FileMaker Mobile: Talk to the Palm
by Clint Roberts <clint@filemakermagazine.com>
RATING: General
VERSION: FileMaker 5
PLATFORM: Macintosh & Windows
TECHNIQUE: None
Now that the dust has settled and we've all gotten to see what our true FileMaker Pro - Palm integration options are, it is time for me to chime in with my two-cents worth.
While you may develop your own solution using AppleScript under Mac OS or Visual Basic under Windows OS to automate bi-directional data transfer between the Palm Desktop application and FileMaker Pro using Microsoft Entourage, Microsoft Outlook, or Microsoft Outlook Express, in my humble opinion, there are only two valid options for FileMaker Pro - Palm integration, as follows:
- FileMaker, Inc.'s FileMaker Mobile
- FMSync Software's FMSync for JFile
Certainly other products such as Team Soft, Inc.'s TeamAgenda can synchronize with the Palm, but not you are limited to a subset of existing Palm Contacts and Schedules fields that can be synchronized. Therefore, I have chosen not to include this type of synchronization applications in my review.
This is a difficult review to put together largely because FileMaker Mobile, FMSync for JFile both work to integrate FileMaker Pro with Palm OS Compatible PDAs.
The issue is how they work on the FileMaker Pro-side, how they work on the Palm OS side, which platforms they work on, what their feature sets are, and which target markets the product vies for.
For years FileMaker developers lamented the fact that no direct cross-platform enterprise-level Palm connectivity was available for FileMaker. We wanted a plug-in that allowed us to communicate directly to a Palm device to synchronize data. Simply place your Palm device in its cradle and hit a button in a FileMaker database solution and synchronization begins.
Here is a technical profile of FileMaker Mobile and FMSync for JFile. In my conclusion I make recommendations regarding which is my product of choice.
FileMaker Mobile
FileMaker Mobile has the following features:
- Supports Three field types
- Can sort on a primary field
- Can search on one field
- Can hold up to 20 fields with a maximum of 2000 characters
- Supports FileMaker Pro 5.0 and 5.5
- Can be used on Single-User databases only
- Each computer with FileMaker Mobile supports only one Preference set
FileMaker, Inc.'s target market is the business user who needs to synchronize a single-user database with contact information or other data.
FMSync for JFile
JFile boasts the following features:
- Supports Eight Field Types
- Uses Palm date and time pickers
- Supports Creation and Modification Dates and Times
- Single and Multiple Choice popup menus and checkboxes
- Can sort on a primary, secondary and tertiary field
- Simple to Advanced search tools
- Can hold up to 50 fields with a maximum of 4,000 characters each
- Supports FileMaker Pro 3.0, 4.0, 4.1, 5.0, 5.5
- Downloads Calculated fields and provides bi-directional synchronization of related fields
- Can run a FileMaker Pro script before and/or after synchronization
- Can be used with Multi-user databases
- Can be created from multiple FileMaker databases
- Multiple user settings for Palm synchronization preferences on a single machine
As you can see, FMSync for JFile is a much more robust solution for FileMaker — Palm connectivity. Alas, the only caviat is that it is a Mac OS only solution (at least for now).
FMSync Software's target market is any Mac OS user who has moderate to advanced synchronization needs.
Conclusion
Please note that products such as FileMaker Mobile or FMSync for JFile installs a database engine on your Palm device. They then use HotSync Conduits to synchronize data between FileMaker databases and the database engine installed on your Palm device.
In the business world where the majority of computers use the Windows OS, FMSync for JFile falls short. Quite frankly, I prefer FMSync to FileMaker Mobile due to its feature set comparison. In a perfect world, I would like to see a FMSync for JFile ported to Mac OS X and Windows. It has all the features that most users need. I would also like to see users or FMSync for JFile to be able beam database records from one Palm device to another Palm device with a similar database structure.
Your choice for FileMaker — Palm integration is still not an easy one. Choose your integration option that best suits your current needs and your foreseeable short-term needs.
This month we are giving away a copy of FileMaker Mobile to one lucky reader who sends in their favorite uses for FileMaker Mobile to <editor@filemakermagazine.com>.
We will contact and post the winner within the next two weeks.
Happy FileMaking!
Clint Roberts is the Senior Technical Editor for ISO FileMaker Magazine. Email him at <clint@filemakermagazine.com>.