Alex_V

jesusfreak said:

Filemaker is very capable and has a large customer base.  Far better than MS Access (not to mention cross platform).  If you haven't looked at it recently, it's worth consideration.

You’re probably right. Still one million active users appears modest. I’m willing to stick my neck out and make a prediction: Unless FileMaker does something radically different, they’ll gradually get squeezed out of the market by the ‘no code app building’ guys, on the one side; and the ‘dumbed down database apps’, on the other side. 

I have FileMaker 16. I started on FileMaker in about 2002 (version 6?). Later I discovered a super easy to use database app called Bento, made by… FileMaker. Brilliant. It was a simple thing, not relational, but I could build a db for a project in minutes. Then FileMaker discontinues it. They probably had good reason, but I don’t get it. I still didn’t get it when I discover Airtable about a year ago.  My first thought: “They’ve built a Bento for the web!” Airtable is clever, not as powerful as FileMaker, but improving. And it’s gaining traction. Why would FileMaker cede the easy-to-use database space to a new entrant? When they had the ideal app themselves?

PS, curiously, I mostly notice MS Excel being used as a database for text, not as a spreadsheet. That is exactly the purpose of Airtable, Bento etc. 

hucom2000 said:

Alex_V said:

dee_dee said:

People STILL use FileMaker?! 

Filemaker appears to have stood still since the mid 2000s. I don't bother with it anymore.

Complete nonsense. One of the most innovative products on the market. You obviously didn’t bother to even look at it since the mid 2000s…

I have a licensed copy. I use it for my legacy databases, but not when I want to build a new one. Airtable is far easier to use. FileMaker is essentially unchanged for maybe ten years, with incremental updates only. They are now emphasising the ability to make apps, if only the software was easier to use. Whenever I worked with it I had to re-learn it all from scratch. Even Photoshop is easier to master. 

dee_dee said:

People STILL use FileMaker?! 

Good point. Filemaker is a powerful database management system and quite versatile, but on the other hand, it was always supposed to be the easy-to-use option, and that crown has been taken away by Airtable most notably. Filemaker appears to have stood still since the mid 2000s. I don't bother with it anymore. If I want to build a quick base I use Airtable, which is free. Filemaker is 20 bucks a month!

iOS_Guy80 said:

Have visited the Apple store twice in the last month will continue to wear a mask regardless  of the mandate easement.

Agree with you.