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Luckily, you can turn to FileMaker's thoroughly annotated help files and lengthy but well-written manual. FileMaker 6.0's XML templates allow the program to import and export a much broader range of document formats, including Excel 2002 spreadsheets, and it does it much faster than previous versions do.Įven in FileMaker, you may encounter a problem that you can't solve-it happens to the best of applications. Of all the new features added to FileMaker Pro 6.0, support for XML is the most significant. When it comes to ease of use, FileMaker Pro 6.0 beats Access hands down. You can achieve some truly sophisticated results using ScriptMaker in a fraction of the time required to learn Access's Visual Basic. But FileMaker's wizardlike ScriptMaker lets you build scripts using natural English commands, such as "Go to next field," Show All Records, and Send Mail. Microsoft Access, for example, lets you build database scripts if you're fluent in Microsoft Access Visual Basic. If you want to perform complex automated database operations, such as e-mailing a data file or launching your Web browser from the database, FileMaker does it the easy way. The Records/Sort submenu lets you right-click to arrange your records either alphabetically or by any field. You'll have no trouble performing all of the typical tasks, such as sorting records and importing files.
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FileMaker easily imports files in a host of formats, including comma- and tab-separated values, Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, and HTML. (Access also has such templates.) If you've created databases in other programs-no problem. FileMaker supplies roughly two dozen of these prefab templates, tailored to a variety of uses, including family medical records, time billing, and contact management. To create a database from scratch, you can either walk through a simple design process, which involves naming and defining fields in a dialog box, or enter data into an uncomplicated database template. Unfortunately, you can't customize FileMaker's individual toolbar buttons either, as you can in Microsoft Access, but the toolbar selections provide most of what you need. The new arrangement will take some getting used to for Microsoft Word users. For example, you'll find the Security menu under File > Access Privileges. The program's menus resemble the Windows-standard interface (File, Edit, View, Insert, and so forth), except that FileMaker has replaced the Tools category with one called Scripts (wherein you'll access FileMaker's scripting tools, more on that later) and dispersed its Tool commands into other categories. Although it's simple enough for novices, it also supplies sophisticated, higher-end features that will suit database veterans.Įven database novices will be able to understand FileMaker's intuitive layout. We heartily recommend this database program for everyone.
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FileMaker's attractive, straightforward interface and relatively low $299 price make it easier and more economical than Microsoft Access. FileMaker Pro 6.0 lets you manage vast quantities of such information and also allows you to share this information quickly with other applications. Although it's simple enough for novices, it also supplies sophisticated, higher-end features that will suit database veterans.ĭatabase programs let you store, retrieve, organize, and analyze all sorts of data, from complex billing records to home-video collections. FileMaker's attractive, straightforward interface and relatively low $299 price make it easier and more economical than.
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Database programs let you store, retrieve, organize, and analyze all sorts of data, from complex billing records to home-video collections.
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