FileMaker 8 also adds drop-down calendars (pictured right), making it easier than ever for users to enter dates into fields. Think of this latest version of FileMaker as the equivalent to the Jaguar update to Mac OS X-this is the really-ready-for prime time release.Īnother common data-input featuring making its FileMaker debut is visual spell checking, where a squiggly line now appears under potentially misspelled words. If you’re still using FileMaker 6, the time to upgrade is at hand.

Finally, there was the fact that converting old solutions for use in FileMaker 7 was, in many cases, so difficult and so expensive that some companies and developers simply decided to sit that version out.įileMaker Pro 8, six months sooner and six ways stronger than anyone expected. Do-it-yourself developers-the other half ofįileMaker’s core market-found the new features perhaps a bit too daunting. Ordinary end-users didn’t care much about the most revolutionary features in FileMaker 7-things like the new relational engine, or the ability to put many data tables in a single document file.

But good reviews aren’t everything-real-world adoption of FileMaker Pro 7 was slow. FileMaker Pro 7, released in March 2004, was the database application’s most ambitious upgrade ever, with the finished product getting a warm reception from reviewers.

Filemaker advanced