Hands-on Guide FileMaker 8 Making FileMaker Pro 8 your Spreadsheet Companion Making FileMaker Pro 8 your Spreadsheet Companion
Introduction Microsoft Excel spreadsheets are great for crunching numbers and building charts. FileMaker Pro 8 is perfect for handling tasks and business processes such as customer information, inventory tracking, and change requests. Used together, FileMaker and Excel give you what you need to get the most out of your data and make informed business decisions. Strengths of a spreadsheet Storing and organizing data in lists Analyzing and modeling data Producing charts and graphs Building a fi nancial model Creating basic reports Controlling who can open or modify the fi le Strengths of an easy-to-use database Viewing information in list, form or table view Storing and managing virtually any type of information (words, images, numbers, fi les and more) Creating and publishing customized forms and reports Connecting related information such as inventory and sales Access by multiple people at the same time Summary Learn how to import Excel fi les instantly into FileMaker Pro 8. Then try out some of the new features in FileMaker Pro 8, including Excel Maker. Estimated time to complete: 10-15 minutes For this exercise, you will need: FileMaker Pro 8 or FileMaker Pro 8 Advanced - Download a FREE 30-day trial from www.fi lemaker.com/trial. An Excel spreadsheet that consists of columns of data (a list). Excel spreadsheet Making FileMaker Pro 8 your Spreadsheet Companion page 2
1. Create a FileMaker Pro 8 file from your Excel file. Drag and drop your Excel spreadsheet onto the FileMaker Pro 8 icon. If the Specify Excel Data dialog box appears, choose a worksheet or named range from the workbook fi le, then click OK. Selecting the worksheets to import In the First Row Option dialog box, choose whether the fi rst row of data contains fi eld names or the fi rst record of data, then click OK. Using the fi rst row of the Excel spreadsheet to name the fi elds in your FileMaker Pro database. In the Create a New File Named dialog box, type a name for the new fi le, choose a location, then click Save. Saving a fi le converted from an Excel fi le to a FileMaker Pro database. Making FileMaker Pro 8 your Spreadsheet Companion page 3
Voila, you now have a FileMaker Pro 8 fi le that contains the same information as your Excel fi le. FileMaker database with Excel data imported You can re-order and resize columns by dragging them. To sort, just click on any column header. Now try out a few of the capabilities you ve gained. 2. Use the new Fast Match capability to quickly search records that match values in the current field. New! Fast Match Select information from the current fi eld, and with one mouse click, fi nd all matching records even refi ne your search or broaden it all without typing! Right-click (or CTRL-click on Mac) in any fi eld and choose Find Matching Records. FileMaker Pro 8 shows only those records that have a matching value in the same fi eld. Select Find Matching Records to use the new Fast Match function. Now combine these results with results from another fi nd. Right-click (or CTRL-click on Mac) in another fi eld and then choose Constrain Found Set to narrow down the number of records. FileMaker shows you the subset of records that match both criteria. This process lets you create complex sets of records without any programming or complicated operations. To quickly see all the records again, press CTRL-J (Command-J on Mac). Making FileMaker Pro 8 your Spreadsheet Companion page 4
Feel free to experiment with expanding and constraining found sets. You can narrow your search or broaden it all without typing! 3. Experiment with layout mode and add a new field. Customize databases to work the way you do. Drag and drop objects where you want them. Create your own views of the data specifi c for each person s preference. Try making changes to your form. Choose View > Layout Mode. Drag and drop any of the fi elds or fi eld names that you see. Double-click to edit fi elds and fi eld names. Feel free to experiment. Make changes to your form in layout mode. To add a date fi eld, choose File > Defi ne > Database. Type in a fi eld name (Due Date as an example) and select Type: Date. Click on Create. Click on OK. Create and modify fi elds in the Defi ne Database window. The fi eld is added to your database. Making FileMaker Pro 8 your Spreadsheet Companion page 5
4. Add a drop-down calendar so users can quickly select the date. New! Calendar Drop-downs Enter dates quickly and more accurately by adding a simple point and click Calendar Drop-down to any fi eld. Double-click the date fi eld that you just created. Select Display as: Drop-down Calendar and click OK. Select Drop-down Calendar to create an easy to use calendar fi eld. Return to Browse Mode to see what you have done by choosing View > Browse Mode. Try switching to form view by choosing View > View as Form. Using the drop-down calendar to enter a date 5. Add Auto-Complete capabilities to one or more fields so that when a user starts typing, FileMaker Pro 8 will automatically complete the entry using previously entered values. New! Auto-Complete Auto-Complete saves time during data entry. It also improves data accuracy by eliminating variations, such as a company name. You won t have what looks like three different companies: Acme, Acme Inc., and Acme Incorporated. Choose View > Layout Mode. Making FileMaker Pro 8 your Spreadsheet Companion page 6
Double-click the fi eld you want to setup auto-complete. Select the checkbox for Auto-Complete using previously entered values, at the left of the dialog box, then click OK. Check the Auto-complete checkbox in the lower left so that users can type just a few characters in a fi eld to see the complete entry Return to Browse Mode to see what you have done by choosing View > Browse Mode. Create a new record by pressing CTRL-N (Command-N on Mac). To see auto-complete in action, start typing the same information as the previous record. Auto-complete makes data entry faster and more accurate 6. Send emails directly from your FileMaker database. Making FileMaker Pro 8 your Spreadsheet Companion page 7
New! Email Merge Send emails to one or many contacts in a few simple steps without scripting. Choose to add merge fi elds from your database for added personalization. Automatically add attachments if you choose. IMPORTANT: You might want to disable the auto-send feature in your email client before experimenting with FileMaker email features. Otherwise, make sure you just send it to yourself. Return to data entry mode by selecting View > Browse Mode. Select File > Send Mail Select Multiple emails (one for each record in found set) You have three options for entering email addresses in the To, CC, and BCC boxes. - Enter one or more email addresses - Specify a fi eld that contains one or more email addresses - Specify a calculation that generates one or more email addresses Spend some time experimenting with the different options. Sending email messages to one or more people using values you enter, from fi elds, or from calculations You have four options for fi lling out the Subject and Message boxes. - Enter text - Specify a fi eld that contains text for the email - Specify a calculation that generates text for the email - Insert the contents of a text fi le into the Message box Spend some time experimenting with the different options. Making FileMaker Pro 8 your Spreadsheet Companion page 8
Creative ways to use the new email capabilities in FileMaker Pro 8 Send each salesperson an email about order status for each customer: one email per customer. Send each customer a history of their purchases-to-date, with an invitation to join the frequent buyers club. Remind people that their subscription is about to expire. You can use date pattern matching and fi nd any customer with an expiration of a particular month/day/year: 6/*/2006 and then choose File->Send Mail. 7. Send data as a PDF file. New! PDF Maker Securely share FileMaker data with people outside your FileMaker workgroup even people who don t have FileMaker by creating, printing, and emailing Adobe PDF fi les. Create the PDF fi le from all records being browsed, the current record, or a blank record. (Printing blank records is a convenient way to create forms for people to fi ll out by hand.) Choose File > Save/Send Records As > PDF. Share FileMaker data through PDF fi les Click the Options button to access all PDF options available from within the actual Adobe Acrobat application: Document, Security, and Initial View. By selecting options on the Security panel, for example, you can control the right to open, print, and even copy or modify the document. Making FileMaker Pro 8 your Spreadsheet Companion page 9
PDF fi le options are available directly in FileMaker After saving, automatically open and view the Adobe PDF fi le, create an email with the fi le as an attachment, or both. Just select the appropriate options at the bottom of the Save As dialog box. 8. Send data as an Excel file. New! Excel Maker Create Microsoft Excel workbooks from your FileMaker data right from within FileMaker, for easy sharing and analysis by Excel users. Choose File > Save/Send Records As > Excel. Save FileMaker data directly into an Excel fi le To view Excel options, click the Options button in the Save Records As Excel dialog. For example, you can defi ne the name of the worksheet, title, subject, author, or enter a description about the fi le. Enter in Excel fi le information directly in FileMaker when creating a fi le Making FileMaker Pro 8 your Spreadsheet Companion page 10
After saving, you can automatically open the fi le in Excel, and/or create an email with the fi le as an attachment, or both. Just select the appropriate options at the bottom of the Save As dialog box. FileMaker data is presented in familiar Excel format, in rows and columns. Next Steps Congratulations! You ve taken the fi rst step toward managing people, projects, assets and more - the easy way! You might be interested in the free resources available on the FileMaker website. These free resources include: Pre-designed, ready-to-use databases for creative professionals, business professionals, software developers, educators, and more! Resource Guides that provide a comprehensive list of FileMaker software and services, as well as trainers and consultants who specialize in FileMaker software. Customer stories so you can read how others from around the world use FileMaker to manage their information better. FileMaker News a monthly electronic newsletter containing notifi cations of software updates, tips and tricks for using FileMaker in new ways, special offers, and more! 2005 FileMaker, Inc. All Rights Reserved. FileMaker and the file folder logo are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of FileMaker, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Mac is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries. Microsoft, Windows and the Windows logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Adobe and Acrobat are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the U.S. and/or other countries. The example companies, organization, products, domain names, e- mail addresses, logos, people, places and events depicted are purely fictitious, and any resemblance to existing persons and companies is purely coincidental. Making FileMaker Pro 8 your Spreadsheet Companion page 11