Filemaker pro Design & Scripting for Dummies

The File Maker Pro 2006 version is not user friendly. At work we have this "File Maker Pro Bible" a book 2.5" thick and it is so difficult to use I go unconscious in 10 minutes. This Dummies book is very good, very comfortable to use. It shows what is on the screen or gives you explicit instructions where to look for icons, etc. I do not recommend the 2006 version of File Maker Pro but if you're stuck with it like me, then get this book. It really helps.

Brace yourself. To find this manual helpful rather than frustrating, you must already know all about it and be familiar with the undefined jargon. Furthermore it is not totally applicable to the most recent version of Filemaker (Version 11). Some very important stuff is totally missing. Until you can grasp the privately defined meaning of words like record, script, database, etc. you will be constantly wondering what is being referred to, spending an inordinate amount of time trying to find out.This is an exceptionally complex program and apparently can be beaten into working well, with time and a great deal of patience. It is unfortunate that this Dummies does not live up to the usual Dummies format of talking to everyone who reads it rather than omitting the novice from the audience.There is no Glossary and the Table of Contents is where the trouble starts.

When choosing a book of this type, it's important to realize who the target audience is.The overwhelming majority of FileMaker Pro users are beginners in database design and development. Most of these people have either read the manual or figured out the basics on their own, and can wield FMP as an office productivity tool just fine. (If you are purchasing this book, and have not read the FMP manuals, I suggest that you do so, they are well written, not painfully long, and quite useful to get started.)This book is aimed at helping people get to the next step; from office productivity user to fledgling developer, and it serves that purpose very well.If you want to learn more about design and scripting in FMP, then buy this book. After you've mastered this material, go for some of the more advanced texts out there.

This book has proved helpful to me because I am new to the Filemaker Pro Database tool set. However, the only complaint I find is that the book clearly does not tell you up front for what particular edition of Filemaker its designed for. Some things jjust aren't covered. An example of this is different samples of uses for scripts and calculations.I would love to see a book about how to take different classes of problems and use proper script, and operators, to calculate something and use the answer in a solution. But concatenating text to provide a full name doesn't cut it in my book. So for me, the book isn't as useful as it could be.

I gave this book to a friend who used it to install File Maker on my computer and he reported that it was easy. I am not a computer guy but the end result was good so the book must be good. The vender did a good job too.Bob J.

We purchased the FileMaker v.11 from Amazon, and MISTAKENLY accepted their recommendation to purchase a "package" consisting of two books, in addition to the software. Well, the software is v.11, and the "Dummies" book talks exclusively about v.8! Somewhere between v.8 and v.11, there must have been a sea change in the software, because the "Dummies" book is of ABSOLUTELY no use!As we know, there's practically no (usable) documentation coming with software packages these days, and the Dummies books are usually of great help. Here, though, somebody at Amazon was apparently not watching the store.

I this this book is a step in understanding how to design and script on your own. If you can be self taught, you will find the directions easy to follow.

There are substantially better books out there to get you started with Filemaker Pro. I would recommend the FMP tutorial guide (the purple one) that you can buy through Filemaker or the Missing Manual (the green and white one). The FMP tutorial probably holds your hand and is initially simpler than the Missing Manual, but the Missing Manual is way more comprehensive. I ended up selling the 'For Dummies' guide to a local bookshop because I just didn't find it as useful for what I was doing as the other two books.