FileMaker Go 1.2.4 Now Available!

A free update for FileMaker Go 1.2.4 for iPhone and iPad is now available. This update addresses compatibility issues associated with running on iOS 5.

Specifically, it resolves an issue where scrolling between fields causes redrawing that can hang the application. It also fixes an issue where selected text that appears behind the keyboard causes a jumping effect.

This update is free to existing FileMaker Go users.

To learn more these issues, visit the Knowledge Base.

If you haven’t yet purchased FileMaker Go, it is available on the iTunes App store for $19.99 (iPhone); and $39.99 (iPad).

FM Starting Point Localization Efforts

FM Starting Point is RCC’s free business template that has seen over 150,000 downloads. This has been a runaway success for the English users of FileMaker. Due to its success, RCC has been working to translate FMSP to all available languages supported by FileMaker. Currently completed translations include Spanish, German, and French. Work on Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Chinese, Japanese, and Italian are underway.

RCC has already received great feedback regarding the localized versions of FMSP. Alejandro Gidi, a localized FMSP user states this about the product, “We are very happy and pleased with FM Starting Point. It enabled us to literally jump-start our project. The solution is running about 20,000 records at the moment, and we’re adding around 1,000 more per day. Thanks for a great product at an affordable price. Congratulations and keep up the good work!”

Get your localized copy of FM Starting Point at http://fmstartingpoint.com/languages/localization.html

RCC Expands iOS App Development for Customers

While FileMaker Go is a powerful database application for FMPro users, it is not free on the Apple app store. Frequently, customers want to redistribute free or very low cost applications, making FileMaker Go an unacceptable solution due to its minimum price of $19.99 for iPhone and $39.99 for iPad. For this reason, RCC is using other technologies to develop low-cost apps for our customers. One such app was built for Century Helicopter and is available for both iPhone and iPad. This app focuses on helicopter safety as well as providing sales and promotional information for Century’s line of aircraft.

 

Additionally, RCC has teamed up with Front Sight Firearm Institute to develop a low cost app for distributing Front Sight’s 45-page manual for the iPhone and iPad. The app outlines the basics of firearm training as well as preparation for firearm training at Front Sight Nevada.

 

If you would like to see a free or low cost app developed for your organization feel free to email Richard Carlton Consulting at info@rcconsulting.com.

Solid-State Hard Drives With FileMaker Servers

RCC has aggressively worked with customers to develop faster FileMaker Servers. Some FileMaker solutions involve very large file systems or very large user groups. Sometimes the problem is a combination of the two. For this reason, slow performance may result in an unacceptable user experience. Even with a well-designed database, the sheer volume of data may overwhelm the server itself, affecting overall performance. The introduction of solid-state hard drives to FileMaker Server has been one of the biggest transformational improvements ever. Over the last few years, RCC has been deploying FileMaker Servers with solid-state hard drives. In doing so we have seen great performance improvements. Tasks that used to take 7-8 minutes to perform have been recorded to take about 14 seconds. The previous SATA level (2) was clocked at 100 times faster than an average 5400-RPM hard drive. The latest generation of the SATA technology (3) has been recently released both on the Windows and Macintosh platforms. Without getting into the technical details of this technology, it has the ability to double the speeds that solid-state hard drives operate. Some I.T. managers find this fact to be highly irritating since brand new $799 Mac Minis operating on solid-state hard drives now easily outpace $10,000 servers that were purchased 3 years ago.

If you are interested in exploring SSDs, feel free to contact Richard Carlton Consulting, Inc. or contact your I.T. manager and tell him you want SATA 3, and don’t take no for an answer!

Using FileMaker to Place Automated Phone Calls

RCC now has the ability to easily integrate automated phone calls with our customers’ FileMaker solutions. This is not meant as a telemarketing spamming tool, but is intended to augment email notifications for mission-critical communications. For example: if a vacation resort cancels a reservation for a customer, an email confirmation of that action would occur. The customer may never see this email for multiple reasons such as issues including spam filtering or his own inattentiveness. Therefore it might be advantageous to backstop critical emails with an automated phone call.

Automated phone call notifications can be of value for three main reasons:

1. There is no current email address on file for the contact.

2. The user doesn’t regularly read their email, so we cannot guarantee that it will be read.

3. The email may be intercepted by spam filtering systems and never be delivered to the user.

With an inexpensive subscription to a monthly service, RCC can enable FileMaker databases to easily send out automated phone calls at any time of the day.

For more information, contact Richard Carlton Consulting, Inc. or contact your FileMaker engineer about automated phone calling using FileMaker.