I'm starting a customer and parts database for a manufacturing company. I've been looking online as to what is better, MS Access or Filemaker. I've read they are compatible with one another, but how difficult is it should I want to convert files from one program to the next?
It seems access is the easier choice because it does have larger market share, but I'd like to use my mac rather than my PC, for obvious reasons. But I also read that it is much easier to publish Filemaker to the web, which is a huge plus.
Anyone have experience/opinions?
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Jim
12" PowerBook G4, 1.33ghz, 1.25gb, 60gb
Filemaker far and away. It's certainly the industry leader on both platforms when it comes to easy to use databases.
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Great thanks for the replies. How is the learning curve on FileMaker? I have some Access experience but that was a few years ago. Is anyone familiar with a database program called Vision? I will need to convert a Vision database to Access or Filemaker.
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Jim
12" PowerBook G4, 1.33ghz, 1.25gb, 60gb
Filemaker comes with help and tutorials and an intro
Im sure you can import tables and data from access
here's a suggestion, to cross port from Access to Filemaker
In Access, export your tables and data as SQL files, and that can be imported into Filemaker pretty easy.
I doubt you can move forms and reports over across the two.
But you should be able to recreate the forms and report page and web stuff in Filemaker in a straightforward fashion. and both PC and mac users can run FM.
Lots of ehMacers use Filemaker so their might be some existing projects you can play with to adapt to your purpose.
I'm starting a customer and parts database for a manufacturing company. I've been looking online as to what is better, MS Access or Filemaker. I've read they are compatible with one another, but how difficult is it should I want to convert files from one program to the next?
It seems access is the easier choice because it does have larger market share, but I'd like to use my mac rather than my PC, for obvious reasons. But I also read that it is much easier to publish Filemaker to the web, which is a huge plus.
Anyone have experience/opinions?
Oh dear.
MS Access and Filemaker are about as compatible with each other as Ford and Chevy. You can get in and out, and you put in the same gas, but other than that all of the parts are different. You're kinda implying: Ford and Chevy are compatible cars, so I should be able to swap engines and transmissions between them.
Compatibility doesn't mean simple conversion of data.
Data is exportable from one program to the other, by way of text files, or with some work, through ODBC and/or SQL*. However it is NOT the sort of thing you want to do all the time. The programming, business logic, database structure, layouts, UI, certain graphic file formats, and everything else are NOT transportable between programs - they are utterly foreign to each other.
(*if your organization is large enough to maintain its own web and database servers and data warehouse, and have multiple users querying the same data from different applications through SQL, this will be an entirely different conversation)
To an extent, Filemaker IS easier to publish to the Web... if you are running your own servers. Otherwise it is more costly to outsource Filemaker web serving. Filemaker is also easier to program... up to a point. Beyond that point it becomes more difficult to get it to do exactly what you need. This 'point' may be farther out on the horizon than you will ever need to do, in which case it's a decent, fast to develop, cross-platform small to midsize business system.
Here's what I think you should do. You should engage a database professional to analyze your requirements, rough out a structure for the data, and be able to make some informed recommendations, based on your requirements, of what product can handle the job. This will cost you some coin up front. But it will save thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands in lost time and money if you forge ahead down a dead-end path.
Oh dear.
Here's what I think you should do. You should engage a database professional to analyze your requirements, rough out a structure for the data, and be able to make some informed recommendations, based on your requirements, of what product can handle the job. This will cost you some coin up front. But it will save thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands in lost time and money if you forge ahead down a dead-end path.
I agree. The best advice is to examine how important the application will be to the business, and invest in it accordingly. I continue to shake my head at organizations that will invest hundreds or thousands of dollars on something that will gain them little if any improvement in productivity, and ignore areas where an investment would pay off big time.
I'll add a third opinion of talk to a database person before you commit. Clearly lay out your immediate needs, as well as your needs for the next little bit (say a couple of years). Make sure to include things like:
- types of access (local, web, shared on network, how many machines).
- types of reporting required
- portability requirements
- interoperability with other systems
Also if you're referring to Business Vision (or anything in that series of products) you'll probably find that they don't want you to get data out of their setup as they sell competing products and do mostly whatever they can to lock down their data. There is no simple "convert", there are a lot of jumping through hoops and reformatting your data.
Now is a good time to consider this stuff, before you commit to anything. That said if web access is a large requirement I don't think Filemaker or Access are good choices. You might also look into php/mysql based setups, there may be an open source/free solution already out there that will do what you need it to do.
Last, but not least, (and people are going to slay me for this one) ... if things are relatively simple requirement wise try staying with Xcel spreadsheets until you really need to move on to something else. Once you commit to one of the 2 choices above you are stuck in that vein unless you go back to scratch and start again, and both avenues cost you $$ at each step of the way, so the longer you're in one the more it costs. Make sure it's the right one the first time
Hmm, yes I had an IT specialist come in from a company that shall remain nameless. I wanted him to come in and assess my situation, and basically set it all up for me, but he turned out to be useless and was basically just trying to sell me Microsoft products.
Perhaps I will try another IT solutions company.
Yes I figured they were not easily compatible, thanks for putting the official stamp on it. Very good to know.
So it looks like Filemaker is the best choice. This is just for a small tool manufacturing company. I'm basically looking to get this online so that my salesmen and frequent customers can track the progress being made on their orders, and get info such as estimated time of completion etc. Rather than having to call or email to get such info.
We need to copy the database of our distrobution company, but they are using a special DB called Vision I believe. And it's much more than we need.
As a larger question do you believe FileMaker is an appropriate program to do what I have stated above? Or am i going about this all wrong?
Thanks for the replies this is very informative.
__________________
Jim
12" PowerBook G4, 1.33ghz, 1.25gb, 60gb
Spring Cleaning Sale email for flyer..sweet prices across the board • Many Retina's, Airs, new iMacs all on sale - great • OWC at par Trades welcome
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