The Support Group Blog

The Support Group is excited to announce our new Advanced FileMaker classes for FileMaker 12, using the FileMaker Training Series!

The Support Group’s Advanced FileMaker I and Advanced FileMaker II classes are arranged as two separate, two-day sessions. Scheduled back-to-back to make it convenient to attend both, our Advanced training will immerse you in the essential information you need to be highly proficient in FileMaker and helps prepare you for the FileMaker 12 Certification exam by covering a number of advanced topics. These classes are taught by experienced FileMaker Authorized Trainers who themselves are also FileMaker Certified Developers.

This is my first week at The Support Group, and I get to kick it off with FileMaker 12!

FileMaker 12 is here and with it comes a new file format. However, this isn’t your father’s file format change (i.e. fp5 to fp7), full of architectural rewrites, modifying scripts, and changes in behavior. If planned for correctly, it is a fairly painless and worthwhile adventure, chalk full of performance increases and development possibilities (awesome layout themes, better and easier charting, more robust container field behavior and many more).

Today I presented the webinar “Maximizing Mobility with FileMaker Go”, hosted by FileMaker, Inc.‘s Rick Colcock.  Thank you to all who attended; if you missed it or want to check it out again, you can download the video.

iPhones and iPads have changed the way people work with information. When developing solutions using FileMaker Go, you’ll want to design your workflows and user experience to fit the way people create and consume mobile data. This session will cover useful tips and techniques to optimize FileMaker for mobile use. We will explore FileMaker development with an eye to adapting workflow patterns and user interaction to the mobile paradigm, as well as the new opportunities mobile devices present, such as geolocation.

A number of clients have recently signed up for or renewed their Sapphire Maintenance Plan, and in talking about it, we realized that it’s not as well known as some of our other offerings.  It’s an annual service and support agreement that provides you with ongoing access to a team of expert FileMaker Certified developers at a reduced rate.

Thanks to all who attended!  If you missed the webinar, or want to watch it again, download the recording (which requires the WebEx WRF Player).  You can also download the sample FileMaker file used in the presentation.

When it comes to FileMaker Pro, calculations and scripts are your tools to “make stuff happen.” In this webinar, sponsored by FileMaker, Inc. and based on our Advanced Scripting and Calculations class, we explore some techniques for building robust, feature-rich databases with complex calculations, powerful scripted automation, and elegant user interfaces. 

Today’s the lucky day for all of you that have been asking, “When is FileMaker going to make an iPhone app?” FileMaker Go is an amazing new iOS app that gives you access to your FileMaker solutions on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

We are incredibly excited about the possibilities now available for our customers—and for us personally, too!  FileMaker Go runs most .fp7 databases without modification.  Layouts are rendered almost identically as in FileMaker Pro; portals, tabs, and Quick Find work; technologies such as web viewers, script triggers, and External SQL Sources (think of the possibilities there) all transfer to your iDevice.  And you get the best of both worlds: you can connect remotely to an available FileMaker Server WiFi or 3G to access live shared systems, or you can copy a .fp7 file to your phone or iPad to carry your data with you.

UPDATE 2:

The webinar recording is now available (requires the WebEx WRF Player).

UPDATE:

If you missed today’s webinar with James, a recording should be available shortly.  We’ll update this post once it goes live.  Thanks to all that attended!  If you had a question for James and didn’t get a chance to get it answered, post in here in the comments for him.

FileMaker 11 has shipped, and with it come a number of new features and interface enhancements. 11 is an evolutionary, not revolutionary, update, but that’s not a bad thing.  In the same way that FileMaker 7 introduced a whole new architecture and FileMaker 8 refined the product with script parameters and results, tab panels, PDF creation, and so on, FileMaker Pro 11 continues the goodness of 10’s updated UI, script triggers, dynamic reports and saved finds.  Here are some initial thoughts on some of 11’s new features and how they’ll impact us.

This year, The Support Group is excited to send two of its own to speak at the 2010 FileMaker Developer Conference in San Diego, which runs from Sun, August 15th through Wednesday, August 18th.

In honor of our upcoming silver anniversary, Rich Coulombre, President of the The Support Group, will be presenting a pair of business-focused sessions: one reflecting on what’s he learned in the almost-25 years of TSG’s existence, and an interactive session advising attendees starting or growing their businesses. “[Y]ou’ll hear the stories of how we have grown to this point. Learn from our successes and tough learning experiences. Hear how we operate and how things have changed over 25 years. And most importantly, learn about the one thing that has never changes… taking care of customers.”