Filemaker releases Filemaker Pro 8

I'm a hardcore Filemaker Pro geek. I spend almost all of my work day (at the day job, that is) either working with or working on a Filemaker database. At home, it's completely out of control. If I have more than one of almost anything, I create a database for them.

Today, I was overjoyed to see that Filemaker had released Filemaker Pro 8, and the list of new features is very impressive. You can create PDF's of virtually any report and password protect them with a single click, or create Microsoft Excel files just as easily, again from any report. Fast Match looks great as well. It allows you to simply right click on any field and bring up all matching records. Also new is Tab Control, which makes building tabbed layouts (and who doesn't use tabbed layouts?) so simple. Build a single layout with multiple tabs instead of having to  build multiple layouts and script all those tabs! I can't wait to try that out. You can find the full list of new features here.

Filemaker is offering a free demo as a download. When you download the demo, you can get a free Small Business Productivity Kit, which features a ready-to-go solution for small business owners that's wide open, so you can poke around and customize to your heart's content.

Filemaker Pro 8 requires a G3, G4 or G5 and Mac OS X 10.3.9 or Max OS X 10.4. A single license will run you $299US, and users of older versions can upgrade for $179US.