I hired an idiot

[FMTom]

Hello - I've hired an idiot.

 

I mean - I hired this guy to manage our stock control and ensure that when a customer orders a product, the product is popped in a box and despatched out to the right address. Unfortunately the person I hired to complete this task was an idiot. 

 

We already have a neat FileMaker CRM solution for customers - so I figured I'd build a neat little stock control FileMaker database to help our new employee. 

 

I admit - I took it a little far. I drew some lines and made some calculations that would rotate and expand the lines to emulate code 39 barcodes so that I could run the filemaker database without having to install fonts. I drew some neat little layouts with photographs of the products, and when manufacturing finished a production run you could enter the number of products produced and the database would create the equivalent number of labels with the barcode on them, format them to print on a standard label sheet, and print the number of labels equivalent to the amount of stock produced. Even if you you printed say 5 labels from an avery label sheet of 8 - you could tell the stock control system to start at the 6th label in and it would work perfectly. 

 

We then took an old original iPad, popped a barcode reader into an iPad to USB adapter and let our idiot scan the barcodes as stock was despatched or brought in to update the system. I though it worked really well allowing all the folks that used the database to keep track of the amount of stock we had. The whole thing ran wireless, seamlessly integrated, it was beautiful.

 

I mean - it was almost idiot proof.

 

Only - as the old saying goes "A database is only as useful as the information in it), and it turns out the idiot wasn't using this iPad and scanning solution and instead filled his days looking at the internet on the iPad.

 

So while idiot boy is browsing the internet on company time it was decided to upgrade our CRM solution from FileMaker 11 to FileMaker 12. This was for a totally separate reason relating to our CRM database. All the files were essentially updated from FP7 files to FMP12 files. Everything was working from a front office perspective (apart from our storeman who was reading the internet on company time). 

 

Anyway - roll forwards a few months, it turns out idiot boy is having extramarital affairs with another employee, he's been getting her to do his work, so she's been manually adjusting the stock on her computer, in a slightly related sense, our customers weren't receiving the products they had ordered, it was all being covered up, but thankfully the problem has now gone, and we are free from idiot boy.

 

In his absence I decided I'd complete a full stock check.

 

The problem I have is that the iPad and scanner combo still works great. The problem is that as he wasn't using the system, so the iPad still has FileMaker 11 Go installed on it, which won't allow us to open FMP12 files.

 

I mean seriously - if the guy was even pretending to work he'd have at least updated the software so he could look busy! 

 

So - I need to install FileMaker Go 12 on the iPad.

 

Which isn't available on the app store.

 

But - I could install FileMaker Go 13 which will open FMP12 files on the iPad. 

 

But - it won't work on iOS 5.1.1.

 

So I could ask for a copy of FileMaker Go 12 from FileMaker but they tell me that they can't supply this to me.

 

So… I'm wondering if there is another way? 

 

I'm currently thinking about asking a friend if they have an original FileMaker Go.app file and seeing if they would send me a copy of this to try and install onto the company iPad. I feel fairly justified in this as the original software was distributed free on the app store and I paid for FileMaker Go 11.

 

Alternatively - I'm thinking of buying a cheap iPad 2 / 3 on Ebay which will solve the problem but will set me back a fair chunk of cash which could probably be better spent. 

 

Anyway - if anyone has any thoughts that they would like to share I would be very grateful. Also - please don't hire idiots, you spend so much time trying to clean up afterwards you're better off holding out for an intelligent and considerate person to work alongside. 

 

 

 

[ggt667]

It's not the "idiot's" fault that Apple and FileMaker worship planned obsolescence and has a version fetish.

[FMTom]

Nope - that's one thing he didn't instigate.

 

If he had actually done his job though; we might have discovered that a non-compatible version of the software was installed on the equipment he needed to do his job properly and we could have installed a compatible version while it was available. 

 

As he preferred chatting up his colleagues and reading the internet the fact that the device was unusable has only just been discovered :-(

[Sky Willmott]

I guess there are two ways you could solve this...

 

1. Use an Apple ID from someone you know that bought FileMaker Go 12 when it was available to sign into the App Store and download it from the 'Purchased - Not on this iPad' list on that account… You can also still get FileMaker Go v1 this way…. Probably best if they are present so that they can sign in and then sign out again from the App Store once it has downloaded….

 

or

 

2. Retire the iPad 1 and get a newer one capable of running iOS 7 and FileMaker Go 13 - Really it is worth it :-)

[comment]

So - I need to install FileMaker Go 12 on the iPad.

 

Which isn't available on the app store.

 

Perhaps you should have started with this, and include the long (and completely irrelevant) story as optional reading for those that have the time to spare...

[Lee Smith]

[FMTom]

Thanks Skywillmott - I think this is the solution that I'm going to try. 

 

Dicky Whitelaw & Comment  - thanks for taking the time to post a reply.