Print Book $34.95
Print Book £24.95
By Geoff Coffey, Susan Prosser
First Edition
September 2005
Pages: 762
Series: The Missing Manuals
ISBN 10: 0-596-00579-2 |
ISBN 13: 9780596005795
(Average of 5 Customer Reviews)
Used by millions worldwide, FileMaker Pro is an award-winning database program for managing people, projects, images, assets, and other information. But it doesn't come with a manual, so FileMaker Pro: The Missing Manual is the book that should have been in the box. With practical information, countless expert tips, and invaluable guidance, it's your guide to designing and building useful databases with the powerful and pliable FileMaker Pro.
Full Description
FileMaker Pro: The Missing Manual approaches FileMaker the way FileMaker approaches you: it's user-friendly and seemingly straightforward enough, but it offers plenty of substance worthy of deeper exploration. Packed with practical information as well as countless expert tips and invaluable guidance, it's an in-depth guide to designing and building useful databases with the powerful and pliable FileMaker Pro.
Covering FileMaker for both Windows and Macintosh, FileMaker Pro: The Missing Manual is ideal for small business users, home users, school teachers, developers--anyone who wants to organize information efficiently and effectively. Whether you want to run a business, publish a shopping cart on the Web, plan a wedding, manage a student information system at your school, or program databases for clients, this book delivers.
Author Geoff Coffey has many years of experience using FileMaker Pro (he was, in fact, an early beta tester for the product). Author Susan Prosser is a FileMaker Certified Developer who trains other developers. Together, Coffey and Prosser show you how to:
- Get FileMaker up and running quickly and smoothly
- Import and organize information with ease
- Design relational databases that are simple to use, yet powerful
- Take advantage of FileMaker Pro calculation capabilities
- Automate processes with scripting
- Customize FileMaker Pro to your needs and preferences
- Share information with other people (coworkers, clients, and customers) and other programs
- Understand and select the best security options
What could easily come across as dry and intimidating--things like relational theory, calculations, and scripting--are presented in a way that is interesting and intuitive to mainstream users. In no time, you'll be working more productively and efficiently using FileMaker Pro.
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Book details
First Edition: September 2005
Series:
The Missing Manuals
ISBN: 0-596-00579-2
Pages: 762
Average Customer Reviews: (Based on 5 Reviews)
Featured customer reviews
Too many errors in this book to make it useful, March 09 2008
Thank you, Adam. I was beginning to believe that it was just me. The only thing that I can say for this book is that it is easier to read and use than others that I have tried on the subject. I tried what was supposedly the definitive book on this software, "FileMaker Pro 8 Bible", and it was so convoluted and wordy and strayed around so much that I just gave up on it. I can say that this "Missing Manual" at least gave me a better get-go start at understanding the use of the software.
I do agree that the editors seem to have been lax. Because of the high quality of what I have previously used from O'Reilly, I was sorely disappointed in the unworkable parts of this book.
Too many errors in this book to make it useful, May 16 2007
I hesitate to write negative reviews because I always suspect that the errors I find are my own misunderstandings. In this case I felt COMPELLED to write one. I bought this book wanting it to be great and having high expectations based on the reviews I read. I doubt many of the reviewers OR the EDITORS read this book very closely. There are so many mistakes (small and large) and examples which flat out DON'T WORK, that the book has almost driven me mad. I've wasted HOURS trying to get things to work the way the authors described. The errata posted on this site lists maybe 1/4 of the errors. There is ONE posted review on Amazon.com which took notice of this, but all of the others seem to miss it completely. Kudos to Raymond Smith! (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0596005792/sr=8-2/qid=1179328510/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/104-6923608-7298356?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1179328510&sr=8-2#customerReviews)
Two perfect examples (in case you want to save yourself a few hours of struggle):
1. The Invoice Finder tutorial on page 372 simply doesn't work using the "minimum amount" field as they describe. It will work using the date range criterion, but when you add the minimum amount match, it fails. I built a file following along with the text and thought it was MY file that was broken. Then I tried the files supplied with the Missing Manual "CD". The authors' files don't work either. They SEEM to work with the data already in them, but if you add an invoice, it doesn't work. And if you simply open the "options..." definition of the Total Due field on the "Invoices" table, then OK the dialog box, all the existing data fails as well. It must be some kind of indexing problem, but the fact that it slipped by the editors is almost impossible to believe.
2. Repeating Fields for Multiple Results on page 417 is totally wrong. The formula they supply will not work at all, and in fact, unless the "Price" field is a repeating field as well (which they don't mention at all), you can't do any calculations using the "Get(CalculationRepetitionNumber)" that will work the way they describe. Not to mention the fact that in the second mention of the calculation they call it "Get(CalculatedRepetitionNumber)" which is wrong and won't even take. The text suggests that you "test this calculation with a few numbers", but I doubt that any editor tried it. AND THIS IS LISTED IN A POWER USERS' CLINIC.
I don't know if this is an author problem or an editor problem, but either way, it is a REAL problem for readers.
What a disappointment and a waste of may hours... Don't listen to the majority of reviews on this book. They have clearly come from people who read it but were not actually trying to learn from the DOING the examples in the text. The book is written in a friendly easy style, but there are too many errors to make it valuable. And it's been out for TOO long for these things not to be listed in an available errata or supplement.
Watch the binding and paging, January 29 2007
Great book. Can not wait for the 8.5 version ?
Watch for the binding - mine duplicates pages 70 through 120 and then skips some 50 pages. I am assuming I have the entire text.
FileMaker Pro 8 The Missing Manual, September 04 2006
This is the fourth book I read about FileMaker 7 or 8, and this one is the best. It covers the basics as well as advanced developer's skills with much needed illustration and explanation. Unlike my experience with other books, I am able to understand every concepts portrayed in the books.
excellent reference to filemaker 8, November 10 2005
an excellent introduction for new users and a handy reference for filemaker developers (such as myself).
it contains not just the basic outlines of what things do and how things work but lots of tips ,techniques and warnings. well worth the cost.
Media reviews
"One of the beauties of the Missing Manuals is that there is always something new to discover and the research is quite thorough...I kept finding snippets of information, in the way of Tips or Notes, that would give just that bit extra."
-- Graham K. Rogers, Bangkok Post
"Not dry or difficult, relational theory, calculations, and scripting become interesting to average users. You will be surprised how FileMaker Pro productivity benefits from this book. It is recommended, particularly if you've "played" with FileMaker but feel awed by the application's capabilities."
-- LLE, Spartanburg Mac User Group (SMUG)
"From beginner to advanced topics, Filemaker Pro 8 covers it all using easy language, black and white screen shot examples on almost every page, and plenty of modeling examples."
-- James Cox, California Bookwatch
"There are a lot of good books, but I keep returning to the Missing Manual series because they are inexpensive, easy to read and full of cool tricks and tips."
-- Bob Brooks, The South Bay Apple Mac User Group
"I have never seen a manual for any program, hardware or OS which is anywhere close to this series in its helpfulness to the reader. Anyone other than the well trained techs can find this book valuable."
-- Ray Bowler, Vice President, Des Moines Macintosh User's Group
"The greatest feature of this book is the organization of the subject matter. It is a joy for the reader as he/she progresses from page-to-page and chapter-to-chapter to build their knowledge, feature by feature. After seeing the possibilities available, anyone with data that needs organizing, is sure to get excited about the potential use of FileMaker Pro 8.5 by reading this book!"
-- Larry Weakly, Northwest Apple Pickers
"I have reviewed quite a number of Missing Manual books and I am always impressed with them. David Pogue is a Mac master and the depth of his knowledge shines through."
-- Roger Bernau, ACT Apple User Group Incorporated
