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Alastair Sawday Publishing
FileMaker Pro 7 Binds the Books at Alastair Sawday Publishing
Launched in March 2004, FileMaker Pro 7 lets users import, store
and export any file or document—PDFs, Microsoft Word, Excel or
PowerPoint files, digital images, video, music and more —within
new, flexible Container fields. Also new is the ability to open
multiple windows on the same database to give users faster and
simultaneous access to different views of their information.
Alastair Sawday Publishing (ASP), the company behind the
well-known travel guidebook series Special Places to Stay , has
built its book production process on a FileMaker foundation—and is
already relishing the prospect of the additional benefits to be
gained from FileMaker Pro 7.
Special Places to Stay s a collection of travel guidebooks
covering most of Europe and now India and Morocco. Nearly every
edition published (over 50 books) has been compiled with the help
of FileMaker. Over the years, the use of FileMaker has become more
and more elaborate, as the firm continues to mine FileMaker’s
built-in flexibility and versatility.
According to Russell Wilkinson, IT manager for ASP: “We got our
copies of FileMaker 7 about a week after it was announced. In fact,
we've been keeping our eyes peeled for this new version since last
year, having heard rumors that it would include all sorts of new
features and functions. FileMaker has made the relational structure
much easier to access and to develop. It's a brilliant innovation—a
kind of 'coming of age'. From a database development point of view,
our horizons have been dramatically broadened. The new structural
aspects of FileMaker 7 will mean that not only will we have a much
more capable server application, but we'll also be able to trim the
number of related files down in a big way by embedding files within
files, freeing up server space at the same time.”
One of FileMaker’s great strengths says Wilkinson is its scope for
the evolution of the company's systems—the use of FileMaker has
grown to accommodate the developing needs of the business, with
more features added all the time and users empowered to work in
ever more innovative ways.
Comments Wilkinson: “In 1994, Alastair Sawday moved into
publishing travel guides after years of running his own tour
company. The tour company had been using a Microsoft Access
database written by a developer, which turned into a brick wall
when anyone found a need to tweak, modify or alter anything
structural. They realized they were stuck with a database that
would not grow with them. That company has now been wound up and
our concentration has shifted to the publishing venture, which has
been using FileMaker almost since day one and just keeps going from
strength to strength.”
Continues Wilkinson: “We’re a relatively small team—50 including
all our peripheral contributors—sharing over 100 related FileMaker
databases. Our editors, largely from literary and language
backgrounds, quickly find themselves proficient database operators
and, to varying extents, developers. And that’s what’s so special
about FileMaker. It lets ordinary humans—not just computer
gurus—participate in the development of the systems we all share.
It is in no small part to FileMaker that we owe the success of the
Special Places to Stay series.”
The guides themselves are administration-intensive
publications—over 4,000 places are featured across several
countries and each one has been visited by an ASP inspector.
Information on every entry is fed back from readers and
contributors, and updated regularly. There is a great deal of
content crossover between the books, too. For example, an owner of
a B & B may also rent out self-catering accommodations, perhaps
in another country. FileMaker can bridge the gaps between owners,
the places they own and the books in which they appear, enabling
users to be plate-spinners par excellence.
As Wilkinson notes: “FileMaker has not only paved the way for
collaborative work on all our books, but has also permitted us to
begin publishing their contents online—an essential component of
travel publishing today. It has even empowered us to take on our
entire book production process in-house, saving us thousands of
pounds in typesetting costs every year.”
ASP also runs its contact management system, organizes PR, and
performs dozens of other administrative tasks through FileMaker.
Concludes Wilkinson: “Our business relies on FileMaker. We share
and integrate our work as it evolves, making the company a more
productive one.”
To find out more about ASP and the Special Places to Stay
guidebook series, visit
http://www.specialplacestostay.com
For information on where to purchase FileMaker products please
call:
Tel: 01628 534158 www.filemaker.co.uk
Filemaker Contact:
Kevin Mallon
Public Relations Manager
FileMaker Inc.
408-987-7227
kevin_mallon@filemaker.com
http://www.filemaker.com
- Alastair Sawday Publishing (ASP), the company behind the well-known travel guidebook series Special Places to Stay , has built its book production process on a FileMaker foundation. Nearly every edition published (over 50 books) has been compiled with the help of FileMaker.
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