FileMaker Pro 11: The Missing Manual

Introduction

For many people, the word “database” conjures up the idea of a vast collection of information that requires a computer and a technical degree to access. But databases are all around you—a phone book, a cookbook, and an encyclopedia are each databases. So is the stock page in your newspaper. In fact, if you look up the word “database” in a dictionary (which is a database, too), you’ll probably read that a database is just a collection of information, or data.

Ideally, the information in a database is organized so you can find what you’re looking for quickly and easily. For example, a Rolodex has information about people organized alphabetically by name. You can find any person’s card because you know approximately where it is, even though there may be thousands of cards to look through. But physical databases have major limitations compared to those stored on a computer. What if you want to get a list of all your associates in California? A Rolodex isn’t organized by state, so you have to flip through every card one by one to get a list. The first database programs were created to help you avoid that kind of tedium. And FileMaker Pro is an easy-to-use, but powerful, database program.

The term database program means a computer program designed to help you build a database so you can store information you need. A database stored on a computer isn’t much different in theory from one collected on Rolodex cards or other forms of paper. It contains lots of information, like ...