FileMaker Pro 14: The Missing Manual

The Missing Credits

About the Authors

Susan Prosser (coauthor) discovered FileMaker Pro in the early nineties, while working as a newspaper reporter. It took her two years to realize that most people don’t want more information; they need to know what to do with the stuff they’ve already got. As the founder and technical lead at DBHQ, a FileMaker Pro consulting company, Susan sees fresh proof of this lesson every day. She has a knack for asking the questions that help clients figure out what business intelligence they’ve got and how to organize it so everybody’s job gets a little easier. DBHQ works with Wells Fargo, NIH, Banner Health Systems and other companies to tame the mountains of data and business processes that affect thousands of users. Susan is a certified FileMaker Developer, the author of three white papers for FileMaker, Inc., and a repeat speaker at the annual FileMaker Developer’s Convention on subjects like web publishing, charting, building dashboards, document management, and creating good user experience. This is her seventh book on FileMaker Pro.

Susan has three work rules: The simplest solution is usually the best; commenting code helps organize your thoughts; and using nerd words is a surefire way to make people doze off. As a child, Susan would carry Sherpa-worthy loads of groceries or bagged leaves or pig slop to avoid making two trips. She has recently learned to enjoy walking with a lighter load and now spends weekends making art quilts. Send photos of your second trips to [e-mail]. Follow @prosserDBHQ on Twitter and visit DBHQ at www.dbhq.net.

Stuart Gripman (coauthor) is a native of Akron, Ohio who grew up in suburban Orange County, California before migrating to San Francisco to get out of the sun. After a two-year stint at FileMaker Inc., he went on to found Crooked Arm Consulting, providing custom FileMaker databases for a wide variety of clientele. His databases have since benefited the U.S. space program, fine art patrons, oenophiles, aspiring mixologists, architects, advertising firms, and a Grammy award-winning ensemble.

Now a senior developer for FullCity Consulting, he continues helping clients tame their data. Check out his FileMaker Function of the Week at www.fullcityconsulting.com/blog. Email: [e-mail].

About the Creative Team

Nan Barber (editor) is associate editor for the Missing Manual series. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and various electronic devices. Email: [e-mail].

Melanie Yarbrough (production editor and compositor) lives, works, and plays in Cambridge, MA. In her free time, she knits and bakes, and moonlights as an ice cream maker and scooper. Email: [e-mail].

Ilene Hoffman (technical reviewer) Macintosh Consultant Ilene Hoffman is an Apple product specialist and a photographer. She has been involved in the Macintosh user community and forums support through the Boston Computer Society, Apple on AOL, eWorld, MacFixIt, and My Apple Space. Ilene’s articles and blog posts can be found in The Unofficial Apple Weblog, MacNN.com, MyMac.com, TechRepublic, MacTech, MacFixit, TidBITs, NetGuide, and IDG Online. She has also written parts of and tech edited a number of Macintosh OS books. You can find her photography and product reviews on her blog at www.ilenesmachine.net.

Koji Takeuchi (technical reviewer) works as an independent FileMaker developer, doing custom databases, server development, training, and consulting. He is a FileMaker 7-13 Certified Developer and has worked as a FileMaker Authorized Trainer and Apple Certified Trainer. He heads the FileMaker Tokyo User Group and has spoken at every FileMaker Conference Japan since 2009. He won the FileMaker Excellence Award in 2006 and has led over 100 monthly FileMaker events at Apple Store Ginza, Tokyo. Email: [e-mail].

Molly Ives Brower (proofreader) has a husband, a small boy, and two cats. She likes hiking and going on long road trips with the husband and the boy, but the cats are terrible travelers and hikers, so with them she just sits and reads. She spends far too much time on Twitter, where she goes by @vintagereader. Email: [e-mail].

Ron Strauss (indexer) specializes in the indexing of information technology publications of all kinds. Ron is also an accomplished classical violist and lives in Northern California with his wife and fellow indexer, Annie, and his miniature pinscher, Kanga. Email: [e-mail].

Acknowledgments

Technical reviewing is thankless work, figuratively speaking. Literally, I am more grateful than I can express for the keen eyes and gentle corrections that Ilene Hoffman and Koji Takeuchi provided. Our fearless editor Nan is an author’s best friend. We couldn’t do this work without her guidance. George, thanks for keeping the production ship aright so I could focus. Stuart, each edition has its challenges ,and I might have been one of them this time around. Thanks for listening while I stewed. Looking forward to epic evenings at DevCon with you as our reward. What with Paul being in grad school, and me writing a book, not everything that needed doing got done this spring. Here’s hoping the summer lets us catch up and keep on moving.

—Susan Prosser

My sincere thanks to our editor Nan, our production editor Melanie, and all the good folks at O’Reilly who brought this book to fruition. Thanks to Ilene and Koji who, despite having done this tedious job before, agreed to be our technical reviewers again. A heaping bucket of appreciation goes to George Ziemann whose assistance was abundant and timely. If we were antelopes on the savannah, George would be bounding majestically and I would be lunch. And, of course, my friend and coauthor Susan. It’s always a pleasure to be in your orbit and I look forward to our upcoming appointment/bender at M&M World.

Unlimited love and affection to Jen and our son Ben who again put up with my absence on so many nights and weekends. You guys are the best! I’m ready to go outside now.

—Stuart Gripman

The Missing Manual Series

Missing Manuals are witty, superbly written guides to computer products that don’t come with printed manuals (which is just about all of them). Each book features a handcrafted index and cross-references to specific pages (not just chapters). Recent and upcoming titles include:

• Access 2013: The Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald

• Adobe Edge Animate: The Missing Manual by Chris Grover

• Buying a Home: The Missing Manual by Nancy Conner

• Creating a Website: The Missing Manual, Third Edition by Matthew MacDonald

• CSS3: The Missing Manual, Third Edition by David Sawyer McFarland

• Dreamweaver CS6: The Missing Manual by David Sawyer McFarland

• Dreamweaver CC: The Missing Manual, Second Edition by David Sawyer McFarland and Chris Grover

• Excel 2013: The Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald

• FileMaker Pro 13: The Missing Manual by Susan Prosser and Stuart Gripman

• Fire Phone: The Missing Manual by Preston Gralla

• Flash CS6: The Missing Manual by Chris Grover

• Galaxy Tab: The Missing Manual by Preston Gralla

• Galaxy S5: The Missing Manual by Preston Gralla

• Google+: The Missing Manual by Kevin Purdy

• HTML5: The Missing Manual, Second Edition by Matthew MacDonald

• iMovie: The Missing Manual by David Pogue and Aaron Miller

• iPad: The Missing Manual, Seventh Edition by J.D. Biersdorfer

• iPhone: The Missing Manual, Eighth Edition by David Pogue

• iPhone App Development: The Missing Manual by Craig Hockenberry

• iPhoto: The Missing Manual by David Pogue and Lesa Snider

• iPod: The Missing Manual, Eleventh Edition by J.D. Biersdorfer and David Pogue

• iWork: The Missing Manual by Jessica Thornsby and Josh Clark

• JavaScript & jQuery: The Missing Manual, Third Edition by David Sawyer McFarland

• Kindle Fire HD: The Missing Manual by Peter Meyers

• Living Green: The Missing Manual by Nancy Conner

• Microsoft Project 2013: The Missing Manual by Bonnie Biafore

• Motorola Xoom: The Missing Manual by Preston Gralla

• NOOK HD: The Missing Manual by Preston Gralla

• Office 2011 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual by Chris Grover

• Office 2013: The Missing Manual by Nancy Conner and Matthew MacDonald

• OS X Mavericks: The Missing Manual by David Pogue

• OS X Yosemite: The Missing Manual by David Pogue

• Personal Investing: The Missing Manual by Bonnie Biafore

• Photoshop CS6: The Missing Manual by Lesa Snider

• Photoshop CC: The Missing Manual, Second Edition by Lesa Snider

• Photoshop Elements 13: The Missing Manual by Barbara Brundage

• PHP & MySQL: The Missing Manual, Second Edition by Brett McLaughlin

• QuickBooks 2015: The Missing Manual by Bonnie Biafore

• Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Mavericks Edition by David Pogue

• Windows 7: The Missing Manual by David Pogue

• Windows 8: The Missing Manual by David Pogue

• WordPress: The Missing Manual, Second Edition by Matthew MacDonald

• Your Body: The Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald

• Your Brain: The Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald

• Your Money: The Missing Manual by J.D. Roth

For a full list of all Missing Manuals in print, go to www.missingmanuals.com/library.html.