This is probably a real dumb question but I couldn't see the answer directly on the fm.com site or anywhere around here.

Can I develop a fairly basic DB on FM6 on Mac and give it to a client to use with his copy of FM6 on PC?

Thanks for your help.

-Greg

Should work fine. I have a few basic databases that I modify and use on both platforms (a strength of FM, IMHO). I have had to re-paste simple graphics (logo) when moving from PC to Mac because the Mac treats the graphic as a Windows Embedded Object. Otherwise, it works well for me.

Wicked awesome. I suspected it might be the case but I wasn't sure. Thanks for your help.

You might also want to use a font that looks good on both platforms. Personally I like Verdana. It is readable on the screen at sizes 9, 10 and 11, and is almost the same on both platforms.

Verdana is on most Macs because of default installs of Internet Explorer. This may not always be the case in the future, but it's good for now. Microsoft is no longer distributing it on their free font page however, though they used to (monopoly?).

Arial is another possibility, but looks kind of skinny and pixilated on pre-OS X Macs. For printing I like Times New Roman; but there are probably others (Georgia).

Fonts which are only on one of the platforms may or may not be "substituted" with something that looks OK.

A couple more things to be aware of:

1. Mac and Windows handle the hiding and maximising of app windows differently. Just make sure that if you have any of these functions scripted, test it on both. In fact, test every aspect on both platforms

2. Fields created on a Mac may appear "shorter" on Windows. So some text like "g" and "y" and such may get clipped.

3. It was already mentioned, but you will want to check "store compatible graphics" and make sure you handle images properly. For example, I like to use jpegs only. If I want to use images, I place them in container fields by using Insert/Picture. Don't use copy/paste from windows because this is how you get those ugly "windows OLE object" text where your picture should be.

4. There are functions that are specific to each platform, and will be ignored if used on the opposite platform. Refer to the manual.

My advice, develop it on Windows if it is going to be cross-platform. It will probably be much easier to go back and insert a few pictures than it will be to go through all your layouts and resize fields. I started out developing on a Mac and got used to the nice interface. It takes some getting used to when moving to PC, but no big deal.

Ken

Thanks all. Now, I'm ready and willing to be PC-abled.

As for the font problem: I develop on the Mac, but set Font Size 1-2 Points bigger when designing layouts/creating fields on the layout. Then I switch back to desired size..