FileMaker Pro 4 Bible
By Steven A. Shwartz
IDG Books,
31.99
ISBN 0-7645-3164-6

Review by Gary Coyne

The differences between FileMaker Pro v. 3 and v. 4 were important, but subtle. Many of the changes were "under the hood" so to speak and the database program itself seemed little changed. If you already own a 3rd party manual on FileMaker v. 3, the question arises, "now that you upgraded to v. 4, is it necessary to get a book specifically for v. 4, and is this book sufficiently better than the book you already have to warrant its purchase? If you have just purchased FileMaker Pro v. 4, is this a good book?*

Overall, FileMaker Pro 4 Bible is well laid out with a clear gradation from what a database is detailing how to set up a relational database with calculations, scripts, and (one of v. 4's newer features) the ability to publish the database on the web. The book utilizes the common "icon-in-text" to point out specific ideas and/or features to the reader. This book has icons for "New Feature," "Note," "Tip," "Caution," and "Mac" or "Windows" (for features that are exclusive to one or the other's platform). Thus, one can either diligently read through the text or lightly let one's eyes be drawn to the icons, sidebars, or a headline that attracts.

Shwartz writes in an informal fashion, occasionally in the first person, and uses this approach to easily present hints and suggestions in an efficient manner. Note that even while presenting basic information, Shwartz does present some advanced concepts. For example, in the development of an address book, Schwartz presents how to place fields and field labels to exact locations. Since few, if any, 3rd party books even present the concept of critical alignment of fields, this is quite a challenging improvement. The easiest differences to spot between good and poorly made databases can often be as simple an aspect as the quality of field alignment.

One company's manual for a database program (which will remain nameless) had the user create his first database. The manual told the user "do this" and then "do that." At no time did the manual explain why this or that or anything was being done. Thus, this instruction manual taught nothing. Fortunately, FileMaker Pro 4 Bible's approach is much different. It is so filled with information on how and/or why a step is performed at any given point, even an intermediate user is likely to find valuable information by at least reading through the steps. The beginner user is best served by reading through the steps and then going through the process as the author intends. Ironically there is a problem with valuable information inserted in this basic education area: the reader who skips this area thinking that there is nothing for him to learn will miss many important tidbits of information.

The book also includes a CD that is mixed in quality. The CD carries some files specifically related to the book that are intended to accompany the chapters. Additionally, the CD carries some of the same information carried in the Scriptology FileMaker Pro Demystified book (see MacReports, v1i9) and the "Everything for FileMaker Pro CD" (see MacReports, v1i13). There are also samples of a variety of databases for people to perform database autopsies on, some of which are particularly excellent. The rest of the CD is an amalgam of compressed text files, some programs that are not FileMaker, and finally, it seems that too much of the CD is relegated to sample databases created by experts that one can only use. This can be helpful for some to see how a good database is constructed and what levels of quality can be achieved with FileMaker; however, these files are always locked. One can never see anything from a database autopsy (and are thereby prevented from learning how features in the database work) and their functionality is almost always limited until a shareware fee is paid. Although shareware is commendable and should be supported, there is a feeling that commercialism is being fostered a bit too much in these examples/samples.

Overall, the complaints about this book are minor. If you need a 3rd party book to assist you in learning FileMaker Pro, this is an easy book to recommend whether you have a book for v. 3 already or not.

*Note, this book does not contain any information on the newly released FileMaker Pro v. 4.1.

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February 09, 2012