FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced for Mac

FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced includes all the features of FileMaker Pro 9 plus a suite of advanced development and customization tools to help you design and develop more powerful, more customized database solutions - faster and easier than ever before.

Design and Develop Databases More Efficiently

Create your own menus
Customize your database even more by using the Custom Menu feature. Modify FileMaker menus to execute scripts from menu items. You can rename, add or delete menu items, customize keyboard shortcuts and even add or delete entire menus. Toolbar icons, context menus, window options, keyboard shortcuts, and the Mode menus will automatically inherit customized menu behavior.

Add tooltips to make things easy
Make your layouts more informative and intuitive by adding tooltips to any field or layout object. Mouse over an item to which you've added a tooltip to display helpful tips for using your solution or calculation results. You can even include static text or calculated results to provide more insights into your data or to temporarily provide information that you don't want permanently displayed on your layout.

Distribute your solutions off-the-shelf
If you'd like to distribute a database to non-FileMaker users, creating a Runtime application is a great solution. FileMaker Runtime applications make it easy to create off-the-shelf, royalty-free FileMaker solutions that allow users to access FileMaker database information, but limit their ability to make modifications. Runtime applications take full advantage of the new features in FileMaker Pro 9. Please note that runtime applications cannot be shared over a network, do not include the ability to create Adobe PDF or Microsoft Excel files, and do not include the support for External SQL Data Sources.

DIY data entry
"Kiosk-based" applications display your database in full-screen "presentation" mode while hiding the application menus. Use this "do-it-yourself" data entry feature for event registrations and mailing list sign ups.

Use custom functions & external function plug-ins
Use the FileMaker Custom Function feature to build powerful, recursive custom functions that can be reused across tables. Plus you can build even more robust calculations and extend databases with the External Function Plug-in API.

Debug and Troubleshoot More Efficiently

More insight = less time debugging
The FileMaker Data Viewer monitors fields, variables, and expressions to help you gain more insight when troubleshooting your database. You can even test calculation formulas without modifying your database schema - which can be a huge time saver!

Debugging made easy
The FileMaker Script Debugger is an interactive tool that helps you pinpoint problem areas in your FileMaker Scripts. You can review scripts one step at a time, set and clear breakpoints, see details of calling scripts and trace script history quickly. Plus, you can easily disable script steps if you'd like to test just a portion of your new script. Addressing script errors is easier than ever before because you can view the error result of the last script step, and set scripts to automatically pause when a script error occurs.

Modify and Maintain Databases With Ease

Doing things over and over Ñ is over!
You can reuse existing work to make updates painless. Simply copy and paste fields, tables, scripts, and script steps within or across tables. You can also import multiple tables at once to save time, or if you just want to reuse the database schema without importing data, you can do that, too.

Get a bird's eye view
Get more comprehensive information on database schema and options with the Database Design Report. See details on fields, tables, scripts, portals, Tab Panel Controls, Custom Menus, Tooltips, and more. The Database Design Report even helps you troubleshoot missing references, broken relationships, and calculations.

Run at peak performance
Use the FileMaker File Maintenance tools to maximize database performance. The CompactFile tool removes free disk space from a file, reducing the file size and streamlining data access, and the OptimizeFile tool improves file access speed by moving logically related data closer together. Keeping your databases in shape is easy now, thanks to FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced!

Connect to the world of data in so many new ways!

Combining both power and simplicity, FileMaker Pro 9 gives you the tools you need to connect to the world of data!

Get started quickly
The award-winning ease of use that is built into every aspect of FileMaker Pro continues to be praised by millions of customers and industry experts around the world. With its easy installation and setup, you'll be up and running in a matter of minutes--not hours or days.

Gather your information in one place
Information comes in many forms, from business cards to Microsoft Excel files, images to SQL Server data--FileMaker Pro helps you bring it all together with a few clicks. Convert Excel spreadsheets and other files to FileMaker Pro databases for easier searching, sorting, reporting, and sharing. Or use powerful productivity features designed to make data entry much faster and more accurate.

Instant access to the information you need
Use FileMaker Pro to organize, sort through, and find information from individual contacts to large data sets. When someone calls, you will have the contact history, the project state, or the shipment status right at hand. Bring up records by date, location, or content. Create formulas and calculations and summaries. You will be amazed how easy it is to be informed.

Report and communicate all your information
Transform data into useful information by creating reports and layouts that work the way you do. FileMaker Pro comes complete with step-by-step tools that help you create reports and then email them to your colleagues as Adobe PDF or Excel files. Or choose from hundreds of pre-defined templates for labels and envelopes to help get the word out with ease.

Power to take you further
Build powerful yet flexible custom applications using the FileMaker Pro relational database management system. Design complete scalable solutions for your organization and automate repetitive tasks with the powerful scripting language, all without the help of a programmer.

Built-in network sharing and security
Securely sharing databases is easy with FileMaker Pro. Windows and Mac OS FileMaker Pro users on the same network can access the same database file simultaneously. And with the advanced security model in FileMaker Pro, you can determine what your users can do and see.

Connect with the Web
Publishing basic web forms or web-based status updates and lists is simple with the Instant Web Publishing feature built into FileMaker Pro. You can create web forms for event sign-ups, customer feedback and service requests. Or setup security privileges for your clients so they can login through their web browser to get a status update. And you can harness the information that is available on the Web by using the FileMaker Web Viewer to get real-time information from the Web that is associated with your data without having to open a Web browser.

Connect to Your FileMaker Data

On your mark, get set, connect!
Connect directly to the information you need every time you launch FileMaker Pro 9 with the new FileMaker Quick Start Screen. Whether you want to create a new database, open an existing database or learn more about using FileMaker Pro 9, you'll get to where you need to go faster than ever.

Faster from the start
The FileMaker Quick Start Screen is the first screen you see when launching FileMaker Pro 9. It provides a simple navigation to create a new database, open an existing database, or learn more about the product with the FileMaker Learning Center.

• Create Database--Build a FileMaker Pro database from scratch or choose from one of 30 Starter Solutions.
• Open Database--Browse files, open recent files or choose from your customized list of favorite files. Even add or delete files from your favorites list.
• Learn More--Learn FileMaker Pro at your own pace with the FileMaker Learning Center.

For those who are new to FileMaker Pro, you'll have everything you need in one place to get you started on your first database. For those who have been using FileMaker Pro for years, you'll love being able to open recent files or create a favorites list of the databases that you use most often.

Help when you need it
Now it is even easier to harness the power and flexibility of FileMaker Pro to build a solution that works for you. When you are working on a calculation, setting up a button, creating a new layout, or adding a FileMaker Web Viewer, just click on the new "Learn moreÓ button in these dialogs for quick access to the relevant sections of the built-in FileMaker Help.

You'll quickly be on your way to managing people, projects, assets and more--the easy way!

At-a-glance indicators Connect to changes in your FileMaker Pro 9 data by visually formatting fields and objects based on parameters that you decide! New Conditional Formatting can be applied to fields, FileMaker Web Viewer objects, text objects, or text based buttons. Choose from a list of pre-defined conditions or create your own with a calculation for enhanced reporting. For example, you can now set future due dates to green and past due dates to red and bold.

At-a-glance knowledge
Are any payments overdue? What contracts are expiring next month? Are you on-time and under budget? Connect to changes in your data with Conditional Formatting. You set the way a field or object is displayed based on parameters that you decide. Choose the font, font style, font size, font color and fill color. You'll know who owes you money and what tasks are overdue because the font will change to bright red and bold (or whatever you want it to) when this occurs.
Never miss a due date again

Let's say that you schedule shifts for a department where employees can only be scheduled to work if all of their certifications are current. A visual reminder of the status of a certification would be very helpful to you. For example, with Conditional Formatting you can set the date field so that:

• If date is more than 30 days away, the date appears green.
• If date is within the next 30 days, the date appears yellow.
• If date is today or has already occurred, the date appears red.

Quick performance indicators
Many organizations use performance indicators to judge how well they are doing or to achieve desired outcomes. Choose from a list of 20 pre-defined conditions or create your own with a calculation. This makes it simple to monitor and troubleshoot when your performance indicators are outside of the thresholds that you've defined.

Use Conditional Formatting with External SQL Data Sources to create useful information dashboards of your organization's data.

Database sharing made even easier In just a few minutes, you can be sharing your database with others. Just click on Send Link and FileMaker Pro will create an email with a simple hyperlink that when clicked on, will open your database. You can edit the email in your email client to add any additional instructions or information about your database for your users making it easier than ever for your users to connect to your database.

Simultaneous sharing
Let's say that you create a database in FileMaker Pro and then someone else in your organization wants to use that database too. No need to post files to a server; sharing is built right into every copy of FileMaker Pro. If your computers are connected to a network, you and up to nine other Windows and Mac OS FileMaker Pro users can access the same database file simultaneously.* Plus, the new Send Link database sharing feature makes it easy for others to connect to your database by creating an email with a hyperlink that launches your database with one click.** You can also extend your database to publish basic Web forms, status and lists with Instant Web Publishing or connect FileMaker Pro to your website with PHP Web Publishing.

And if you ever want to share with larger groups, FileMaker has easy-to-use server solutions available.

Powerful security
Databases can contain information from the most simplistic to the highly confidential. With the advanced security features of FileMaker Pro, you decide who has access to what information and when. You can secure your databases by assigning account names and passwords, and then assign custom privileges for each user, specifying what they can view and edit, down to the field level. So you can limit what users can see and do by restricting access based on your work rules.

Effortless reporting
Whether you want to create an invoice to send to a customer or publish a report to your team, FileMaker Pro 9 makes it easy to create an Adobe PDF from your FileMaker data directly within FileMaker using PDF Maker, a feature introduced in FileMaker Pro 8. Now, with the new Append to PDF feature, you can combine multiple reports into one PDF and email the PDF to the recipients you specify, connecting them to the latest information.

Connect to Your SQL Data

Do-it-yourself SQL reporting
Have you ever wished that you could access information stored in MS SQL Server, Oracle and MySQL? Now you can! During a fast one-time setup, you add a SQL table or view to the FileMaker Relationship Graph and from that point on you have a live connection to the external SQL data source. Then, create custom reports and solutions using all your familiar FileMaker Pro tools.

Create solutions that include SQL data
No longer do you need high-end programming skills to add SQL data to FileMaker Pro solutions. Now anyone can extend FileMaker Pro solutions to include information located in SQL systems--all without needing to know any programming languages or how to write SQL queries. You can create new information by adding supplemental calculation and summary fields to the SQL table in FileMaker. Run finds, sorts, and exports on the table. Even use the values in scripts. It's easy because it is
FileMaker Pro.

FileMaker Pro gives you the tools you need to do all sorts of useful things with data from an external SQL data source, multiple external SQL data sources, or FileMaker Pro and external SQL data source(s). Use SQL information to create name badges or shipping labels. Track requisitions and purchase orders. Develop a visual catalog of inventory and assets. Everything that FileMaker Pro can do--now you can do with data from SQL.

Enable knowledge workers to use SQL data - safely
If you are an administrator for a SQL database, you know the constant demand for ad-hoc data pulls and custom solutions. Simply provide the knowledge workers in your organization with access to your SQL views or tables. FileMaker Pro utilizes standard system-level DSNs and you decide what level of access to provide (read only or read/write). Then they'll be off reporting and creating solutions to their heart's content and you'll be free to work on other projects. Or use FileMaker Pro yourself and enjoy a dream environment for Rapid Application Development and deployment.
Based on future-proof open ODBC standards

FileMaker Pro's External Data Source feature was built with future expansion in mind. The initial release is certified to work with the following popular SQL databases:

• MS SQL Server 2000
• MS SQL Server 2005
• Oracle 9g
• Oracle 10g
• MySQL 5.0 Community Edition (free)

The External Data Source feature also allows you to connect to remote FileMaker Pro databases, creating a "one source" tool for bringing all your critical data together.

Connect to Your Creativity

Super script organizing
The more scripts you add to automate your solution, the more important it is to stay organized. That's why you'll appreciate how easy FileMaker Pro 9 makes it to group and edit your scripts with the new Script Grouping and Editing Tools.

Get organized
Tracking down the script you need is virtually trouble-free with new Script Organization features. Group related scripts for faster access. You can put all Report scripts in one group and all navigation scripts in another group. Categorize scripts in whatever way makes sense to you. If you have a lot of scripts, you can collapse and expand groups to make the list more manageable.

Instant discovery
Find the scripts you need in the blink of an eye, even if you don't know which group to look in. Just type as much of the script name as you know in the search box and FileMaker Pro will show you the list of scripts that match.

Super script editing
Get more out of scripts you have, and create new scripts faster. Quickly create new scripts by duplicating similar ones you've already created. With multiple script editing windows, you can view existing scripts while you develop a new script.

In addition, now multiple users can login to the same solution and edit scripts at the same time.

Creativity at your fingertips
Connect to your creativity! Now you can design better and more creative layouts with intuitive new layout object tools. Modify the tab sizes with the new Tab Control options. Add a status bar or display HTML content stored in your database with the new FileMaker Web Viewer options.

Precision tuning
The Tab Control is a great way to logically organize information. Now you can set the tabs to the width you want. For example, you may have a small label but want the tab containing the label to be larger, possibly because it looks better or because you want a larger area to click on. Or you may be putting images on the tabs so you want the tabs to be big enough to fit the image. Now you can specify the size of the tab. Also, you can designate which tab is the default front tab.
Up-to-date information

When a web page is loading in your browser, you can glance at the status bar to monitor progress. Now, you can add the same status bar to the FileMaker Web Viewer. Also, you can dynamically display web pages in the FileMaker Web Viewer that are driven by HTML stored in a field in your database.

One size fits all
Design it once. Use it anywhere. Layout objects, such as portals, tab controls, and the FileMaker Web Viewer, will scale to fit the screen or printer being used. With the new Auto-Resize feature, layout objects that you choose will resize or move in order to maintain a constant distance to the sides of the window or container that they have been anchored to.

System requirements:

• PowerPC G4 (867MHz+), PowerPC G5, or Intel-based Mac
• 512 MB of RAM
• CD-ROM drive