FileMaker - History

History

FileMaker began as a MS-DOS-based computer program named Nutshell - developed by Nashoba Systems of Concord, Massachusetts, around 1982 or 1983. Nutshell was distributed by Leading Edge, an electronics marketer that had recently started selling IBM PC-compatible computers.

With the introduction of the Macintosh, Nashoba combined the basic data engine with a new forms-based graphical user interface (GUI). Leading Edge was not interested in newer versions, preferring to remain a DOS-only vendor, and kept the Nutshell name. Nashoba found another distributor, Forethought Inc., and introduced the program on the Macintosh platform as FileMaker. When Apple introduced the Macintosh Plus in 1986 the next version of FileMaker was named FileMaker Plus to reflect the new model's name.

Forethought was purchased by Microsoft, which was then introducing their PowerPoint product that became part of Microsoft Office. Microsoft had introduced its own database application, Microsoft File, shortly before FileMaker, but it was outsold by FileMaker and Microsoft discontinued it. Microsoft negotiated with Nashoba for the right to publish FileMaker, but Nashoba decided to self-publish the next version, FileMaker 4.

Shortly thereafter, Apple Computer formed Claris, a wholly owned subsidiary, to market software. Claris purchased Nashoba to round out its software suite. By then, Leading Edge and Nutshell had faded from the marketplace because of competition from other DOS- and later Windows-platform database products. FileMaker, however, continued to succeed on the Macintosh platform.

Claris changed the product's name to FileMaker II to conform to its naming scheme for other products, such as MacWrite II, but the product changed little from the last Nashoba version. Several minor versions followed, and things finally settled down with the release of FileMaker Pro 1.0 in 1990.

In September 1992, Claris released a multiplatform version for both the Mac and Windows. Except for few platform-specific functionalities, the program's features and user interface were the same on both platforms. Version 3.0, released around 1995, introduced new relational and scripting features.

By 1995 FileMaker was the only strong-selling product in Claris's lineup. In 1998, Apple moved development of some of the other Claris products in-house, dropped most of the rest, and changed Claris's name to FileMaker, Inc., to concentrate on that product.

Version 4.0, introduced in 1997, added a plug-in architecture much like that of Adobe Photoshop, which enabled third-party developers to add features to FileMaker. A bundled plug-in, the Web Companion, allowed the database to act as a web server. Other "plugs" added features to the interface and enabled FileMaker to serve as an FTP client, perform external file operations, and send messages to remote FileMaker files over the Internet or an intranet.

Version 7, released in 2004, introduced a new file format (file extension .fp7) supporting file sizes up to 8 terabytes (increased from 2 gigabytes in previous versions). Individual fields could hold up to 4 gigabytes of binary data (container fields) or 2 gigabytes of 2-byte Unicode text per record (up from 64 kilobytes in previous versions). FileMaker’s relational model was enriched, offering multiple tables per file and a graphical relationship editor that displayed and allowed manipulation of related tables in a manner that resembled the entity-relationship diagram format. Accompanying these foundational changes, FileMaker Inc. also introduced a developer certification program.

In 2005 FileMaker, Inc. announced the FileMaker 8 product family, which offered the developer an expanded feature set. These included a tabbed interface, script variables, tooltips, enhanced debugging, custom menus, and the ability to copy and paste entire tables and field definitions, scripts, and script steps within and between files.

Version 8.5, released in 2006, added an integrated web-viewer (the ability to view such things as shipment-tracking information from FedEx and Wikipedia entries) and named layout-objects.

FileMaker 9 was released on July 10, 2007. This version introduced a quick-start screen, conditional formatting, fluid layout auto-resizing, hyperlinked pointers into databases, and external SQL links.

FileMaker 10 was released on January 5, 2009, before the Macworld Conference & Expo. This version offers scripts to be triggered by user actions and a redesigned user interface that is similar to that of many applications on Mac OS X Leopard.

FileMaker 11 was released on March 9, 2010. This version offers charting.

FileMaker 12 was released on April 4, 2012. This version offers themes, all-new starter solutions, streamlined charting and makes it easier to make iOS databases.

FileMaker Go 11 for iPhone and iPad was released on July 20, 2010. These versions allow only record creation, modification, and deletion. Design and schema changes need to be made using FileMaker Pro.

FileMaker Go 12 for iPhone and iPad was released on April 4, 2012. These versions allow only record creation, modification, and deletion. Design and schema changes need to be made using FileMaker Pro. This version offers support for multitasking, improved media integration, export of data to multiple formats and enhanced container-fields.