FileMaker Pro 5.5 Unlimited (the worldwide English version), is now available and It is certified for Apache Web Servers running Red Hat Linux 7.1 and the new Mac OS X Server.
FileMaker Pro 5.5 Unlimited offers all the features of FileMaker Pro 5.5 — including two-way ODBC capabilities, record-level access privileges and more — but sets no limits to the number of Web Browsers that can access a FileMaker Pro database published on the Web, according to Dominique Goupil, president of FileMaker. Plus, the new version has two improved powerful Web database-publishing options: FileMaker Pro Web Companion for publishing databases instantly to an intranet or the Internet, and the Java-based FileMaker Web Server Connector for improved performance, load balancing and data security via IIS 5 and Apache Web Servers.
Using multiple copies of FileMaker Pro 5.5 Unlimited and the FileMaker Web Server Connector, users can create a “redundant array of inexpensive computers” that provide scalable load balancing and fail-over fault tolerance for greater data availability, Groupil said. FileMaker Pro 5.5 Unlimited can also be used with middleware, CGIs and application servers to build large-scale customized Web solutions, he added.
For example, data from FileMaker Pro 5.5 Unlimited can be dynamically served to Java Server Pages (JSP) authored in Macromedia Dreamweaver UltraDev 4. You can read all about this at the FileMaker site.
“FileMaker Pro 5.5 Unlimited solves the problem of sharing important information for both traditional and virtual workgroups across the enterprise,” Goupil said in announcing the product. “With built-in record-by-record access level privileges and SSL Web Server support, FileMaker Pro 5.5 Unlimited also meets the requirements of IT management.”
Groups of knowledge workers can now create a new Custom Workgroup Portal by using an existing FileMaker Pro database so there’s no need for HTML coding to design a Portal layout. The databases listed within the Custom Workgroup Portal are dynamically generated by scanning a local server, indicating which databases are open and available for sharing.
FileMaker’s Instant Web Publishing has beefed up Web layout fidelity features. Table Views, Sort and Search Views now match the FileMaker Pro client user interface, Goupil said. The standard FileMaker Web navigation controls can now be suppressed, so developers can specify their own Web based controls using new and expanded scripting support for more than 20 script steps.
Active objects in a Web browser, such as buttons within a FileMaker Web database, are now highlighted as the mouse cursor passes over them. Complete relational value lists are now supported through Custom Web Publishing, Goupil said.
When it comes to Web publishing, FileMaker Pro 5.5 Unlimited now includes content and documentation by Web Developers for custom Web publishing FileMaker Pro databases, such as: CDML Reference DB, CDML Tool DB, CDML Example, JDBC Driver, Java Script Documentation, CSS Documentation, XML Documentation, and XSL Documentation. Developers can restrict access to the data based on user name, computer user, or the time of the day over the network and over the Web. And the FileMaker Web Server Connector leverages Web server features such as SSL.
FileMaker Pro 5.5 Unlimited has an estimated retail price of US$999; an upgrade from previous versions is $499 for upgrades. For more info go to the FileMaker Web site.