Filemaker 5.5 (OSX) "unexpectedly quits" when I open a certain file but works fine with all other files. Addtionally, the file wll open fine with Filemaker 5.0 (OS9). I have tried recovering it but that doesn't help. Why, oh why? Is there an OSX preference or something that is problematic? I seem to remember a thread about this somewhere.

5.5 for OSX is very buggy. I work with it all the time. I have it quit on me every time I tell it to quit from a script. In the last month I've had 3 databases messed by random quits too.

FMI hints that 6 is better with OSX but i haven't bothered trying it.

It's fun when the end user bears the brunt of companies that hastily put products out there just to meet market projections (that goes for ALL companies from MS on down - im not singling out FM here).

Ken

I have tried using FMP 6 to now avail. The only version it now works with is 5.0 in OS9.

Just out of curiosity, what is your experience with other applications running under OSX?

I tried OSX about 10 months ago to see what it was like. I decided that I would have to invest a lot of money in upgrades to all my applications in order to get anything worthwhile out of OSX. That opens up a whole new can of worms with all the bugs in the new applications. On the other hand, time cures a lot of OS bugs. Last year, I told someone to wait a year before switching to OSX. Considering how slowly the problems are being fixed, I think I'll add at least another year to that. Besides, by next year, I will have probably upgraded most of the software that I regularly use, and so switchover (note, I don't use the word "upgrade") should go a little smoother.

I switched to OSX exclusively about 3 months ago. So far I like it though with my powerbook G3 Pismo, it is a little sluggish. The thing I like most is stability (current problem nowithstanding). Protected memory is great. The look is beautiful. There are some things I miss form OS9 but I have heard 10.2 will fix many of them.

"Now I don't mean to go on a rant here..." -Dennis Miller

Personally I think that Apple is trying to find a happy medium between Win and MacOS. I'd like to see the concept of the Finder go away, but have the intuitiveness and ease of MacOS that we all love.

Apple is way too concerned with competing for Windows users' attention. They want you to beleive that everything you do on Win can be done on Mac. They use the term "supercomputer" too loosely, and sometimes go as far as false advertisement. Apple is that guy who got screwed by the cards he was dealt and is trying his hardest to swing change in his direction (which may never happen). A little healthy competition is good for advancing technology and we are all going to have to switch to OSX someday. If Jaguar is as good as they claim, I think it might signal that we should be ready to deal with OSX.

I just hope that someday we will all be working on generally the same platform, whatever it may be.

Ken

I still don't have a solution to this. If I must trash this file, how can I duplicate it? Recovering does not help. Has anyone had this problem?

If you are going to trash the file...

When I had a file that would not open, FMI told me to make a completely new file, re-create all the fields and import the data from the damaged file.

It's looking as if that is all I'm left to do! Hassle!

I'm willing to bet that your OSX machines still have System9, right? Perhaps you have already done a benefit analysis for reverting to 9 for the time being?

Yes (sigh), they do, and I certainly can run it under Classic but it just bugs me, y'know? I want it to work right. Luckily, the file is not that complicated and it shouldn't be that difficult to duplicate, but I wish I knew what was causing it.