With the recent news about FileMaker Claris Pro and improvements to general availability (freemium, app store visibility, etc.) I suspect more people will put their hands on that wonderful tool we love. As we know, this new model is meant to replace the 45-day trial, because as we all know, with 45 days, even if you can do great things, you are just scratching the surface of what you can achieve with the product, and you are still learning.
That speaks to how extensive the tool is, but it also says that people who are not familiar with it will need training if they want to go faster about their project(s) and not get discouraged.
I think we are more and more likely to be asked a question that sounds like "Is there any training material you recommend?"
So I am making this post a wiki for anyone to edit. The items are listed, but the order should not be interpreted as relevant.
Claris Academy
iSolutions material + their content available on LinkedIn learning
ISO FileMaker Magazine material
Productive Computing material
RCC material
It could be interesting to differentiate free offerings from paid ones, online recordings vs live, general vs specialized (like a workshop dedicated to UI).
Please use comments in the thread below if you want to provide your own personal review if you have used the training material.
Richard Carlton’s training videos explain the basics very clearly. He sells a subscription for $199 per year. I bought his videos when I was starting out and they were organized very logically.
Carlton also has a very good book (FileMaker Manual for Novices 2021) although I’d recommend beginners read that AFTER they learn the basics. The book has lots of really good info, but it is not really designed for absolute beginners. You can get a free pdf copy of the book if you agree to a short phone call with one of his developers. (The book includes a 50% off coupon for their video training.)
John Mark Osborne’s video training is another great option — he’s a great instructor and his package is cheaper but probably less comprehensive than Carlton’s.
The book Learn FileMaker Pro by Mark Conway Munro is great — he also has a Facebook group and is very generous in answering questions. (One of the Amazon reviews states that you must buy the book through the publisher’s website to get access to the sample files.)
Matt Petrowsky’s FileMaker Magazine website is a valuable resource for intermediate developers. He demonstrates many advanced techniques that will inspire you to dig deeper into FMP’s capabilities.
There’s also lots of free content on YouTube. You can find many videos from Guy Stevens and other developers that cover the basics and then ask specific questions about what you’re learning in the various FMP forums as needed.
Finally, I have started documenting resources for Beginning FileMaker here on the Soup. I’d welcome additional comments.
the first lines of text I'm reading when a new version is out, is the online help
A few years ago, I used the so-called internet/web for further information, but today in Europe, one gets always those 'privacy' messages when opening a website and one has to accept cookies et all, most of those sites have banners that fill the most of the screen - impossible to check if this is a site one wants..
So, I got a premium subscription for YouTube and there is a lot of helpfull stuff for almost whatever one needs - If I have to change a Claris filter, I search on YouTube (Claris is brand for a filtering system for some coffee machines here...)
I also got a subscription for Richard Carltons learning material - really helpfull and I love to browse through from time to time. Ihave that on the iPad, a FileMaker Go version
I also have a subscription for Matt Petrowsi's material - and some older stuff that is in some aspects still helpfull
I have a yearly subscription for linkedin-learning and they also offer a few FileMaker trainings: FileMaker: Online Courses, Training and Tutorials on LinkedIn Learning Most of the FM-videos are made by Cris Ippolite and go pretty deep into FM. Besides FileMaker all kinds of others coarses are offered by LL, it is not limited to just programming and databases. The approx. $375 / year is well worth it to me.
[This is more of a story than a proper answer, just so ya know...]
When I was just getting started, I had two sources of training.
I committed to making a database for my local Adult Ed for a ridiculously low price, ordered FileMaker on overnight delivery (floppy discs) then leaned on Claris' tech support for help. It was 1994 and it actually was called Claris back then, too! A real live human would be there and patiently answer my questions, from their perch at The Wedge. I eventually delivered a nice product.
One of those exemplary Claris people eventually hooked me up with someone nearby me named Michael Harris, who had The FileMaker Report magazine and a consultancy. I then worked with him for several months, learning much more about FileMaker. Nothing beats mentoring!
Additionally, I got a lot from a book on FileMaker 2 by Rich Coulombre, whose company I worked with a few years later. No book I found on later versions came close to that one, as an inspiring learning tool.
I stopped looking for training books after FileMaker 9, and just searched for stuff on the web. Now, when there is something I need help with (usually something outside of the traditional FileMaker feature set) I'd rather ask in a fine group such as this one. Sometimes it's better to hire someone who already knows it and learn it fast. Or just get it done, and move on...
This is also how I learned FileMaker for the first time. He does a really good job of breaking things down simply, in my opinion. After his videos, it's pretty much been trial and error and the community at-large.
Circa Filemaker 15 & 16. Surprisingly still available for download. The series should be updated, IMO.
FileMaker Training Series: Advanced
The FileMaker Training Series: Advanced covers a comprehensive set of topics such as interface design, automation, and security to help you master the essentials of developing custom apps using the FileMaker Platform. It includes demo files and exercises to guide you through these concepts.
Available in the following languages: English and Japanese
Started learning FM at v 10 and
'FileMaker Pro 10' by Susan Prosser and Geoff Coffey; 2009; ISBN: 978-0-596-15423;
continued with
'FileMaker 12 In Depth' by Jesse Feiler; 2012; ISBN: 978-0-7897-4846-1;
and
'Data-Driven iOS Apps for iPad and iPhone with FileMaker Pro, Bento and FileMaker Go' by Jesse Feiler; 2010; ISBN: 978-0-7897-4786-0.
I also got valuable information from FileMaker Magazin, both from their forum and the namesake publication.
Then FileMaker Inc‘s own user forum was a good source for information, before it was moved to the new platform.
(Claris is brand for a filtering system for some coffee machines here...)