Upgrading to FMP 12 from 10

[ejpvi]

Greetings Filemaker Gurus.

 

When FMP 12 was first released I tried installing it on one of my workstations, and did a database conversion from 10 to 12 "locally."

At the time I was not very pleased with the performance drop I saw from switching to 12.  The database appeared to be running slower, and all sorts of graphical issues were making my layouts look very ugly, like buttons were no longer clicking, just would go to the page.  I am not sure if performance would be better or worse once I upgraded our FMP Server 10 to Server 12, but I wasn't willing to risk it, I decided to wait a while and see if any patches were released.

 

I guess I am looking for some feedback from other people who may have upgraded from 10 to 12.  Have they released any patches that maybe resolved some of the performance issues that were plaguing the program right when it was released?  Do complex scripts have to be checked to make sure they still work?  

 

I have a pretty big database, with lots of tables, fields, scripts, and many numerous layouts.  Is this upgrade going to be a huge undertaking to make sure everything is still working or has it been a pretty smooth transition for most?

 

Any feedback would be appreciated, because I am hoping to perform the upgrade in a month or so.  But with so many people using my system on a daily basis, I am concerned about what kind of problems I will run into.

 

Thank you!

 

Edward

[Lee Smith]

The current have version 12.0.3 which addressed the problems with the List View.

[natursalus]

It is up to you to decide how many bugs are you willing to put up with.

 

A way to objectively assessed it is getting FM12 bugs database from filemaker website at: http://forums.filemaker.com/posts/ad61a7e781

 

But be patient, FM Inc website is very slow. It has been this way for months now.

 

So it is up to you to decide whether to go for FM 12 or not.

 

If a friend of mine were asking the same question I would recommend him / her to wait until Fm Pro 12 Advanced v4 is released if ever, since there are still too many relevant issues with FM Pro 12 Advanced  v3.

 

My personal view of FM Pro 12 Advanced v3 is that it is an unfinished product. It is just a glimpse of something that promises to be good but it's not yet so.

 

FM Inc website is packed with FM 12 users feedback and is a good place where to look at.

 

 

By comparison FM 11 Pro Advanced it is a more reliable and better product than FM 12 Pro Advanced.

So if FM 12 Pro  Advanced  v4 is released and sorts out some remaining issues, I will move to it. If not, I will have fun with FM 11 Pro Advanced.

[JerrySalem]

Edward

 

All software has bugs.  What you need to concentrate on is the new features that the new version brings to the table.

 

For me and my clients, I have found that the new features that FileMaker 12 brings out way the new bugs introduced.  Plus there have been a number of bugs that existed in earlier versions that have been fixed.

 

As for upgrading older complex solutions, I have been very pleasantly surprised.  

Plugins just work (save the update process, which is much better now), the only scripts I had problems with have been those using the 'Insert Object...' script step (which was deprecated), and one (1) layout with some objects moved up one px from a body to a sub summary part.

 

this after converting many large systems with thousands of scripts and layouts.

 

Jerry

[Cable]

I, too, am considering an upgrade, but from version 11 to 12. I'm now concerned. I can't have a performance slowdown!

 

Anybody hear rumblings about when 12v4 will be released? I have a window to hit. If I don't convert by the end of February I won't be able to do it until June or July.

[natursalus]

Cable,

 

Surely more experienced users could give you a better estimate.

 

But from my biased perception of FMI update policy, I can give you the following hints:

 

It seems that FMI releases updates following a 3-month period cycle. So if you check the release date of FM 12 Pro Advanced v3, I would say that it is about time.

 

Maybe other more advanced FM users will disagree, but consumer feedback is not the driving force behind FMI update policy. So it might well happen that what you and I and other users consider relevant is just a minor performance issue for FMI. So it could happen that FM 12 Pro Advanced v4 never comes to light. As a matter of fact this the the most probable outcome.

 

FMI behavior is so predictable that I can tell when a new update is beeing cooked and ready for release. Just get into FMI forum and report a relevant FM Pro performance issue. If you don't get any feedbach from FMI staff, and Phil doesn't count because he doesn't work for FMI, it means that they are busy getting ready for the premiere. It is is funny how predictable they can be.

 

But as a wiser FM user once told me before in his rhetoric language: "don't play guessing games with FMI"

 

Unless there has been a impact on FMI revenue they will continue doing as they have been for years. And since Apple Inc seems to be happy with FMI managerial team, there is no hope for a better future.

 

natursalus