![]() The revamped design tools stand out here, along with improved charting and beefed up container fields. Even though earlier versions of the product included more templates, we were impressed with the new ones both in terms of their visual style, the way they run on iPhones and iPads and the breadth of applications on offer. The idea here is that new users – or those in a hurry – should be able to use many of the features included in these templates straight away with the minimum of editing, although all of the templates can be tweaked, edited and amended using the full FMPro feature set. At the time of writing, FileMaker was aware of the issue but hadn't come up with a way to solve it.įMPro 12 includes 16 so-called Starter Solutions pre-designed databases covering popular applications like Contacts, Assets, Content Management, Tasks, Inventory, Invoices, Projects, Estimates, Resource Scheduling, Meetings, Expense Reports, Event Management, Product Catalogue, Personnel Records, Time Billing and Research Notes. While we applaud any move to make databases more elegant and nicer to use, it's possible that the new themes are behind the user complaints that scrolling in list and table view is much slower – some have argued that it renders the product unusable. The themes are excellent but there's no apparent way to design and then save your own ones to re-use later. Each of the 40 themes also has a 'Touch' variation, which includes elements designed specifically for the iPhone or iPad and it seems clear that the requirement to produce good-looking apps for these portable devices is behind the new themes. Given that FileMaker is a subsidiary of Apple, it's surprising that it's taken this long to focus on the look and feel of database creation, but the new version of FMPro 12 now supports themes which include pre-defined colours, fonts and object styling and can be applied to an existing database with a single mouse click. While the conversion process is straightforward for anyone using FileMaker for their own databases, those who create runtime systems for clients - there's a thriving business in bespoke FileMaker databases - will need to convince them that it's worth the trouble. For instance, you can first convert version 6 to version 11 (via the version 11 trial), and then to version 12. ![]() Users of even older versions of the program aren't forgotten entirely you can use one of the free, 'pre-version 12' 30-day trials to make the intermediate conversions. Converted databases retain their underlying structure and original design but can be given an electronic wash and brush up by applying any of the new themes. If hiccups do occur, there's a useful conversion log which may help track down the problem - and version 12 always converts a copy of the existing database, leaving the original untouched. For the first time since version 7, this release isn't directly compatible with databases built in earlier versions of FileMaker Pro, although it is possible to convert databases created with version 7 to work with the new release - we were able to convert our old accounts database without any problems.
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