Apple subsidiary FileMaker is marking its 30th birthday this month with FileMaker 14, the newest release of its database and application development platform for iPad, iPhone, Windows, Mac, and all mobile web browsers.
FileMaker was born 30 years ago as Nutshell, a DOS-based database program from Nashoba Systems, a tiny startup outside of Boston. Apple’s Claris subsidiary acquired FileMaker in 1988, and ten years later, changed the company name from Claris to FileMaker.
You don’t have to have database development experience to use FileMaker, which has pre-existing templates that you can modify to fit your exact needs. New and updated features in FileMaker 14 include:
An updated (version 14) of FileMaker Go for iPhone and iPad adds more rich text editing options and a new user interface for iOS 8, although you can hide the interface by making your applications full screen. You can also lock the screen orientation of your layout to portrait or landscape, and display a signature capture screen in portrait and landscape. If your application has video, you can play it in a container field as well as in full screen. Version 14 also lets you add a script to control whether or not the user’s touch keyboard appears in your layout.
FileMaker WebDirect has been redesigned to make it easier to bring desktop style database-driven applications to mobile browsers on desktops, iPads, and Android or Windows tablets. The redesigned toolbar automatically adapts to the browser’s screen size, with larger tap targets, slide-in menus that optimize screen real estate, and menus that collapse and expand into groups as the screen size changes or the user rotates the device.
FileMaker says that WebDirect is now up to 25 percent faster when opening most web-optimized layouts, and has doubled the number of concurrent connections it can support from 50 to 100.
A new Launch Center lets users see a list of recently opened files, favorite the files used the most, and drag files to reorganize them. It aims to bring an app-like interface with big, bold icons in place of dialog boxes and pull-down menus. You can choose from 29 pre-built icons, or design custom icons. Your Launch Center will look consistent on any platform, whether it’s Windows and Mac with FileMaker Pro, iOS with FileMaker Go, or in a browser with FileMaker WebDirect.
FileMaker 14 also adds a point-and-click application called Script Workspace that aims to help even non-coders create, edit and view scripts and calculations–such as for assigning a new task to the employee with the most availability, reordering inventory when stock is low or creating an invoice during a customer meeting.
FileMaker 14 also packs in more new network optimization and security features. FileMaker Server Admin Console now has stronger password controls. Automatic reconnect from FileMaker 14 applications to FileMaker Server 14 helps users recover quickly from a lost or unreliable network connection, and there’s also a new standby server option.
While FileMaker Go is free from the App Store, the full version of FileMaker Pro 14 starts at $9 per month if billed annually. You can also opt to pay a one-time cost of $329 for an individual license, or $549 for the advanced version, which adds more customization, security, debugging and analytics tools. You can try FileMaker 14 for free for 30 days.
FileMaker is available in 15 languages, and you can also find hundreds of third-party applications created for the FileMaker on the company’s “Made for FileMaker” site as well as the FileMaker Community, a free online resource with more than 50,000 members.
