refuse to hear you out on this? Do you know SQL?

Yes, FMP Advanced and FMP Server have already been bought and paid for.

And I have an Associate's Degree in Software Applications and Programming, so I'm no expert on any of this. I just have more IT Training than anyone else here.

Your boss sounds like a moron for not consulting the lead person on this project. Like dave said, even if it's already paid for, it makes no sense to use an inconvenient, underpowered tool to do something that a much more powerful and free (MySQL) database could do better.