Upgrade?

[carlosnorvik]

Hi Everybody:

It has been a while since my last post, I hope everybody is doing just great!

I have been wondering if I should upgrade or not, it has been a while since my last upgrade (to 11), which I am still using, works and serves my purposes fine and seldom crashes.

I downloaded 14 trial version, converted my files to try it out, no complains but also no wow's!

It worked just as fast as 11 (even if locally, I did not install the server trial version, lack of time). Start up was slower that 11 (Computer Pentium G630 2.7 GHz, 6 GB RAM, Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit).

From what I have read, 14 seems to be better for developers, also remote containers are great (I use SuperContainer which is also OK), but is it worth upgrading for a end user and hobby developer like I am? I see people still happily using 9.0 and below in the forums.

I would definitely upgrade if Webdirect considered connections on a per computer basis, but since it is on a per tab/window basis, it is a no go for me. Web direct has very few posts, so maybe I am not alone on that boat.

If anybody wants to share their thoughts about upgrading (from an end user point of view), I will appreciate it.

Thanks

Carlos

PS: I grow fond of old software, I still make spreadsheets for my own use in Lotus 123 (If I have to share them, I convert the to Excel)

[JerrySalem]

Carlos

I think you will find the differences between 11 and 14 to be really worth it.

You didn't mention what your database needs are, but here is a short list of the must have features added since v11

The ability to query databases using SQL directly.

External Containers

Pop over objects

HTTP POST requests

Button Bars

You will probably find some features that you can take advantage of, if you look. 

[NYPoke]

I'm on my 3rd week with a new company.  We are on 11 Server/10 Client.  First thing I pushed was the upgrade.

 

14 has some nice features.  However, having been around a long time, I'm always for going with the upgrade, unless of course, the upgrade causes problems.  I can see waiting for 14.1, but I haven't found any bugs that would make it worth waiting.

 

Letting your systems get behind usually ends poorly.  11 vs. 14 not a huge deal.  Still, I've seen places get too far behind.

 

Unless costs are an issue, the upgrade looks worthwhile.  We should start testing next week.  Looking forward to it, especially the PopOvers.  I would upgrade for that alone.  I've got lots & lots of uses for them.

[wedgeman]

I'm generally not one to jump on the latest upgrades (am maintaining some multi-campus solutions on 9.0v3 right now, as well as 10.x, 11.x, and 12)... 

 

That said, 14 has a LOT of interesting and (IMHO) worthwhile components, which offer a tremendous amount of new opportunities. I'd jump for it if the money is there (a much easier decision if it's just one seat vs unlimited or 200+ licenses)...

[carlosnorvik]

Hi everybody:

For the time being I decided not to upgrade.

Reasons:

a) I still have a lot of work to do on my solutions before I am really happy with them, I prefer to use the time in improving the current solutions than in using new features.

b ) Money, the upgrade would cost quite a bit, $ 3,137 to buy upgrades and server (no additional concurrents) or $ 1,500.- per year to rent.

Plus the cost of buying some new PC's (light users still use XP)

c) I have never liked pop ups :-)

d) My current setup runs extremely smoothly, the server never crashes, Super Container works like a charm.

So I keep on being a happy 11 user.

Best regards

Carlos

 

[OlgerDiekstra]

First off, I'm no FileMaker expert, have only been exposed to it for some 2 years and never used v11. I worked with v12 for a short period until I upgraded the systems to v13, am now in the process of upgrading to v14. Not because I need v14 features, but because I feel staying current is less of a problem in the long run than staying on the same version for years, and we pay annually for maintenance/support and the right to upgrade.

Considering FileMaker introduced a new fileversion with v12 (fmp12) there's probably a significant difference between fmp7 and fmp12 that is likely of benefit. v13 over v12 has some very interesting new UI features that will allow you to do some things differently (maybe better) and possibly easier. The jump from v13 to v14 is not as significant as from v12 to v13 afaik.

Popups aren't really popups, but popovers. And they're actually very useful when applied correctly. They can enhance/simplify a UI considerably. Take a simply help button. One click can open a popover containing context sensitive help. You can even create context sensitive help based on which field you are on. I requires a bit of coding but the end result for the enduser is that they only need to click on the field they want info about, and then click on the help button.

Sliders are equally interesting. Not sure if conditional formatting was around in v11, or being able to hide/show elements on the layout based on a condition, but if not, there's another reason.

XP users might be upgradeable to Win7, PC specs aren't that different, a bit of additional memory might be all that is needed. Having said that, if those XP users are still using the original hardware, then that might need to be upgraded sometime soon anyway. They would have been running for a long time now. Mainstream support ended in 2009, WIndows 7 was released in that same year. That's 7 years ago. So your computers are likely at least that old. Hardware that old is bound to start showing issues. Harddrives are likely to crash more often, OS crashes more frequent. Not sure what the cost of hardware is in El Salvador, but even getting second hand/refurbished hardware on ebay might be a better option. Looking at the Australian ebay, there's Dell SFF computers (no screen included) starting as low as $90.

Cheers!