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More than any competing database product, FileMaker's FileMaker is suitable for end users who need simple data storage and retrieval, as well as for people who have the scripting skills needed to automate more-complex processes. I looked at a beta version of the new FileMaker 6, which incorporates its predecessor's outstanding usability, multiplatform capabilities, and superior graphics handling.

Version 6 lets you effectively manage graphics; for example, it permits you to import an entire set of images at once from digital cameras or folders. It also has Windows XP compatibility and can write and read XML streams, so users can integrate the product with other enterprise databases. That feature alone makes buying or upgrading to this version worthwhile for businesses that are adopting a data-interchange model. An organization's support staff could set up the beginning users--who analyze or interact with database-stored information--and give them a FileMaker window into Microsoft Access, an enterprise resource-planning data source, or SQL.

This version does fail to correct two shortcomings of its predecessor. The program still lacks data-entry masks; and because it doesn't apply data validation (which it uses in data-entry screens) to batch imports, you must clean up or filter newly imported data.

Other features new to version 6 are tactical improvements, such as a search-and-replace function and a format "painter" that Microsoft Office users will recognize. The new model for complex searching, which allows you to use compound criteria, seems faster to me than the old model. And designers have contributed 21 customizable templates for basic business, education, and home data applications (covering such areas as time billing, purchase orders, and an image catalog), so you can quickly set up the database you want.

SUMMARY

FileMaker 6 Not a must-have upgrade of the popular database program, but it has many usable new features. List: $299, upgrade $149

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