FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual | 
| Authors: Geoff Coffey, Susan Prosser
Publisher: O'Reilly Media
List Price: $34.99
Buy New: $20.08
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Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 12586
Media: Paperback
Pages: 799
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7 x 1.6
ISBN: 0596514131
Dewey Decimal Number: 005.74
EAN: 9780596514136
ASIN: 0596514131
Publication Date: August 2, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: All orders ship same business day via standard shipping (USPS Media Mail) if received by 1 PM CST.
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Product Description
FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual is the clear, thorough and accessible guide to the latest version of this popular desktop database program. FileMaker Pro lets you do almost anything with the information you give it. You can print corporate reports, plan your retirement, or run a small country -- if you know what you're doing. This book helps non-technical folks like you get in, get your database built, and get the results you need. Pronto.
The new edition gives novices and experienced users the scoop on versions 8.5 and 9. It offers complete coverage of timesaving new features such as the Quick Start screen that lets you open or a create a database in a snap, the handy "save to" buttons for making Excel documents or PDFs, the multiple level Undo and Redo commands let you step backwards through your typing tasks, and much more. With FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual, you can: - Get your first database running in minutes and perform basic tasks right away.
- Catalog people, processes and things with streamlined data entry and sorting tools.
- Learn to use layout tools to organize the appearance of your database.
- Use your data to generate reports, correspondence and other documents with ease.
- Create, connect, and manage multiple tables and set up complex relationships that show you just the data you need.
- Crunch numbers, search text, or pin down dates and times with dozens of built-in formulas.
- Automate repetitive tasks with FileMaker Pro 9's easy-to-learn scripting language.
- Protect your database with passwords and set up privileges to determine what others can do once they gain entry.
- Outfit your database for the Web and import and export data to other formats.
Each chapter in the book contains "living examples" -- downloadable tutorials that help you learn how to build a database by actually doing it. You also get plenty of sound, objective advice that lets you know which features are really useful, and which ones you'll barely touch. To make the most of FileMaker Pro 9, you need the book that should have been in the box.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 This book won't end up as a doorstop or a climbing platform for your cat(s) November 3, 2007
R. Stuart (Post Falls, ID United States)
27 out of 28 found this review helpful
I've been using FileMaker Pro for over ten years now, pretty much creating simple databases and runtime solutions for myself and fellow workers.
Earlier this year, however, I was commissioned to create a safety-related database (runtime solution) for none other than FedEx and its nine feeder-carriers. Talk about instant panic-attack! When I found out that I'd be the authoring it I immediately perused Amazon.com and bookstores for books that would help me get up to speed very quickly so I could start coding away; I ordered an armful of them, some were "bible" and "idiot"-titled tomes and others were so "up there" technically that my eyes glazed over just reading their Table of Contents. More often than not they made me feel dense because there weren't enough explanations or examples in them for me to fully understand what was trying to be explained.
The book I ended up using the most--and really appreciating its real-world use and easy-to-understand explanations--was "FileMaker Pro 8, The Missing Manual" by Geoff Coffey and Susan Prosser. I can honestly say without any hyperbole that their book, and downloadable practice files, gave me a solid foundation to work from so I could build the database. After some finishing touches supplied by FileMaker developer Matt Lygo of kantala.com, I submitted the database to FedEx...and they LOVED it--so much so I earned their prestigious BZ Award for Excellence.
Since then, I've been working on another project that requires much greater power and flexibility than what FileMaker 8 or 8.5 had to offer, so after upgrading to FileMaker 9.0 _the_ first book I bought was Coffey and Prosser's Missing Manual book for FileMaker 9.0. Still a winner, I'm reading it as both a refresher and to learn the new powers that come with 9.0. It's both time and money well-spent.
So, if you're looking for a book to get you going in FileMaker, make this one your first choice; you'll be glad you did.
 Exception to the Missing Manuals Series: Poorly Written and Structured October 23, 2007
Ames Brown (United States of America)
26 out of 33 found this review helpful
I am generally an exponent of the "Missing Manuals" series, but this is a notable exception. The book is poorly structured and the writing is largely uninstructive.
The authors rely excessively, if not entirely, on enormous, sparsely annotated examples to explain how FileMaker works. Excessive reliance on giant, lengthy examples has important drawbacks for the reader:
1) You cannot "jump" to a particular topic that interests you, because a) the authors assume you have been following their example scenario throughout the entire book; and b) there is very little clear explanation of concepts and processes, only more working with their example.
2) Because of the book's reliance on an endless example, you must read the book--essentially--from cover to cover, to derive value.
3) There is very little explicit explanation of FileMaker concepts and processes. In most cases, the authors leave the reader to INFER how to use FileMaker by witnessing their examples.
4) The writing quality is very poor compared to other books in Missing Manuals series. The ordering of thoughts and instruction; use of introductions and conclusions; and plain sentence structure make it hard if not impossible to discern anything about Filemaker Pro 9.
Conclusion: The book neither conveys concepts, nor permits the reader to jump to a topic of interest. The delivery of information is minimal and highly inefficient.
Addendum: Several (approximately 5%) of key hyperlinks on the book's website, which are essential to following the book's example were "broken" (nonfunctional) as of 23 Oct 2007. I am certain this will eventually be repaired by the publisher.
So much more than a "Missing Manual." October 21, 2007
John E. Wolff (Hamilton, NZ)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book is now in it's third writing. The first one (for Filekaker 7) never got printed as the release of Filemaker 8 made so many improvements to the software that a revision was mandatory. Nevertheless that early writing served its purpose as the precursor for the previous edition of this book on FileMaker 8. That edition was a real eye opener for me as it taught me so much more about the program than I had ever appreciated after many years of use. Now we have, what is in effect a third writing, for the latest version of FileMaker Pro and the benefit of those previous versions is certainly evident.
These authors have an excellent style of writing for a technical product like FileMaker Pro -- the style is both readable and accurate with plenty of light hearted quips to provide a delightful human touch to what could otherwise become fairly dreary tome. The book is thus not only a very readable tutorial on the methodology for setting up a relational database, but it also has a multitude of advice on ways to ensure that your development will follow guidelines for best practice. Explanations of "The FileMaker Way" are thus easy to follow and also display the authors' comprehensive knowledge of the program. This undoubtedly stems from their own credible work as practising FMP developers in their own right.
Some professional database gurus seem to take pleasure in deriding FileMaker for its simplicity of use and seeming inability to scale for enterprise tasks. What they overlook is that FileMaker is evolving into a data hub with its ability to exchange data so readily with an increasing number of other file formats. I can see how some of these folk will not find this book so useful as a reference work. It has not been written to be used in that way. If you come from a computer science training in DBMS, then you are only going to use Filemaker effectively if you take sufficient time to understand how and why FileMaker is different. The Missing Manual can certainly help you to achieve that but its style may not be as appropriate for your needs as it is for the database user who now wants to develop databases for their own projects.
In summary then, this book is certainly a manual "that should have been in the box" but it makes no claims to being the only source of FileMaker knowledge that you will ever need. There are plenty of other resources to meet that need but I firmly believe you will be hard pressed to find any other text or resource that can match this "Missing Manual" for its comprehensive introduction to FileMaker Pro..
FILEMAKER 9 .. MISSING MANUAL November 25, 2007
David Mayer
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
The book is as massive and complete as Filemaker 9 software. I found that it was at first intimidating because of the 750 + pages but after you dive in and learn to use the index the book because a lifesaver and close companion. I highly recommend it to anyone trying to use this powerful program.
Well written. Excellent examples. October 6, 2007
Alan Fink (Cloverdale, CA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
A well written book with good insight into features of Filemaker 9. Great tips along the way for designing structure and layout. Authors do a good job in detail explanations. Good translation of technical concepts into real life usage.
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