Rating: 
Summary: Great for small businesses
Review: I own a small business (3 employees) and our data and file-keeping methods were getting totally out of control. I was trying to decide between FileMaker Pro and Access. I hate Microsoft products in general, but didn't know much about FileMaker. A friend told me this was the FM book to get, so I bought it. I'm glad I did. It is so non-techy in the descriptions that even I get it. The templates were not only a big help but a huge time-saver.
Rating:
Summary: Best FMPRO guide for developers
Review: I've been waiting for this book to come out all summer and when it finally arrived I saw that my wait was not in vain. The templates alone are worth the price. It's guides like this book that will help keep FileMaker alive and well in the world of relational databases.
Rating:
Summary: Special Edition Using Filemaker Pro 5
Review: If you are going to be building multiple databases for different uses, and especially if you are planning on becoming a developer, this is one book to buy! It is clearly laid out, concise, thoughtful, full of real life tips and solutions, and all in an easy to read and friendly format. It goes the extra mile in helping a would be developer work with clients effectively. I wouldn't recommed it if you are looking for a starting point "how to" book though. Though instructions and language are clear it assumes some knowledge of databases and the program. I am jumping from building simple databases for my work, to making database building a business of my own, and this was exactly what I needed.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource
Review: If you feel the best books about a software product are the ones that go beyond the product, then Using FileMaker Pro 5 by Coulombre and Price is a must have read. This book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in learning how to approach creating a database, from the initial interview with a client through a complete solution. This book is as much a manual about good business sense as about using FileMaker Pro and I found that a refreshing change from most software manuals. While lacking indepth information about some of FileMaker's more esoteric features, it gives the reader more than enough good information to get more out of FileMaker.
Rating:
Summary: A Great companion to User Manual
Review: If your an intermediate user to FMP, you'll love this book. If you're an advanced user, good scripting and reporting info and good webifying Chapter. Also, good case studies and planning chapters.
But if you are new to FMP, except for the chapter on planning, you need to have a basic understanding of the program. Otherwise, it is the beginner and intermediate who will really benefit from this book.
It also contains a CD which has great examples of invoicing, billing & inventory control to great scripts and layouts. If you can only buy one book to accompany the user manual, this would be my choice at the present.
Rating:
Summary: This is the one!
Review: My collection of Filemaker books is now four in total. If I could keep only 1, which would it be? Clearly it would be Using FMP 5.0. While Scriptology is better in showing how scripts should be done, Using FMP 5 is certainly adequate for intermediate users like me. What I benefit the most from this book is its style... a book to be read in full sentences and discussions... not just quick help lines. You come to learn the authors philosophy and strategy for FMP applications and their administration. Highly readable, highly informative and it has been highly useful. This is the one I'd keep if I only could have one.
Rating:
Summary: Best book on FileMaker Pro I have seen to date.
Review: Over the years I have purchased ten or more books on FileMaker Pro. Most of these books rehash the same information that can be found in the user's manual. This book provides a more advanced look at FileMaker Pro topics and is written from the point of view of a developer. Some of the topics not found in the manual include techniques for dealing with common errors made by users (such as striking the return key at the end of data entry in a field which can adversely affect field concatenation), error trapping, field masking, and user interface tips. If you are looking for something more than is found in the manual, I recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Different But Effective Approach to FileMaker
Review: The great thing about this book is its approach. Before the book even gets into "this is how you should define a number field" or "this is what's up with calculated validations" there are two whole chapters devoted entirely to planning your database system before you click one mouse button or hit one key on the keyboard. You are shown by a seasoned developer who has already made many mistakes and learned from them how to estimate what your database system will need (and what it doesn't), how long it will take, even how much it might cost. And it covers the all important issue of how to interview your client (or your boss) and get, in layman's terms, the vital bits of information you'll need to turn these users' hopes and dreams into a powerful, dynamic database system. Other topics that are especially useful are plenty of great portal techniques, how to keep your data healthy, and effective user interface design. I have to admit, I had been anticipating this book for a long time and was slightly disappointed that some of the very advanced topics that I've been looking for help and guidance with were not covered that much (or at all) such as the use of plugins, advanced ODBC connectivity, advanced Web development, or Applescript/Active X automation. Thus only four stars. But these are relatively minor issues and specific only to an advanced developer like me. The CD-ROM has tons of great technique files on it, too! If you had to get only one FileMaker book right now, this is the one you should get.
Rating:
Summary: A Different But Effective Approach to FileMaker
Review: The great thing about this book is its approach. Before the book even gets into "this is how you should define a number field" or "this is what's up with calculated validations" there are two whole chapters devoted entirely to planning your database system before you click one mouse button or hit one key on the keyboard. You are shown by a seasoned developer who has already made many mistakes and learned from them how to estimate what your database system will need (and what it doesn't), how long it will take, even how much it might cost. And it covers the all important issue of how to interview your client (or your boss) and get, in layman's terms, the vital bits of information you'll need to turn these users' hopes and dreams into a powerful, dynamic database system. Other topics that are especially useful are plenty of great portal techniques, how to keep your data healthy, and effective user interface design. I have to admit, I had been anticipating this book for a long time and was slightly disappointed that some of the very advanced topics that I've been looking for help and guidance with were not covered that much (or at all) such as the use of plugins, advanced ODBC connectivity, advanced Web development, or Applescript/Active X automation. Thus only four stars. But these are relatively minor issues and specific only to an advanced developer like me. The CD-ROM has tons of great technique files on it, too! If you had to get only one FileMaker book right now, this is the one you should get.
Rating: 
Summary: Not very Special Edition
Review: This book can't be for serious developers. You will read to Chapter 8, Crafting the User Interface,
page 214 (out of 532) before seeing anything that's
more than "do the right thing"-type of generic advice. It's too bad, since the applications I've downloaded
in a quest to get a handle on FileMaker are all very
attractive. This book, however is not helping me
with the simplest of tasks: how to use FileMaker Pro
to turn an Excel spreadsheet into a useful database.
Importing the data and cutting the flat Excel file is
easy to do with the help of the FileMaker Pro user
interface. Coulombre and Price point out the FileMaker
model isn't stricly relational. I"m still looking for
the "how to" join (or relate) my Christmas card history
to the address file. Having created the relationship,
this is where the FileMaker help falls off rapidly, and
you might expect this book to become useful. It doesn't. The chapter titled "Dumb Portal Tricks" should have included some
simple, or straight-forward "how to" map a portal into the
layout. The layout chapter could have included one example of how to
put tabs on the layouts. The authors give good reason to prefer
tabs over menus in organizing an application. I believe them.
It will have to remain on faith, lacking necessary evidence. I'm not breaking the seal on the accompanying CD since there
is no information in the book about what to expect. The rest
of the book offers little hope the CD will be more help with
specific tasks.
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