Moving off FileMaker to a custom web app
The FileMaker database that has run the office for years, with layouts built by someone who has since left and a licence to renew for every user. I rebuild it as a web app that opens in any browser, and your data comes along.
Tell me about your FileMaker databaseCall me on +39 347 741 5402
Why people look for an alternative
- Licences are paid per user, so every new colleague adds to the bill.
- Whoever built the layouts and scripts worked here years ago. Today nobody dares change a field.
- The database grew one addition at a time, and finding something means knowing which layout to look in.
- Working from outside the office needs an app installed on every device.
What it becomes
A custom web app in PHP 8 with MySQL or MariaDB. Your tables and relationships stay, minus the fields nobody uses any more. Layouts become pages in the browser, reports become PDFs, scripts become functions of the app.
It opens on Windows, Mac, iPad and phones with nothing to install. There are no per-user licences, and the code is yours: if you ask, I hand over the code and the database.
How the switch works
I have worked with FileMaker before. The switch goes like this:
- We go through the database together: tables, layouts, scripts and the habits of the people using it. The analysis is free.
- You export the tables (I'll show you how), and I prepare the import.
- I build the app in stages on a test address, starting with the part you use most. FileMaker stays in use.
- On switch-over day I run the import again with that morning's data. The full steps are in Process.
When FileMaker is fine as it is
FileMaker is made for people who want to build their own database. If you change it often yourselves, it works, and the licence cost suits you, keep it. Custom software pays off when nobody changes the database any more, when the team using it grows, or when it has to talk to other software such as an online shop or e-invoicing.
Frequently asked questions
How does the data get out of FileMaker?
FileMaker exports each table to Excel or CSV. From there I write a script that imports the data into the new app and can run again without creating duplicates. Images and files in container fields are exported separately: we go through that in the analysis.
Do we lose the FileMaker scripts?
No. In the analysis we go through them one by one and I write down what each does, then they become functions of the new app. The rules stay the same.
Can we use it on iPads and iPhones, like FileMaker Go?
Yes, from the browser on any iPad, phone, Mac or PC. On the phone it can also be installed as an app from the browser (a PWA), with no App Store involved.
Can we change it ourselves, like we do in FileMaker?
Fields and layouts, no: custom software changes through code. Lists, categories, print texts and settings can stay editable from your own admin pages.
Read more
- The service: Rebuilding old software
- More pages like this: Moving off spreadsheets and old software
Write to me
Tell me what the database does and how many people use it. Screenshots (JPG or PNG) of the layouts you use every day help, and so does an export of the main tables to Excel or CSV, even with just a few rows. If you want to send the .fmp12 file, put it in a ZIP, up to 10 MB.
- gokalex@gokalex.com
- Phone
- +39 347 741 5402
- Where
- Rovellasca (Como), Italy. With clients further away I work remotely.
- Hours
- Monday to Saturday, 9am to 7pm, Italian timeClients with 24/7 cover can call at any hour, nights and holidays included.