We are selling Studio Manager 11 today for new users and Monday for upgraders. We have to update upgrade manuals prior to selling the upgrade.
This version of Studio Manager 11 has all the desktop features of Studio Manager 10 plus adds special layouts and features tailored to the touch interface and screen size of the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Normal access from an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad will be via your local area network to FileMaker Pro or FileMaker Server where Studio Manager will reside.
Now that we’ve stopped coding, we have a few more tasks to do. We have been writing the essential instructions for the iPad and iPhone and are part-way through. Keep in mind that most products for iPhone and iPad lack documentation. You’ll get a better manual within the week, but if you want to start using iPhone, iPod touch or iPad with Studio Manager 11, you can start now with the confidence that more thorough instructions are in the works. If the manual fails to provide the information that should be there, we will make extra allowances and provide free support to augment it.
What else is there to do? The first next thing to do is to import our illustrious demo data into the brand new product, and whip up a Studio Manager 11 demo. That’s my next job for the weekend. Unfortunately, it’s harder than we like it to be so it may be Sunday night before the fresh demo is available.
After that, we’ll be loading up the SM11 tab (page) here with screenshots so that you’ll have as much information as possible on the iPhone and iPad layouts and features. It doesn’t make sense to shoehorn every feature of Studio Manager for Desktop onto iPad and iPhone.
Our number one priority is the basic user. We want it to be easy to have a freelancer or employee use an iPad to enter their time and to use an iPhone or iPod touch if that’s all they’ve got. Some will love this opportunity. Don’t forget a copy of FileMaker Go for iPhone and iPod touch is $20 and $40 on iPad. That’s a deal that some will find irresistible compared to the $300 price of FileMaker Pro.
If you have an extra iPad around the office, it could come in handy as an extra FileMaker license with the addition of FileMaker Go.
Traffic Managers and executives will like some of the quick lookup features in Studio Manager 11 that will work even on the iPhone. The iPad is somewhere in between the iPhone and full desktop Studio Manager in functionality. Heavy lifting stays in safe keeping on FileMaker Pro, but lots of data access is there now.
It is possible to put the entire Studio Manager database on an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad for travel or mobile use, but for now this will be for special situations as FileMaker Go does not yet support syncing between desktop and mobile devices. We expect that feature to come in time and when it does, we’ll add untethered functionality to what is available today.
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