Is it okay to upgrade from 8.02 to 8.5?

[GreenPilgrim]

Is it okay to upgrade from 8.02 to 8.5 directly and if so how much does it cost? I'm going to upgrade my iMac to Leopard in a few weeks and I want to make sure my FMP is going to run on it. I've noted a few glitches reported in FMP with Leopard but it seems there's a patch available. I realize I need to upgrade to 9 but it's a little too costly right now. I'm planning on doing that in the fall. Also, can I go ahead a upgrade my 8.02 to 8.5 and expect it to work in Tiger? Or should I wait until I make the Leopard upgrade?

Any help is appreciated in advance.

[CobaltSky]

Gee Sr.Mitzi, that's a lot of questions in one paragraph!

Since you're asking about the cost of upgrade to 8.5, I guess we can infer that you don't already own 8.5? But AFAIK 8.5 upgrades are no longer available for sale, since that is not the current shipping version. And anyway, it seems like a false economy to "upgrade" to a version that isn't current, even if you could save a dollar or two doing so (you'd end up spending more in the long run, to get current).

Later in your message you say that an upgrade to 9 is "a little too costly right now" - but my understanding is that there is only one upgrade price and an upgrade tp 9 costs the same as an upgrade to 8.5 used to cost (when it was available).

Notwithstanding that, to answer your questions, yes it is okay to upgrade directly from 8.0v2 to 8.5. You can to that on either Tiger or Leopard (if it's Leopard, make sure you have 8.5v2, as the earlier release is not Leopard-ready).

It's also okay to upgrade directly from 8.0v2 to 9 (also on either Tiger or Leopard - and again, make sure you update to the latest release - currently 9.0v3).

The cost will depend on where you make the purchase. For example, if you purchase from the online FileMaker store, a single box copy upgrade to 9 is listed for US$179, whereas if you buy the same thing from Amazon.com it's discounted to US$166.49. If you shop around some more you may find other prices from other vendors (but steer well clear of anything you can't be sure is legit - there are pirates out there!). :wink2:

[GreenPilgrim]

LOL, well here I go with more questions. Sorry, I'm no author.

I figure when I'm talking to the experts I better get as many questions in as possible ) So here are some more.

I wasn't aware that fmp 9 could be ran on Tiger. I thought it could only be ran on Leopard. Also, when we bought our version 8 of FMP, I could have swore that they supplied us with a discounted 5 site licenses package. Now I can only find a 10 package. Does that mean we're going to have to spend $1000 on an FMP upgrade?

Also, so do you recommend I upgrade the FMP first then buy the computer & os upgrade later when we have more funds? Would that be the best way to go?

Thanks for all your help by the way. I think I'll buy the book after I recover from the sticker shock of FMP.

Edited March 22, 2008 by Guest

[Reed]

I believe the 5-user pack still exists, but there is no 5-user upgrade that I know of, so you have to upgrade each one. Still cheaper than repurchasing the 5-pack of v9.

The only way to get cheaper upgrades is to get a VLA, which starts at 10 seats minimum. If you are part of a larger organization (like a university as I am) then you can get a VLA with lower initial requirements. The advantage of the VLA is that you can "pay as you go" and pay 20% of your initial purchase price each year to always have access to the newest version. So it's like buying every 5 years.

If you already have everything on Tiger, it's probably OK to wait on those Leopard upgrades and use v9 on Tiger.

[CobaltSky]

Hi there,

I agree with most of what Reed has said. However...

I believe the 5-user pack still exists, but there is no 5-user upgrade that I know of, so you have to upgrade each one....

There is a 5-User pack upgrade, FWIW. In fact *here* is the 5-pack upgrade price on Amazon. But you'd need to find the license keys from a previous 5-pack (or, as I understand it, from 5 single-user copies), to be able to install and use this option.

That aside, the options for buying (or "leasing" 10 or more copies at once can be found on the FileMaker Database Licensing Programs page of the FMI web site.

And yes, FMP 9 definitely runs on tiger. So you could upgrade FileMaker now and defer upgrading hardware and/or OS until funds permit.

HTH