FMStudio Trial?

[lsmall]

Hi.

I am trying to decide if FMStudio is right for me.

I have a few filemaker solutions that are very interactive, including charts. To date I have mostly published these using FM network or IWP. I am looking to make my databases more universally accessible so FM network won't cut it any longer. IWP is fine, but it's limitations are becoming an issue and I'm not going to be able to have end users deal with the clunky static webpage output of IWP. I am looking to take the next step to a more functional web design.

Fortunately, I have access to FM server advanced and Dreamweaver CS5. My knowledge of HTML, XML is basic and I have no PHP experience. I am not a developer and this is not a full time job, but I like doing it and I have taught myself as needed. If you want an idea of the type of stuff I am doing look at my IWP demo at ABXRX.com. This is one of the databases that I would like to upgrade.

Is FMstudio right for me? I don't see a trial anywhere. The relative investment is inexpensive, but even so I don't feel like throwing away $150. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

[webko]

FM Studio does basic stuff pretty well, from what I have seen and heard being part of their forum for several years.

It doesn't do anything very advanced, or complicated - it's a tool to do basic stuff without you needing to know PHP. Once you get beyond that, it can't really help that much.

And based on the activity in their forum over the last little while, it also appears to not be in active development - very few posts from the developers these days, when they used to be all over the forum like a rash.

HTH

[lsmall]

Thanks.

Well any other suggestions to get my filemaker stuff published beyond what IWP can do and without bringing in developers and/or learning php and web design from scratch? I think I'll have no choice but to give FMstudio a go.

[webko]

Based on those requirements - yes, FMStudio may be your best bet... I also lurk on their forum at http://fmwebschool.com/frm/index.php quite a bit...

[GManNAtl]

I know it's been a minute since you posted this, but thought I would chime in.

I have been using FMStudio for a while now, and Webko is mostly correct but I feel I should elaborate some. Active development does seem to be at a standstill although I think with some community additions of modules could re-imagine the and re-stimulate the FMStudio community. It is "somewhat" basic, but I have built some pretty elaborate web apps using FMStudio as a baseline tool. However, here is what I LOVE about FMStudio. It has allowed me an entry point into PHP that I never could have imagined or gotten to without it. The code it generates is invaluable to learning PHP in a very rapid way. Within weeks of using it I was modifying the classes it creates in some of the more advanced modules. For example I was building a webstore and using the Paypal module. Immediately, I discovered it did not work in a way that was sufficient for the way I wanted to pass line items and do things like credits (coupons) etc. In digging into the code and looking at documentation for the Paypal API I was able to modify the class to accomodate my needs in a few short hours without almost any "real" knowledge of PHP. In the year I have been using it I know consider myself to be a fairly knowledgeable PHP developer and I pretty much owe that to starting with FMStudio.

All in all, for the price they are asking it is a great value and will get you on your way to learning PHP rapidly.