[WinPartners] FileMaker 9 Release Announcement

[Cecilia Marra]

Good afternoon,

Information Services and Technology (IS&T) is pleased to announce the availability of and support
for FileMaker 9 for Macintosh and  Windows.  IS&T offers full support for FileMaker Pro 9 and
limited support for FileMaker Server 9.  

IS&T recommends that users of earlier versions of FileMaker move to v9.0v3.  Current users of
versions 7.0 or earlier are strongly  urged to move directly to version 9, bypassing migrations to
intermediary versions along the way.  Current users of version 8.x should  also move to v9.0v3 to
take advantage of the new features.


New Features
--------------
Version 9 is similar to version 8.5, but with some valuable new features and functionalities.  
For more information, go to http://itinfo.mit.edu/article.php?id=8255

A major new feature of FileMaker Pro 9 is its External SQL Source (ESS) functionality.  This feature
enables you to interact in real  time with databases, such as the Data Warehouse, without importing
the data into your local Filemaker database. 
For more information about this feature, go to
https://web.mit.edu/ist/warehouse/mitonly/filemaker_warehouse.html.


System Requirements
---------------------
For FileMaker Pro:

Windows requirements:  go to http://itinfo.mit.edu/product.php?vid=770#sr

Macintosh Requirements:  go to http://itinfo.mit.edu/product.php?vid=769#sr

NOTES:  FileMaker Pro 9 is fully compatible with Microsoft Vista.  
FileMaker Pro 9 is compatible with Leopard, but requires the v3 patch.  
To download, go to http://www.filemaker.com/support/downloads/index.html.

IS&T recommends that FileMaker Pro users WAIT to upgrade to Vista and Leopard, and continue to
utilize Windows XP SP2 and Mac Tiger  10.4.x.  

For FileMaker Server:

Windows requirements:  go to http://itinfo.mit.edu/product.php?vid=775#sr

Macintosh Requirements:  go to http://itinfo.mit.edu/product.php?vid=774#sr

The FileMaker Server 9 products are not compatible with Windows Vista or Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard).  A
patch for Leopard compatibility is  expected from FileMaker Inc. early in 2008.


Backwards Compatibility
------------------------- 
The FileMaker 9 file format is compatible with the 7.x and 8.x family.  However, IS&T recommends
against mixing client versions in a  shared environment, as there are feature differences that could
cause problems for users of older versions. 
For more information, go to http://itinfo.mit.edu/article.php?id=8667. 


How to Obtain
--------------- 
FileMaker Pro, FileMaker Advanced (formerly Developer), and FileMaker Server Advanced are available
for use by the MIT community under  the terms of an IS&T-brokered volume license agreement with
FileMaker, Inc.

MIT community members who wish to request licenses and media for Filemaker Pro 9 may order online:
http://web.mit.edu/is/products/vsls/mitfmpro/.
There is a $100 processing fee for orders placed by faculty and staff. 

NOTE: Support for FileMaker Server is limited.  
To see which features are supported, go to http://itinfo.mit.edu/article.php?id=8684.
IS&T will not provide support for FileMaker Pro Advanced.  


Getting Help 
-------------- 
FileMaker at MIT documentation can be found at http://itinfo.mit.edu/product.php?id=48. 

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the 
Computing Help Desk at (617) 253-1102 or computing-help at mit.edu.

Thank you and enjoy the new world of FileMaker 9!

Cecilia Marra, 
Product Release Coordinator on behalf of the FileMaker Release Team

---------------------------------------------------------------
Cecilia Marra
Web and Database Consultant
Departmental Consulting and Application Development (DCAD) 
Information Services and Technology
cmarra at mit.edu