FileMaker 18 Release

FileMaker Inc have released the major annual update to the entire FileMaker platform today bringing a bunch of under-the-hood improvements and a few quite valuable, though generally quite technical new features. There are new versions of:

• FileMaker Pro Advanced
• FileMaker Server*
• FileMaker Go

*The Server update includes a new version of WebDirect too — better, faster, stronger.

Should You Update?

In short yes, but not necessarily immediately — here’s how we see it:

On Desktop, iPad and iPhone

We think you’ll be fine to go ahead and update the FileMaker Pro Advanced app on your computers and iOS devices right away — the business world is getting used to updating software regularly and even automatically now which you see with most cloud software.

Mix and Match

You can mix and match too — you don’t have to update for FileMaker Server immediately, and nor is it necessary for everyone in your organisation to update their apps at once. In fact, it’s also possible to keep both FileMaker 17 and 18 on your device or computer, so you can try 18 and still fall back to 17 if there is anything misbehaving. (And in which case, let us and FileMaker know — there’s a feedback option under the Help menu.)

To be clear though, in the long run though you’ll want everyone in the organisation on the same version and we always recommend staying up with the current version for robustness, security and to ensure you have the latest capabilities available. Also please bear in mind that the new version is not extra licenses — you’re not permitted to use your previous version for other users; please ensure you are licensed for the correct number of users.

On Server

We’re a little more cautious on FileMaker Server, where we reckon on waiting at least a couple of weeks to see if any issues emerge: FileMaker Server has had some substantial changes in how it works and while these have been tested extensively for many months now, there’s nothing like the real-world to turn up issues in software.

We’ll be progressively upgrading our own servers in coming days so that we too get some real world miles under our belts and can advise you.

That said, if you’re suffering from bottlenecks on the server then the good news is that FileMaker 18 brings some huge improvements to multitasking, which basically means the server can better handle lots of users and tasks at once. In which case, let’s get on and upgrade you as soon as possible—just drop us a line asap.

What’s New?

Aside from the Server architecture, which is in fact one of the biggest and best things in our view, here’s what else is new:

For developers:

• New commands for reading and writing text file
• A new “while” construct for loops in calculations — Wahoo! Now we don’t have to think about recursion in order to create functions that work through piece of data.
• Full XML / text dump of a database file — great for version control and change tracking.
• Script error logging

New Capabilities:

• Support for more barcode types
• Start-up Restoration — FileMaker files are now automatically recovered after a hardware or software crash.
• Auto-open a particular database app on launch — simpler and easier for people who’re using one primary application within FileMaker
• Improvements to the “Data API”, allowing other apps better access to data stored in your FileMaker solution (what are they?)
• Vastly improved data import tool
• Enhancements to security, especially plugins and external access

Moving On:

FileMaker, as with most software makers nowadays are pushing more forward rather than maintaining a lot of backward capability. Not only does this make life a lot easier for the developer, it also ensures the latest robustness and security. It’s an important move and we fully support it — for us, maintaining old versions and having to work in them when clients don’t stay current means inefficiency and frustration. Moreover the move to ongoing subscription licenses means you’re always entitled to run the current version, and it’s easier just to stay current than lag and then have to catch up.

And… What are we losing in FileMaker 18?

• macOS High Sierra or better is now required
• Peer to Peer sharing is “deprecated” and permitted for testing purposes only*
• Swedish language version of FileMaker Server is being dropped
• No new app icon — this version retains the same icon as FileMaker 17

And some of the older licensing options (the Volume Licensing Agreements) have now ended: the transition to a simple per user license continues and we think this is a great idea, ultimately making licensing simpler and keeping it fair.

*Peer to peer sharing refers to being able to open a database on your computer and let others connect to it, thus “saving” you having to run the database on server. It’s kinda convenient but not very robust or secure way to run a business at all. Given that FileMaker user licensing includes server (in fact you’re permitted to run 3!) we believe this is a good move. It is still useful in some cases, particularly when developing a new database and wanting to connect from an iOS device directly to the database on your machine as you’re building it, and that use case is still supported and permitted.

This does mean though that very small operations, say 2 - 3 users, need to purchase the 5 user license — think of it as “Up to 5 users”. That might mean an increase in cost for some unfortunately. That said, we reckon FileMaker is very good value — it works out at $17 per user for 5 users with no additional cost for the server software nowadays (that used to be more than $1500 itself), and if you are just a two person operation it’s $50 per user per month.