Chapter 1 chapter 1 Your First Database FileMaker Pro databases can be as simple as a phone list for the soccer team or as complex as a company-wide system for purchasing, sales, inventory, invoicing, shipping, and customer tracking. But they all have a few important aspects in com- mon and essentially work the same way. This chapter gives you a tour of File- Maker's major features and gets you up and running on your very first database. FileMaker's vast assortment of tools and options can make its window as intimi- dating as a jumbo-jet cockpit. But the program's menu commands, dialog boxes, keyboard shortcuts, and other options stay largely consistent across all databases, from the most basic to the most high-powered. Almost everything you learn in the next few pages applies to every database you'll ever use. Note: Because a database usually solves a problem of some kind, some FileMaker experts call a data- base a solution, as in, "I can create an inventory solution for your bakery, but it's going to cost you some dough." Usually, database and solution mean the same thing, although the term solution sometimes implies a system of several connected databases (more on that in Part 3). A Very Quick Database Tour Every FileMaker Pro database has two things in common: One, it stores heaps of information; and two, it gives you the tools to manage that information. Whether you start from one of FileMaker's templates (page 6) or a completely blank slate (page 9), your new database starts out data-free. It's an empty vessel waiting to be filled. (It would be nice if the program could figure out what data you want and enter it for you, but that probably won't happen until FileMaker Pro 8008.) You 3 FileMaker Pro 8: The Missing Manual, eMatter Edition Copyright © 2007 O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.