Macs and PCs

[Carl17]

I've been asked to design a database for up to 60 concurrent users. The awkward side of it is that the company in question use a mixture of Macs (OSX) and PCs (XP) attached to an OSX Mac network. There will be around 50,000 records altogether.

I have to confess I am more of a M/soft Access designer than FileMaker but could work in either/both. Can FileMaker link to an Access database file? Can FileMaker run equally well on PCs as on Macs? Is there a more convenient back-end format that could then be linked to separate front-end files (perhaps FileMaker for the Macs and Access for the PCs)? If anyone has been down this road before and has some useful suggestions, I'd be very grateful...

Thanks.

[Ender]

FileMaker is cross platform. You will want to test your solution in both environments as you go, however, as some fonts render differently in the different OSs.

[BrentHedden]

Ender is right on. I've helped one client who uses both formats in their network. There really isn't any major difference in building the FM solution. Besides the fonts issue, you'll have to look out for printing issues (printing landscape layouts especially) and exporting/importing issues that will be different for each format, but these cas be easily overcome with a few script steps. You may not even have to use these functions. Either way, you'll want to test all the functionality on both systems.

You could proceed with both FM and Access, but that sounds like a headache to maintain both versions, rather than just one. There are ways to have both programs "talk" to each other, although it does take some extra effort to do so.

[stanley]

Carl17:

Welcome to the Forums.

Every solution I design is cross-platform, as all my clients have PCs in the office and Macs in the art department (and PCs elsewhere in the facility.) Both the previous comments are fully valid, and I'd add that you've got to watch out that any external scripting done is only good on one platform or the other (AppleScript on the Mac, and I can't remember what on the PC.) However, you can always test for what platform the client machine is, and route your scripts accordingly.

Although FileMaker is closely associated with Apple in many people's minds, they sell more copies to the PC universe, and in your situation, it is probably the best product you could use. In conjunction with the boatloads of free advice to be found here on the FMForums, of course.

-Stanley

[Carl17]

Thanks very much Ender, Brent and Stanley for your quick responses. Sounds like I need to brush-up my FileMaker (which will be a welcome break from the Access I have to say)!

Comforting to know these forums are here.

Carl