Rating: 
Summary: A Real Disappointment
Review: I bought this book because at the time of my order it was the only one still available for version 6.0. I should have taken the clue. The other books were out of stock for a reason. They were good. I'm very suspicious of the other 5 star reviews here, because this book is a real disappointment for me, and I rarely am w/technical books. Difficult to read w/marginal examples. I'm sure this book has use as a backup technical resource, but if you're learning the software and need one book, this AIN'T it. Nolan Hester's Quick Start is just ok, a beginner book by comparison. I would wait for Que's upcoming book on Version 7.0. Que's books are typically excellent, but the Version 5 book is dated at this point, so I didn't buy it (I should have, in hindsight)
Rating: 
Summary: The best computer book I've ever seen.
Review: I bought this book particularly to help me learn about scripts and functions available in Filemaker Pro v6.I was stunned! I have never come across a computer book that is easier to read. I find that with most computer books I need to be looking at the screen at the same time as trying to read them. Chris Kubica has done a fantastic job in writing a book that the reader can easily follow and understand even when they're away from the computer screen. I've been able to easily design my own customer database after reading the book. I am actively looking for other databases to design because the whole process was so pain-free. The book also covers pro unlimited, developer, server and mobile. My next project will be to adapt my customer database to a palm pilot format for my staff to use when they're away from the office. If you need to know about Filemaker Pro 6, buy this book. It's that simple.
Rating:
Summary: Just What I Needed!
Review: I had used Filemaker briefly and superficially several years ago to do a relatively simple favor for a friend. However, now ... I belong to a theater group and we needed a database to use in doing our ticketing process. So I volunteered! Silly me! At any rate, I upgraded my copy of Filemaker and set to work learning its intricacies as quickly as possible, not realizing yet how complicated the product as I envisioned it would be. Since the documentation supplied with Filemaker is kind of sparse, I bought a book, several in fact, including Chris' book, specifically. I wanted something that would teach me to use the product at a level beyond a simple discussion of the tools, and I found it in this book! Chris's book is readable and full of useful examples. I read it, turning down corners and marking passages like a fiend, until it looked pretty ratty. But I learned! Chris covers not only the basics of how to use the tools, but also the planning, the"philosophy" if you will - the way to think about and organize a project, the things to consider in actually implementing it. Before I retired, I spent 30 years doing programming and I understand the way to do a software project, and this book seemed very familiar in its approach. There are lots of other books on Filemaker, but this one seems to me to be one of the best in the way it covers all facets of doing a Filemaker project. One thing in particular that I found very helpful is the size of the index! It sounds silly, but having a thoroughly detailed index is very helpful in a book running nearly 800 pages, especially when you want to review some minor topic whose location you can't quite recall. All in all, I have used this book more than any other in doing my theater project (which is now almost finished) and I'm very glad I spent the money on it.
Rating:
Summary: If you can only afford one FM book - make it this one
Review: I have been developing in Filemaker since version 3, but do so in isolation from other developers. So books are important to keep up to date and benefit from other's experience. I have a library of 10 or more Filemaker books, some specialising in particular areas, like web delivery. But if you only have time, space, or money for one general-purpose Filemaker book, then there is no question it should be this one. I never have time to read a 'Lesson 1' style book - I am more likely to read a single chapter of interest, or use it as a reference. This book suits that role well. It will give you good knowledge of basic-intermediate development skills, and gives strong treatment to some more difficult subjects, like plug-ins and interfacing to other programs. If you are planning to work on web-delivery, this will get you started, but you should also get Advanced Filemaker Pro 6 Web Development (Bowers/Lane)
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive, well-written, expert information
Review: I have been disappointed with several of the Filemaker books on the market because I'm far from a newbie. In fact, I'm quite an accomplished Filemaker developer and earn my living producing Filemaker based products. I've known of Chris's work in the Filemaker community as well as that of the contributors to his book. He's definitely collected a group of experts for the book and it shows. This is a must have. A very, very well done work by a group of experts in the field. The coverage is excellent with considerable information not found anywhere else. Kudos!
Rating:
Summary: This book is very helpful for the novice FileMaker Developer
Review: I have read through and even purchased several FileMaker books in the past which claimed to be 'complete references' and although they were somewhat helpful, this book far surpasses them in content and presentation. Topics such as the Top 10 FileMaker Plug-Ins, and the chapters on AppleScript and Active X automation were thoroughly dealt with and I haven't found this information anywhere else. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs a complete reference with some extras not found anywhere else. Especially those who are interested in the latest products and features and those work with FileMaker in both Apple and Microsoft environments. I'm keeping this one!
Rating:
Summary: I highly recommend it
Review: I just arrived in HOT Pheonix Arizona for some early meetings at FileMaker's annual international Developer Conference 2003. A friend loaned my her copy of this book and I took it to my hotel room for some nighttime reading. I could not possibly get through all the chapters, but I read the ones that interested me. Wow is what I can say. First, I realized that this book would be good for any training course I might teach on FileMaker which I do often for classes, corporations and private folks. The book starts with no assumption of FMP knowledge but eventually gets there after many step by step examples and suchwise. I also looked up topics I was very interested like building relational DBs and tinkering with AppleScript. Did you know that you can use applescsirpt to automate not only FMP but FM Server as well? This book shows you about it. The only possible beef I have is that I wondered about Web enabling an while there are two whole chapters on it, It doesn't cover every minute aspect of Web enableing. But I must admit, as the author does, that that topic would take a whole nother book to cover and he humbly points you to the right sources. Especially great is a chapter in this book on how to integrate FMP with stuff like email, fax, PDF, graphs, charts, other applications, etc. Also, the coverage of integrating FMP with MySQL for export and import is great-e-o. :)
Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Review: I spend a lot of time looking for computer training books, but eventually I do find one that is indespensible. For FileMaker, this book is it. Granted, it is written for FMP 6, but that should not stop anyone from reading it. My recommendation is to train on FMP 6 with this book and then spend an hour catching up to speed on FMP 7 with the tutorial. Converting FMP 6 files to FMP 7 should not be a concern; any 5th grader today can figure it out. The complaint that this was not written for beginners is ridiculous. I have an art history degree and do not consider myself a "quantitative" person, but yet I l leared FMP. Learning about software requires time and patience, something many are unwilling to invest. The rewards, personally and professionally, are huge. This book was excellent. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Kudos to Mr. Kubica
Review: I thought it was just great. I always appreciate a computer book that doesn't put me to sleep.
Rating:
Summary: Great combination of reference and how to on FileMaker 6
Review: I'm not sure that a couple of the reviewers read the same book that I did. This is an excellent volume that, in addition to the main author, taps into a number of FileMaker experts in their individual areas of expertise. I (literally) have a large file storage box that I used to carry around that has been replaced with this one book. It is both a great "how to" and a reference source as well. I immediately got the value of this book from several tips and recommend it to anyone as the single source for FileMaker . . . IF YOU ARE GOING TO GET JUST ONE FILEMAKER BOOK, THIS IS IT !!!!
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