Exporting and Importing

You may have forgotten it by nowbuilding a big database can make you feel like a slave to your computerbut the point of a database is to make managing information more efficient. Nothing illustrates this point more quickly than FileMaker's ability to suck data into your database from various sources, and dump it back out again in assorted ways.

If you have data of almost any kindspreadsheets full of figures, lists of names and phone numbers, a vast corporate database, electronic orders in XML, folders full of pictures or text documentsFileMaker can import it directly into your database. On the other hand, if your data is already in FileMaker, you can export it to lists, other databases, XML, or almost any other format imaginable. FileMaker takes a wonderfully flexible approach: It lets you handle simple imports and exports with just a click or two, and provides the features to tackle the most complex cases as wellif you (or some hired help) are willing to do the necessary work.