First Look: FileMaker Pro 9 vs. Alpha Five 8 Pro

The new FileMaker Pro 9 ($299) and Alpha Five Version 8 Professional ($249) both do a good job of helping ordinary people create useful and good-looking database applications. Both programs let you create desktop and Web databases for everything from e-mail marketing campaigns and online storefronts to media libraries and Christmas card lists. But the programs have different strengths: FileMaker is more intuitive, while Alpha Five offers more extensibility via scripts and Web apps.

FileMaker Pro 9's biggest addition is direct integration of SQL data sources within forms and reports. You can now browse and edit live SQL data just as easily as you can native FileMaker data, after creating a one-time link to the SQL data source. Workgroups can then easily access and update central SQL databases, such as for inventory or personnel data. The new version also offers a friendly splash screen that links to excellent tutorials and help files, as well as to templates and recently used databases.

I particularly liked the new Send Link feature, which adds a link to your database within an e-mail message whose body text instructs the recipient how to access the database over a local network. No more futzing around figuring out IP numbers--just click.

The new conditional-formatting feature makes it a snap to call attention to significant data points or trends. You can use it to define different fonts, sizes, styles, or colors that will be used based on certain conditions. For example, an inventory field could display in large red type when the number drops below a specified level, alerting you to order more of that item. Other useful goodies are the autoresize tool, which lets you create layout objects that resize automatically to fit different screen resolutions or paper sizes; multiple undos and redos when editing field text; and field-level spelling checking, so you can turn checking off for fields containing proper names, for instance.

Additionally, you can publish forms to the Web with one click, so others could use a browser to view, for example, updates to an ongoing project or a customer feedback form.

The dozens of included templates should cover most common database needs, such as expense reports, personnel records, and inventories. Several add-on template packs are also available. Everything is compatible across the Windows and Mac platforms, too. Plus, you can benefit from the third-party ecosystem that has built up around FileMaker. Turn-key solutions for vertical markets such as real estate offices, nonprofit organizations, and healthcare management are readily available, and developers are available to build custom projects that you can then tweak and manage yourself.

Very Customizable, but Fewer Templates

Alpha Five 8 also has a big developer community, but provides far fewer templates. It has wizards for many tasks (called Genies), and a very good dialog-box builder. Nonprogrammers will be able to create quite powerful apps without scripting, although I had to spend a lot of time reading the help files and studying the examples; this program is not as intuitive as FileMaker.

Alpha Five looks sleek and polished, offering new layout tools that have been sorely lacking, such as gradient fills, as well as row color and line styles in a tabular format. Also, you can add buttons and images that are conditional on other data in browse views. For example, you can add a button that, when clicked, sends an e-mail to the person in that row, or calls up their photo from a linked personnel database. Clicking on a browse column header can now sort the data, too. Forms with embedded browse views suddenly become both pretty and useful. According to the company, version 8 performs faster window-switching and quicker execution of script and code compared with the previous version.

Other major new features include a CSS style sheet builder for better Web form designs and a well-designed Web Security framework, which lets you define privileges for users and groups to pages or collections of pages in your Web application. For instance, teachers could enter and change the grades for their own classes, but only view the grades for other classes. Fields for sensitive data like credit card numbers can be hidden entirely from unauthorized users. Web applications could also perform a variety of other functions, serving, say, as a calendar, a reservation system, or a tool that calculates the quantity of supplies needed for a specific project.

Overall, Alpha Five is less expensive than FileMaker, but its high-end versions are especially so. Comparing list prices, Alpha Five Enterprise version with SQL support costs only $349, compared with $499 for FileMaker Pro Advanced (however, even the $299 FileMaker Pro 9 offers SQL support). If you require many people to pitch in on the design of your database, you'll need FileMaker Server to get more than nine simultaneous client connections. Alpha Five's Application Server is more of a bargain at $399 for the basic version, compared with FileMaker Server's $999 price tag.

FileMaker's somewhat easier learning curve, rich template library, SQL capabilities, and instant Web publishing make it the better choice for typical home and small-business users. Also, businesses in need of SQL support could benefit from that feature's presence in the Pro version. But Alpha Five has the clear edge in extending basic functions via script building and Web application development tools, and its lower cost of ownership makes it an attractive alternative.

FileMaker Pro 9

FileMaker's ease of use, rich template library, instant Web publishing, and designer-quality layout tools make it our choice for typical home and small-business users.
List price when reviewed: $299
Current prices (if available)

Alpha Five 8 Pro

Alpha Five's extensive wizards and Web application development tools let you create custom database applications without pain or programming, at a relatively low cost.
List price when reviewed: $249
Current prices (if available)