FileMaker Pro 11 review

Supported subtotal behaviour includes Total, Running Total, Count, Running Count and Average amongst others, and these can be displayed in leading' or trailing' positions (at the top or bottom of the table). The resulting report can only be viewed from Table view, and a minor drawback is that FileMaker chooses the format for the sub summary data and this cannot be altered.

If you don't like the format, you can always build the report in the usual way by defining the fields and report layout where the New Layout/Report Assistant has received enhancements to improve efficiency.

Portal filtering is an advanced feature that lets you filter the records displayed in a portal'. (A portal is FileMaker's method of displaying records from related tables). Now you can design a portal that filters those records, so if you have a portal showing your customers' orders, you can filter to show just those with a total value over, say, 200. Previously this has been possible with a deal of work but it's now a simple operation.

Verdict

There are useful new features in this release, many concerned with improving usability and efficiency and these enhancements will definitely be appreciated by existing users. The arrival of charts is a huge bonus for FileMaker Pro users too. For business users it’s likely to prove a ‘must have’ and a major driver for adoption of version 11.

Windows 7 Ultimate, Pro, Home Premium: 1 GHz or faster, 1 GB RAM, DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver, DVD drive Windows Vista Ultimate, Business, Home Premium (SP2): 1 GHz or faster, 1 GB RAM, 1024x768 or higher resolution video adapter and display, DVD drive Windows XP Pro, Home Edition (SP3): Pentium III 700MHz or faster, 256 MB RAM, 1024x768 or higher resolution video adapter and display, DVD drive Mac OS X v10.6: Intel-based Mac, 1 GB RAM, DVD drive Mac OS X 10.5.7: PowerPC G4 (867MHz+), Power PC G5, Intel-based Mac, 512 MB RAM, DVD drive