New FileMaker 9 Product Line Delivers 30 Ease-of-Use Breakthroughs including Live Connections to SQL Data
Innovative new FileMaker 9 PHP Site Assistant enables non-programmers to create PHP-driven websites
About FileMaker, Inc. FileMaker is the leader in easy-to-use database software. Millions of people, from individuals to some of the world's largest companies, rely on FileMaker software to manage, analyze and share vital information. The company’s products are the FileMaker Pro line – versatile database software for teams and organizations, for Windows, Mac and the Web – and Bento, the personal database for Mac, iPhone and iPod touch. FileMaker, Inc. is a subsidiary of Apple. Copyright © 2009 FileMaker, Inc. All rights reserved. FileMaker and Bento are trademarks of FileMaker, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
The new FileMaker 9 product line, which the company called its
most dramatic new offering in years with over 30 ease-of-use
breakthroughs, is available today, and includes FileMaker Pro 9,
FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced, FileMaker Server 9 and FileMaker Server 9
Advanced.
FileMaker Pro 9 includes many new features, for end users and
developers, to simplify creating, automating, sharing and reporting
from databases, including a new Quick Start screen for new users to
be quickly productive; Conditional Formatting, which highlights
data based on parameters the user sets; and the ability to email a
link to other FileMaker users, which they can click to instantly
access your database.
The new version also offers breakthrough easy-to-use tools so
FileMaker users and workgroups easily can connect to the world of
company and Web data residing in external SQL data sources: MySQL,
Oracle SQL and Microsoft SQL Server.
The new Server 9 products, which enable workgroups to share
databases over the network and the Web, come with a completely
modernized and streamlined Admin Console, so FileMaker Pro users
can easily set up and administer Server software.
“FileMaker is the acknowledged leader in easy-to-use
database software which empowers workgroups,” said
Dominique Goupil, president of FileMaker. “With FileMaker
9 we go further. We make it easier than ever for developers and
users to manage information in amazingly productive and creative
ways. For example, our goal is to make FileMaker Server 9 so easy
that FileMaker Pro customers can install it in 20 minutes or less,
and quickly share database solutions.
”FileMaker 9 is perfect for innovative organizations who
realize the benefits of empowered self-service
workgroups,” Goupil said.
Early Evaluator Customers and Developers Laud New FileMaker Pro 9
"The best part about FileMaker Pro 9 is that we can now
develop new layouts and interfaces in the fast, easy-to-use
FileMaker environment that we are completely comfortable with,
without knowing a lick of SQL, and we will be able to integrate our
data with other Oracle based products," said Lee Snover,
president, Technologies Plus, Inc (
www.tplus.com
), a FileMaker
developer based in Bath, Pennsylvania.
Paul de Halle, development director at Linear Blue,
(www.linearblue.com) a FileMaker developer in London, U.K.,
comments: “The new functionalities in FileMaker 9 will
allow us to integrate the database software with live data from
other technology such as MySQL, Oracle and SQL Server, which will
prove to be a huge benefit to the businesses we work with. Features
such as the new Quick Start Screen will enable us to improve the
user experience making favorite databases easier and quicker to
access. In addition to all this, the back-end technology
has been simplified and will ultimately enable us to build and
customize solutions even quicker for customers.”
“FileMaker 9 will make both our client’s data
environment more satisfying for them to use and our development
timeframes shorter,” predicted Frank Heinrichs
President/Owner/Chief Technical Officer of Sound Advice
(http://www.soundadvice.net/), an Apple Value Added Retailer and
Small Office/Home Office automation specialist in Costa Mesa, CA.
“The ease of accessing data from the Internet and being
able to incorporate that information inside the database
are phenomenal. We have a client who will require the new
Conditional Formatting feature for tracking job status with his
shop, which will allow us to meet his requirements without any
workarounds.”
“FileMaker Pro 9 is another successful revision of a
great product,” said Todd Marchal, Applications
Developer, Plastic Technologies, Inc. (
http://www.plastictechnologies.com
),
Holland, Ohio. “The new features build upon a solid
foundation of performance and ease of use. FileMaker Pro
9's External SQL data connectivity will enable greater
interoperability with other software solutions. It is remarkably
easy to use and provides a means for utilizing the strengths of
FileMaker with the strengths of other data sources.”
Connect to the world of data in External SQL Data Sources
Using the new one-way or two-way live connectivity to popular SQL
sources, FileMaker Pro 9 users within any business or organization
can safely and securely create custom reports, add calculations and
other fields, and even build relationships with existing FileMaker
data – just using the easy-to-use tools of FileMaker Pro.
“Linking FileMaker Pro 9 solutions to the open source
strengths of MySQL will greatly empower the developer and user
communities of both product lines,” said Zack Urlocker,
MySQL AB's executive vice president of products.
With the new PHP features of FileMaker Server and FileMaker Pro 9
Advanced both users and Web developers can publish information to
external websites, gather information from Web visitors, and create
new solutions combining a Web-based front-end with a rich,
FileMaker Pro back-end.
Mac users of the new FileMaker products can connect to SQL sources
with the Actual ODBC Pack version 2.7, now available from Actual
Technologies LLC (
http://www.actualtechnologies.com
).
New Data Integration and Easier Database Design Features in
FileMaker Pro 9
FileMaker Pro 9 (
http://www.filemaker.com/fm9_announce_pr
)
features many new capabilities to make databases more
“connected” for users, as well as a suite of
advanced but easy-to-use development and customization tools for
developers. New features include:
• Connecting to a world of
data, by easily creating links and integrating live MS SQL server,
Oracle and MySQL data as if it were FileMaker-based data.
• Ease of use
breakthroughs, including the FileMaker Quick Start Screen, which
remembers your favorites and gives you access to the new videos in
the FileMaker Learning Center, Send Link Database Sharing, a
one-click feature that sends an email with a hyperlink so you share
a database with other FileMaker Pro users, and Append to PDF, which
allows users to consolidate multiple data reports into a single PDF
file.
• More productive database
design, including script grouping and editing tools, conditional
formatting, auto-resize, enhanced layout objects, enhanced tab
control and an improved Web Viewer.
Advanced Database Design Even Easier with FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced
New features in FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced (
http://filemaker.com//fm9_announce_pr)
that are focused on giving users faster and easier ways to create
advanced and customized database solutions include:
• Enhanced Database Design
Report and File Maintenance tools, making it even easier to modify
and maintain databases.
• Improved Script Debugger
and Data Viewer, for identifying and correcting script errors
earlier in the design process.
• PHP Site Assistant Link,
providing a one-click launch of the PHP Site Assistant included in
FileMaker Server 9.
FileMaker Server 9 Products Feature Most Significant Upgrade in
its History
FileMaker Server 9 and FileMaker Server 9 Advanced feature
one-click integration with the Web using PHP, a simple 20-minute or
less install time for basic installations, plus the most
significant redesign of the server interface ever. With FileMaker
Server 9, users can generate a fully working PHP website using
FileMaker data without writing code in just minutes.
Other major new features include PHP Custom Web Publishing for
creating dynamic data-driven websites, shared access to live data
from external SQL sources, and a web-delivered server console.
Pricing and Availability
All FileMaker 9 products are immediately available. New users may
purchase FileMaker Pro 9 for $299 (U.S. suggested list price) and
FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced for $499 (U.S. suggested list price).
Existing users of FileMaker Pro 7, 8 and 8.5 may upgrade to
FileMaker Pro 9 for $179 (U.S. suggested list price). Existing
users of FileMaker Developer 7, FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced and 8.5
Advanced, and FileMaker Pro 7, 8, 8.5 and 9 may upgrade to
FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced for $299 (U.S. suggested list price).
FileMaker Server 9 is $999 (U.S. suggested list price) and
FileMaker Server 9 Advanced is $2,499 (U.S. suggested list price).
Existing users of FileMaker Server 7 and 8 may upgrade to FileMaker
Server 9 for $599 (U.S. suggested list price). Existing users of
FileMaker Server 7 Advanced and 8 Advanced may upgrade to FileMaker
Server 9 Advanced for $1,499 (U.S. suggested list price).
FileMaker offers license discounts for volume purchasers as well as
for education and non-profit organizations.
Special FileMaker Pro 9 Limited Time Offers
Two limited-time offers mark the launch of the new products:
Buy FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced and get a free 1-year FileMaker
Technical Network membership, valued at $99. Available through
Sept. 21, 2007 (more details at
www.filemaker.com/technet_pr)
.
The FileMaker 9 VLA Workgroup Bundle (10 FileMaker Pro 9 licenses,
one FileMaker Server 9 license and one FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced
license) lets corporate, education and government customers save
more than $750 off regular prices, and is available through Sept.
28, 2007 (more details at
www.filemaker.com/bundle_pr
).
800-325-2747
http://www.filemaker.com
Media contact:
Kevin Mallon
408-987-7227
kevin_mallon@filemaker.com