Keeping up to date on software updates helps to ensure your data is safe and secure. FileMaker 15 and earlier versions are no longer supported and that means there will be no updates, patches or 1-to-1 support provided by Claris FileMaker. FileMaker 16 and 17 are scheduled for official product end of life in September of 2020. Upgrading to Claris FileMaker 19 gives you access to the newest features and helps to keep your database stable and your data protected. If your FileMaker licenses are under maintenance or you have an annual license, you are entitled to the Claris FileMaker 19 update at no additional charge. Claris is also offering a new release special offer to customers who purchased and registered FileMaker Pro 18 Advanced between April 20, 2020 and June 3, 2020. These customers can receive a FileMaker Pro 19 upgrade version as an electronic software download at no charge. Please contact us for more information.
Claris is moving to a quarterly release schedule for FileMaker going forward, so we can look forward to new features and enhancements on a more regular basis. FileMaker 19 will be the last release on the annual release cycle.
Useful Tools and Enhancements
We have developed a list of the most useful tools and enhancements (in our opinion) below, but this list is not exhaustive. The official Claris FileMaker 19 help page includes a complete list of new features.
Add-Ons: Drag and drop add-ons, such as charts, kanban boards, photo galleries, and barcode generators can be built by Claris FileMaker developers or purchased from the Claris Marketplace and easily incorporated in any database. This feature is still coming soon.
JavaScript Integration: Developers can now take advantage of powerful JavaScript libraries by embedding them directly in Claris FileMaker web viewers. This means you can display JavaScript elements such as interactive calendars, or charts as well as call and pass information between FileMaker and JavaScript, calling any action within your database.
Print Total Page Count: A simple but powerful new function, allows the total page count to appear on a printed report (for example, Page 1 of 10). This new feature makes it quick and easy to display total page count on any report.
Default File: There’s a new preference to open a specified file at start time, allowing the user to bypass the startup screen and automatically open a designated file each time Claris FileMaker 19 is launched.
Artificial Intelligence: Available in MacOS and iOS, developers can integrate machine learning models using Core ML. Developers can build their own models or use any of the prebuilt models. This powerful new feature opens up doors to add new features such as image classification, sentiment recognition, and depth perception.
WebDirect Enhancements: WebDirect is getting even better with added support for card windows, window resizing and renaming functions.
Solution Upgrade Tool: Developers can now more easily deploy patches to production databases without having to do full deployments. This tool will allow easier and faster patch deployments to take place. It can also allow for new features to be added to a database with ease.
Claris FileMaker Go (iPhone, iPad)
Siri Shortcuts are now supported, so we can use voice commands to interact with any database running in FileMaker Go. This means being able to use voice automation to update inventory, modify record status, and more.
NFC Tag Reading on iOS devices allows users to scan NFC tags and perform actions in the database based on the scanned content. This can be very useful for attendance, tracking assets and managing inventory as well as many other uses.
Dark Mode Support: Available in macOS and iOS, Claris FileMaker Go 19 now supports dark mode.
Claris FileMaker Server
FileMaker Server for Linux: FileMaker Server 19 can now run on Linux servers. This is available as a developer preview.
