FileMaker Pro, Version 5.5

FileMaker Pro, Version 5.5

FileMaker Pro, Version 5.5 is a multi-platform relational database that is easy to use, highly customizable and powerful enough for almost any law office application. A significant part of a lawyer’s day consists of keeping track of information so it can be arranged in a helpful way. That is where databases come in.

To test FileMaker, I created a database to keep track of my tasks. FileMaker runs on Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000 and Mac OS 9.1/X, which means files can be shared on a mixed network. This is significant because Microsoft Access, a similar database application, doesn’t run natively on the Mac OS. If you have a mixed PC and Mac network, FileMaker is an obvious choice.

In sharing FileMaker files on a network, one machine must act as a host. The host can either be a dedicated server running FileMaker Server 5.5 for up to 250 users or a single PC or Mac hosting up to 10 users. The other machines are guests given access to the files on the host. Access can be restricted with passwords.

If the host is connected to the Internet or an intranet (with a static Internet Protocol (IP) address), FileMaker allows instant Web publishing; no knowledge of HTML is required. In just a couple steps, the data becomes available on the Web or your firm intranet and is viewable (with password protection, if desired) by anyone with a Web browser. Users can then modify and delete data through Web forms generated by FileMaker. Like all forms, they connect to the data in the database through a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) script created on the fly by FileMaker; no prior knowledge of CGI is necessary to accomplish this.

FileMaker allows extraordinary formatting of fields, labels and backgrounds, making it easy to design readable data entry forms and reports. If, for example, you want to create a database of documents (including the full text of the documents) to review with your client in another city, it only takes four steps:

1. Create the database
2. Password protect the file
3. Password protect individual records in the file, if necessary
4. Publish the file(s) to the Web.

For performing a task like this, FileMaker Pro 5.5 might be the easiest program around.

When you create a FileMaker database, the program presents you with a default layout (what Microsoft Access users call a form) that includes all the fields in the database in the order they were entered, with appropriate field labels. Add, delete or modify the fields in the database including the attributes (text, number, date, time, calculation, summary, global, etc.). You can create other layouts by dragging and dropping fields, labels and tools from the toolbar. By comparison, if you want a form in Access, you have to create one. This isn’t difficult or time consuming, but it’s an extra step.

A valuable use of databases for attorneys are relational databases, which allow fields from more and more databases to be linked. Relationships are created in layout view. As a result of that link, entries from one database can be viewed in the other database without having to enter and maintain the information separately. For example, if you create a database of tasks, and want to keep track of who the tasks are for, you can relate the task database to a contact database through a common field. When you view the task list, you can display the name, address and telephone number of the person for whom the task was done without having to enter it in the task database.

Of course, the only reason to put information into a database is to be able to get it out whenever you want in precisely the manner and format that you want. In FileMaker, a default Find layout consisting of all of the fields in the database, is created automatically. You simply type the search criteria into the Find layout and click “Find.” That is all there is to it.
Getting the precise information out of a database in the order you want is done by creating reports. In FileMaker, a report is basically the same thing as a layout — just create a layout designed for printing the data you want in the format you want.

On the down side, FileMaker Pro 5.5 doesn’t support Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), such as Access. However, it does support a powerful, but proprietary scripting language called Scriptmaker. With Scriptmaker, you can do most anything a law firm would need. File-Maker also supports Open Database Connectivity (ODBC), which allows you to connect to other database sources that support ODBC, such as Access and Oracle databases. FileMaker Pro also allows you to formulate Structured Query Language (SQL) queries.

The software manual and Quick Start Guide included in the box are excellent, and it’s probable that you can learn everything you need to know with these tools. Technical support is excellent and includes one free phone call. After that, support is available at $3 per minute, or $45 per call.

FileMaker Inc.
(800) 325-2747
www.filemaker.com

Price: $249; $149 for upgrade

Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000 and Mac OS 8.1 to 9.1 and OS X

Reviewed by Steven Schmidt, shareholder, director and president of Business & Technology Law, Albuquerque, N.M.

Dec/Jan '02 Issue

PROS
Numerous useful features, easy to learn and use. The program does most of the work for you and offers incredible flexibility in designing layouts and reports.

CONS
No Visual Basic for Application (VBA) capability, but instead, a proprietary scripting language called Scriptmaker.

VERDICT
This is a powerful, full-featured, multi-platform relational database that is easy to learn and use.