Update or not?

[Rick Whitelaw]

After reading about some of the performance issues apparently associated with version 12 I can't imagine why I'd spend $300.00 to upgrade to a product that seems, despite the addition of features, in many ways to be a big step backwards.

[RodSierra]

If your distributing your solution, and within the first day of release of an updated version to the program your solution must run on it is confirmed by FM on their forum there are issues with speed degredation would you ask your customers to fork out more money for less performance? From our point of view our customers could care less what version of the program they are running as long as our solution works for them. We froze development at V10 with FM because we did not feel the few minor changes in V11 would justify our customers upgrading, as the changes were transparent to them. We upgraded all our development to FM11A, as there was significant improvement in developer productivity. In the case of FM12, with the revelation already posted that there are performance issue we will not even look at moving our solutions to this version without insuring they are not effected in any way by this new version.

I'm really amazed that they would release with these type issues showing up this early, this raises too many red flags for me to even download the demo.

[HALBURN]

For me, the GUI improvements alone were worth the update but the real reason that we are updating is they have fixed a few bugs in FileMaker Go that were really giving us headaches. Specifically, they fixed how you can interact with portal rows. In FileMaker Go 11 portal rows were pretty much unusable.

The only performance problem that I have personally experienced is with Table view. I have a spreadsheet that we receive each week from a customer that has about 200 fields and 5000 records. I can barely scroll it when in table view. If I only display about 10 fields in Table view it is usable but noticeably slower.

[JerrySalem]

It really depends on wether the upgrade brings features that your users (or you) need. For my needs, I will be definately be upgrading. The layout tools, charting and SQL features are worth it for me and the solutions I directly control.

That said, for some of my clients, the rush to upgrade may be slower. For example, they are all starting to use charting in their solutions. The new chart types, and better interface for carting in FM 12 will eventually probably be a tipping point. Most users are driven by features, not speed.

[qube99]

For me upgrading entails serious issues. In my shop I'd have to upgrade my Mac and PC hardware and operating systems. FMP 12 requires newer gear than mine. Upgrading my hardware/OS's means all my other software such as Creative Suite, Final Cut Pro and many other very expensive packages will also need upgrading. It all adds up to a truly monstrous expense for me. I need to upgrade hardware soon in any case.

If I distribute Runtimes made in 12, will they run on my client's older hardware or will they be required to buy new computers?

Can someone kindly post a Runtime (something that uses a new feature) made in 12 for testing on legacy hardware?

The world is moving on and I'm getting left behind.

[HALBURN]

The world is moving on and I'm getting left behind.

The good news is that FM12 is so slow you wont have to worry about getting left behind.

System Requirements: http://www.filemaker.com/products/filemaker-pro/pro-12-specifications.html

Qube99, there seems to be a problem uploading files to FMForums at the moment. I will send you a private message with a runtime example.

[hbrendel]

Or look here:

http://help.filemaker.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10012/kw/system%20requirements%2012/related/1

[qube99]

The good news is that FM12 is so slow you wont have to worry about getting left behind.

Maybe they'll fix it like that upgrade where they dropped DBF (right when I landed a DBF-FMP conversion job).

Thanks - I got the runtimes. The PC doesn't recognize them at all. Mac says they cannot be run on System 10.5.8. We might assume from this that the runtimes have the same system reqs as FMP 12.

They don't call it the bleeding edge of technology for nothin', eh?

[Rick Whitelaw]

Well, I did upgrade some weeks ago and I'm undecided on the wisdom of the choice. I'm finding many changed bits in "the nooks and crannies". Drop down lists don't always function. Scripted finds are suddenly marked "Restore" when they weren't before, and the freezing issue is serious. Layouts need to be redesigned as well. This was far from a smooth transition. On a large solution it can take a long time to discover each and every issue.

RW