FileMaker

FileMaker Pro is a cross-platform database application with graphical database design tools, popular in workgroups and small businesses.

What You Can Upload

• .fmp12 files (FileMaker 12+), read directly. No export needed
• .fp7 files (FileMaker Pro 7-11), read directly. No export needed
• .fp5 files (FileMaker Pro 5-6), read directly. No export needed
• .fp3 files (FileMaker Pro 3-4), read directly. No export needed
• A runtime solution's database files, .fmpur (FileMaker Pro Advanced 12-18) or .usr (FileMaker 7-11), read like the databases they are. If the solution's developer gave them another extension, rename them to .fmp12 first
• XML (FMPXMLRESULT) exports, from FileMaker Pro 6 or later
• Comma-separated (.csv), tab-separated (.tab) or Merge (.mer) exports from any version, in UTF-8, UTF-16, or the Western Windows, Macintosh or DOS character set, which DataMeans tells apart from the text and names in the report. A comma- or tab-separated export saved as .txt is read too
• ZIP archive containing any of the above

A database with no extension (FileMaker Pro 3 to 6 saved them so on classic Mac OS) is recognised from its contents when you upload it on its own. In a ZIP, add .fp5 to its name first (.fmp12 for FileMaker 7 or later).

Databases protected with FileMaker encryption-at-rest cannot be read. Remove the encryption in FileMaker Pro, or export the records as XML or Merge (.mer), which keep the field names.

FileMaker's other exports are not FileMaker files: an Excel workbook or a dBASE file exported from FileMaker is converted with Microsoft Excel or dBASE as the system, and an HTML table export is not read. The preview says so when it finds one.

What You Get Out

DataMeans converts your data into multiple modern formats:

How to Export / Obtain Files

1. Close FileMaker Pro, or close the database on FileMaker Server: a copy made while it is open can come out incomplete, and an incomplete file is refused
2. Locate the database file (.fmp12, .fp7, .fp5 or .fp3)
3. Upload directly or in a ZIP archive. From a FileMaker Server backup, leave out the RC_Data_FMS folder (see Known Limitations)

Alternative: export the records from FileMaker with File > Export Records:

• XML (FMPXMLRESULT, FileMaker Pro 6 or later) or Merge (.mer) keeps the field names
• Comma- and tab-separated exports have no row of field names, so their columns come out numbered
• In FileMaker Pro 7 or later, choose UTF-8 as the output file character set. FileMaker Pro 6 and earlier offer no choice and write the computer's own character set: DataMeans tells Windows, Macintosh and DOS text apart from the accented letters in it, but an export with only a few of them is read as Windows text, so upload the .fp3 or .fp5 file itself when you can

Supported Features

• Table and field structure extraction
• Record-level data extraction
• Field types from the database: text, number, date, time and timestamp, with numbers and dates read in the database's own formats (a French file's 0,79 and 18/11/2004 become 0.79 and 2004-11-18)
• A field holding values that are not its type, such as a number field with N/A in it, is kept as text exactly as stored, and the conversion report names it
• A number field of whole numbers, such as an ID, comes out as integers, from a database and from an export alike. One holding codes that start with a zero, such as 0101, is kept as text so the zero stays, and so is a time field holding durations such as 36:15:00
• Dates are read in the order of the database's own date format, so a day-first database's 3/4/2005 is 3 April
• Global fields: a global field holds one value for the whole table, and that value comes out in every row, as FileMaker's own export writes it. A table with no records has no row for it, and the report says so. A large value over many records, such as a web viewer's HTML, comes out once, in the first row, so that the download does not repeat it in every record, and the report names it: copies may add at most 1 MB or the size of the upload's databases, whichever is more
• Multiple table support
• Table names: an .fp7 or .fmp12 database keeps the table names it holds. An .fp3 or .fp5 file records none, so its table is named after your file (Orders.fp5 comes out as the table Orders and csv/Orders.csv), and so is an export (Contacts.xml is the table Contacts)
• Tables that share a name in one upload (two databases with the same tables, one export a year) are each named after the file they came from, such as Contacts (Sales2023.fmp12), and a note lists them
• Repeating fields, and the related fields an XML export carries, with every value kept in its place: a list in JSON, joined with | in CSV, Excel and SQL
• Long text fields in full, with their line breaks (an Excel cell holds at most 32,767 characters: see the note below)

Known Limitations

• Encrypted databases require decryption before upload
• FileMaker Pro 1 and 2 files (.fm) cannot be read. Open one in FileMaker Pro 3 to 6, which converts it, and upload the .fp3 or .fp5 file
• Scripts and layouts are not converted
• Container fields (pictures and files): the files themselves are not in the download. In an .fp7 or .fmp12 database each cell gives the name of its file (for a file stored by reference, its path), and the report says how many cells hold one and how much of the database they take up. In an .fp3 or .fp5 database, which keeps no names, the column comes out empty, and the report says how many records hold a picture or file. An XML export holds a container's file name or reference, which comes out as text
• A FileMaker Server backup's RC_Data_FMS folder, where it keeps the files of container fields outside the database, is left out, with one note
• A ZIP inside your ZIP, beside other files, is not opened, and the preview names it: unzip it and put its files in the ZIP you upload
• Very large databases: a database is read whole, in memory, so one of more than a few hundred megabytes may be too large to convert, though uploads of up to 2 GB are accepted. If yours is that large, contact us before you upload it. A large upload's free preview lists its files without opening them, and checks only that each database is FileMaker's and not encrypted
• Summary fields and unstored calculations are worked out by FileMaker when it shows them, so a database file holds no values for them: they come out empty, and the report names them. An XML export from FileMaker includes their values
• A date field holding a date in another order than the database's own date format, such as 18/11/2004 in a month-first database, is kept as text, exactly as stored, rather than guessed, and the report names it

Note on the Excel formats. An .xlsx sheet holds at most 1,048,575 rows of data and 16,384 columns, and a legacy .xls sheet 65,535 rows and 256 columns. Rather than ship a file that looks complete but is silently cut short, DataMeans leaves a table out of any Excel format it does not fit and notes it in the job report. The .xlsx copy is also left out for tables of more than 8,000,000 cells (1,048,575 rows of 12 columns is 12.6 million), which take too long and too much memory to write, and the .xls copy for tables of more than 150,000 cells, which the legacy format takes far too long to write. A cell holds up to 32,767 characters of text in .xlsx and 4,000 in .xls (255 in a table of more than 30,000 different texts): a longer value is cut there, marked …[truncated for Excel], and the report says how many cells each file cut. The CSV, JSON and SQL outputs always contain every row, and every value whole.

Overview

FileMaker is a cross-platform relational database application developed by Claris International (a subsidiary of Apple Inc.). It combines a database engine with a graphical user interface for creating custom applications. FileMaker uses proprietary file formats that store database schemas, data, forms, scripts, and security settings in single files. The platform is designed for non-programmers to create database applications through visual tools.

History and Background

• 1985: Nashoba Systems releases FileMaker for the Macintosh, distributed by Forethought.
• 1988: Claris acquires Nashoba Systems; the product is rebranded FileMaker II.
• 1990: FileMaker Pro 1.0 released for the Macintosh.
• 1992: FileMaker Pro 2.0 introduces cross-platform compatibility with the first Windows version.
• 1995: FileMaker Pro 3.0 introduces the relational model (relationships and portals) and the .fp3 format.
• 1997: FileMaker Pro 4.0 adds a plug-in architecture and web publishing via the Web Companion.
• 1998: Claris is renamed FileMaker, Inc. and concentrates development on FileMaker.
• 1999: FileMaker Pro 5.0 introduces the .fp5 format and a built-in ODBC driver.
• 2004: FileMaker Pro 7 introduces multiple tables per file.
• 2009: FileMaker Pro 10 adds script triggers.
• 2010: FileMaker Go released, bringing FileMaker databases to iOS.
• 2012: FileMaker Pro 12 introduces the .fmp12 format and layout themes.
• 2017: FileMaker Pro 16 introduces card windows and JSON functions.
• 2019: FileMaker, Inc. is renamed Claris International, Inc.
• 2020: FileMaker 19 adds JavaScript integration in the web viewer and Core ML model support.

File Format Specifications

File Extensions:

• .fm: Early FileMaker and FileMaker Pro 1-2 format
• .fp3: FileMaker Pro 3-4 format
• .fp5: FileMaker Pro 5-6 format
• .fp7: FileMaker Pro 7-11 format (binary)
• .fmp12: FileMaker Pro 12+ format (binary)
• .usr: a runtime solution's database, bound by FileMaker Pro 7-11 Advanced or Developer (.fp7 format)
• .fmpur: a runtime solution's database, bound by FileMaker Pro Advanced 12-18 (.fmp12 format)

File Structure:

• Single file contains entire database (tables, layouts, scripts, security)
• Proprietary binary format
• FileMaker Pro can host files peer-to-peer for up to 5 concurrent users; FileMaker Server supports larger deployments
• Maximum file size: 8 TB (since FileMaker Pro 7)
• Cross-platform compatibility (Mac, Windows, iOS)

Internal Components:

• Tables: Data storage with fields and records
• Layouts: User interface designs
• Scripts: Automated workflows and calculations
• Relationships: Links between tables
• Security: Accounts, privilege sets, and encryption

Data Types and Structures

Database Structure:

• Relational model with tables linked by relationships
• Layouts provide different views of data
• Scripts automate user interactions and data processing
• Value lists for dropdowns and validations
• Container fields can store files up to 4 GB
• Support for 64 quadrillion total records over the lifetime of a file

Version Differences

Compatibility Notes:

• Files can be converted upward but not downward
• The .fmp12 format requires FileMaker Pro 12 or later
• .fp3 and .fp5 files must first be converted to .fp7 (using FileMaker Pro 7-11) before conversion to .fmp12
• Runtime solutions were discontinued in FileMaker 19
• Multi-user hosting provided by FileMaker Server or FileMaker Cloud

Technical References

• Claris Help Center
• Wikipedia: FileMaker
• FMP12 File Format Documentation
• Claris Community
• Claris Resources