Learning FileMaker™ Pro

Learning a new tool can be fun, exciting, and challenging. The decision to learn a new technology is usually based on factors such as the availability of the technology (how easy is it to get and install?), the price, and the market for selling your new knowledge.

FileMaker™ Pro is a technology I believe is a contender for the best example of all of these. It’s easy to download and install since there is a demo version on the website and it’s free to use for 45 days as of this writing (2020-04-15). This is plenty of time to work through any number of tutorials and decide how it fits the other two criteria mentioned above; price and market.

Price and market for the skills are related since if you can make good money with the tool, the price of the development environment will be covered by your billing. We’ll cover the price and methods of acquiring FileMaker™ Pro in another post as it’s a subject worthy of getting into and more than just a paragraph in a posting. My own experience is that FileMaker™ Pro has a large market and it can pay well for someone who is willing to learn and grow with the times. Those who have learned the basics but don’t keep learning will quickly fall behind and be less useful to an employer or the clients.

While the basics of tables, fields, and layouts haven’t changed so much in the last 10 years, the more advanced topics related to integrating of a data solution to the larger world are changing pretty quickly. Getting data to and from a web page or a form has become both easier and more complex because the options available have also grown in number. Learning to use SQL makes things easier, but has it’s own learning curve and pitfalls. JSON has gone from good-to-know to what is now an essential tool. These are just a couple of examples of the many integrating technologies with which one should be at least familiar. Becoming an ‘expert’ makes you that much more valuable to an employer or client.

If you’re wanting to learn FileMaker™ Pro, stick around… I’ll be teaching both the basics and some more advanced techniques while also curating some of the best that my peers are offering. We’ll cover FileMaker™ Pro and Claris Connect and add other tools, plugins, templates on offer, and the techniques that have been invented by the best in this business.

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