FileMaker® Pro 2.1 is the one database software program that has the power and sophistication to effortlessly handle all your everyday functions. From invoicing, mailing lists and business reports, to purchase orders and project tracking, FileMaker Pro gives you the power to accomplish even your most complex data management needs.
Whether you are a first-time database buyer or an advanced user, FileMaker Pro makes sure you are productive in minutes. FileMaker Pro puts you in control--giving you easy access to sophisticated features without having to learn complex programming skills.
With FileMaker Pro for Macintosh, you can:
• Automate routing tasks, menu operation and procedures with unique point-and-click script creation.
• Layout and arrange your information with ease, using sophisticated tools
• Relate data among files to avoid repetitive data entry. Find the information you need with a versatile search functions.
• Share data across a network. FileMaker Pro is platform transparent. Colleagues using Macintosh and Windows computers can share files in real time. Changes made by any user are automatically reflected to others, so information is always up to date.
• Manage and access data with ease. With FileMaker Pro easily read and write data in standard formats, allowing you to share with or use data from people not using FileMaker Pro.
U S I N G T H I S G U I D E
This guide shows you how FileMaker Pro gives you database power without programming™. It is divided into the following sections:
CREATING A NEW FILE
CREATING A REPORT
CREATING MAILING LABELS
BUTTONS AND SCRIPTS
IMPORTANT BENEFITS
Note: In this trial version of FileMaker Pro, you'll be limited to a maximum of 50 records in your database. You will not be able the import graphics. When printing, a banner will appear in the background of each page.
CREATING A NEW FILE
To show you how FileMaker Pro makes you productive in minutes, you will create a new database, customer report and mailing labels.
• Open FileMaker Pro by double-clicking on the FileMaker Pro trial icon from the Program Manager.
For the purpose of this trial, you are the Sales Manager for a travel agency called EveryWhere Travel. You have a file with the names of all your clients and need to quickly create a mailing list and print out labels so you can send each customer a letter.
Creating a database that will print labels and allow you to view your information in a number of different ways might be a difficult task using other programs, but with FileMaker Pro it's simple.
Start by creating a new file:
• Type "Customer"; click New.
FileMaker Pro guides you through the creation process. When creating a new file with FileMaker Pro, you start by defining the fields, which are the categories of information that you need to track.
In these fields you can store Text, Number, Date, Time, Calculation and Summary data. And because information is not limited to just text and numbers, FileMaker Pro gives you the ability to also store Pictures and Sound.
To set up the fields, just type in the following field names, and select field types.
• Type in the field name and select field type; click Create or press Enter.
Field Name Field Type
Contact First Text
Contact Last Text
Address Text
City Text
State Text
Zip Text
Enter Date Date
Phone Text
Contact Type Text
• Once you have created the Contact Type field, click on the Options button.
A dialog box will appear prompting you for more information.
• Click Use a pre-defined value list button
• Type the following into the dialog box and press Enter after each one:
Pers.
Bus.
Trade
• Click OK in the Display Values dialog box.
• Click OK in the Entry Options dialog box.
You have just created a field that will allow you to select the contact types from a pop-up list!
• Click Done.
While setting up text fields, you do not need to worry about the number of characters that a field contains. Fields in FileMaker Pro are variable length, so you can enter as much information as you need. This allows you to concentrate on your work, not your software.
FileMaker Pro automatically arranges the fields on a standard layout in the order you create them. Layouts are used to arrange the way you view your information, such as for data entry or customized reports.
Now instead of entering data for a new record, you are going to import the data from an existing text file.
• Choose Import Records... from Import/Export under the File menu.
• Click the arrow to the right of "Import File of Type" to display menu; select "All Available."
Once the fields are set up, you can use the file import capability that is built into FileMaker Pro to bring data into this new file.
Note: FileMaker Pro supports a wide variety of file types: Tab-separated and Comma-separated Text, Merge, SYLK, DBF (DBase), WKS, Basic, Data Access Manager and DIF (spreadsheets).
• Open customer.txt; click OK.
• Click Scan Data arrows to browse record data.
The Scan Data arrows allow you to: browse through the data before it is imported; change the mapping; and block fields from being imported.
This import mapping capability allows you to decide which data will go into which fields, and guarantees that your data is imported into FileMaker Pro correctly the first time. If you've ever made two or three attempts at getting your data into the right fields, you know how much time this will save you! Claris® has taken the guesswork out of importing data.
If you look closely, you'll notice the State information is going into the Contact First field. You can correct this by dragging the State field to the top, and your data will be imported correctly the first time.
Have you ever moved data from one program to another? There's usually a lot of guesswork involved. But not with FileMaker Pro.
• Click and hold the State field; drag to the top.
• Click OK.
Once your data has been imported, you can browse through your records easily. To move up and down in the database, just click on the upper or lower page of the book icon, or move through your database quickly by using the slide control.
CREATING A REPORT
Now let's create a report that shows all of your records in a list. With most databases, this would be complicated. Not so with FileMaker Pro. You can view your data any way you wish. These different views are called layouts.
To create a new layout:
• Choose Layout from the Select menu.
• Select New Layout... from the Edit menu.
Call this layout "Contact List" and select Columnar Report from the many pre-defined layout formats.
• Type "Contact List."
• Click Columnar Report radio button.
• Click OK.
Click the fields you want to have in this report and click the Move button. As a shortcut, simply double-click the fields you want to have appear in your list.
• Select Contact First; click Move.
• Double-click:
Contact Last
Phone
Contact Type
• Click OK.
FileMaker Pro automatically sets up your layout in column format based on the information you selected.
To see what this will look like, switch back to Browse mode.
• Choose Browse from the Select menu.
But databases are used for more than just tracking names. One of the most common uses for a database is for mailing purposes.
CREATING MAILING LABELS
FileMaker Pro has taken the pain out of creating mailing labels. Here's how:
• Choose Layout from the Select menu.
Just as you did with the Contact List layout, give this new layout a name, and select Labels from the choices of pre-defined layout formats.
• Choose New Layout... from the Edit menu.
• Type "Avery 5260."
To make labels easy, FileMaker Pro incorporates over 50 pre-defined Avery label configurations, including international formats. No guessing is involved.
• Click Labels radio button; click OK.
• Click the Labels pop-up menu and scroll down (to show the various labels).
EveryWhere Travel uses Avery 5260 labels, so all you need to do is choose that format. FileMaker Pro does the rest!
• Choose Avery 5160/5260.
• Click OK.
As in the Contact List layout, you tell FileMaker Pro what fields you want to appear on this report by moving the field names.
• Double-click:
Contact First
Contact Last
Address
City
State
Zip
• Click OK.
FileMaker Pro automatically sets up your layout elements for you. At this point, you can further customize the layout by resizing and moving each field to its correct position.
• Click on the Contact First field.
• Click on the bottom right hand corner and resize by dragging to the left.
Make sure you reduce the field size to just under half the width of the label. Now do the same for the Contact Last field. Move the Contact Last field up next to the Contact First field by clicking and dragging.
• Click on the Contact Last field and hold the mouse button down.
• Drag the Contact Last field to its new position.
• Use the arrow keys to position exactly.
It's this attention to detail that sets FileMaker Pro apart from any other database.
You can now adjust the Address, City, State, and Zip fields so they fit on the label.
To see how the labels will print, switch to Preview mode.
• Choose Preview from the Select menu.
You can now print these labels knowing they will be correct the first time. FileMaker Pro has eliminated the guesswork!
BUTTONS AND SCRIPTS
To become more productive, you can automate menu commands using ScriptMaker®, and create custom buttons from any graphic.
To see how easy this is, open the Names file in your FileMaker Pro Trial folder. User-definable buttons, extra layouts, and scripts can make the database you just created even more powerful.
• Select Open... from the File menu.
• Double-click on Names.
This is an enhanced version of the database that you have just created.
How to define a button
• Choose Layout from the Select menu.
• Click on the Add Name button so that it becomes highlighted.
• Select Define Button... from the Scripts menu.
Notice that New Record/Request is highlighted in the scroll list. This automatically creates a new record in your database when you click on the Add Name button in the data entry layout.
• Click OK.
You will notice if you follow the same procedure for the Labels button, it is defined to "Perform Script[...]" with the script specified as "Avery 5260" in the pop-up menu.
How to define a script
• Select ScriptMaker... from the Scripts menu.
• Double-click on Avery 5260.
This is the dialog box where scripts are created and changed. This script has four steps that automate task sequences and menu operations. These steps can be rearranged, removed or added to with just a click of a mouse!
• Click OK.
• Click Done.
Investigate some of the other features and buttons. Try creating your own layouts and buttons to enhance this contacts file even further.
This gives you an idea of just how easy it is to set up a database with FileMaker Pro. And underneath what you have seen is even more database power... power that is just as easy to access!
IMPORTANT BENEFITS
Database power without programming
• Get started quickly with pre-designed professional templates.
• Create your own data entry aids like pop-up menus and checkboxes.
• Automate routine tasks and menu operations with the ScriptMaker feature.
• Easily customize your files with user-definable buttons.
Professional looking reports and files
• Create multiple layouts within the same database to view, enter, and print your information.
• Add impact to your files and layouts with color and imported graphics.
• Create custom mailings from within FileMaker Pro or integrate with your word processor.
Access and manage information
• Import and export DBF (dBASE), WKS, WK1, SYLK and DIF (spreadsheets); text, including tab and comma-separated text; and Merge files.
• Use automatic indexing and query by example, within any layout, to make searching fast and flexible.
• Create multiple file lookups for automatically retrieving related data or graphics from other databases.
• Incorporate graphics and even sound into your files.
Share information among workgroups
• Protect sensitive data to the layout and field level with password protection and access privileges.
• Share files transparently with other FileMaker Pro users. Data can be accessed by more than one person at a time, whether you're working on a network with Macintosh or PCs running Windows. You can share files cross-platform using PhoneNET PC and Timbuktu for Windows or using Novell Netware and NetWare Lite for IPX/SPX networks.
• Ensure database integrity across the network with automatic record locking.
For large networks of users Claris also produces FileMaker Pro Server, Client-Server file sharing for faster multi-user performance. To purchase FileMaker Pro 2.1 or FileMaker Pro Server, just call 1-800-3CLARIS, or talk to a Claris reseller near you.
