Database software question

I’m in need of a simple database software and am having trouble finding one.

I used Filemaker Pro 3.0 (yes, its up to 13 now) for 18 years, and it did fine, but now I’ve had to upgrade to a W7 computer and my good ole cd won’t run.

I have one database created with my customers, and each one assigned a customer number.

I have one database created with orders, and each month the orders are assigned another number which is the customers number plus -01, then -02, then -03. etc.

Then I have an invoice database created that pulls all the info from the customer database, and the Orders database and creates an invoice at the end of the month by using the customer number, and the order number.

Simple, right? That’s all I use it for. Is there a simple software that will do this for me? Preferably free.

LibreOffice/OpenOffice Base, their database component, should do what you are looking for.

SQL Server Express is free and easy to run on Win7. It probably is more powerful than you need (and therefore not as simple), but I think the basic functionality is pretty easy to use.

MySQL is a very popular open source database, so it’s very easy to get support online. The community edition is free.

If you are looking for something with more than a database engine in which you can build forms and routines for creating invoices, then Microsoft Access is a good option but isn’t free. I haven’t personally used LibreOffice Base but I hear good things about it. It’s not going to be as feature-rich as Access, but you probably don’t need those features (and you can’t beat the price).

Microsoft Access. Not free. It comes with Office Pro and a few other MS Office packages, but not the standard Office and a few others like Student and Teacher.

You should be able to import all your existing table data; however, you’ll need to rebuild all your code, forms, reports, and queries.

Here’s a good place to get help.
http://www.utteraccess.com/

You should be able to do all this in one database instead of three. However I’m thinking that you might be calling each table a database?

What kind of database do you currently have? You will need to import all your existing data from your existing database into your new one. If your current data is in any of the “well-known” formats, this should be easily done. Otherwise, you may have to write (or hire written) some custom software (probably fairly simple) to help.

For smallish and/or fairly simple database needs, the ancient archaic paleolithic software DBase IV is still good. It is easy to install (simply copy about a dozen or so files into a folder somewhere, put that into your search path, and you’re ready to run). My most current mochines are still running Winders XP, and it still runs fine on that.

For anything newer, the above-posted suggestions are where it’s at. The freeware version of Microsoft SQL Server is good. (I forget what they’re calling it this week; the name has changed over the years. It’s a stripped down version in the sense that it’s optimized for use only by a small number of users at once, but otherwise it is substantially fully functional.) Or, MySQL is a well-established database manager. There’s also Oracle (not at all free, and not at all fast or efficient, from my very limited experience). There’s also PostgreSQL, another free-ware SQL system for Unix/Linux (don’t know if there’s a Winders version). And, as mentioned above, there’s MS Access, which gives you a development environment for doing forms, reports, filters, and such goodies.

LibreOffice is good. its files are compatible with Microsoft Access (the whole LibreOffice suite is with the Microsoft Office suite). i think it has good file import abilities.

This terminology suggests to me that OP is currently using DBase or some evolute of that. Dbase stores each table in a separate file, and for whatever traditional reasons, each such separate file is called a “database” in their terminology.

If you build a DBase application, you would typically have all your tables (as separate files) stored in one directory, along with the indexes (also separate files), forms, report scripts, and all other related files. The entire such collection of files is what we would now call one “database” in modern terminology.

Of course, any modern database manager is free to store data however it wants. IIRC, MySQL stores each table in a separate file. Microsoft SQL Server typically stores an entire database, indexes and all, in one humongous file, although it is highly configurable to be able to distribute a database over many files, typically spread over multiple physical disk drives (for maximal access-time efficiency) or for reliability and redundancy across a room full of RAID disks, or for various other reasons.

ETA: Okay, upon re-reading the OP, I see he specifies what app he is currently using. Whatever. It should be easily importable into whatever newer database manager he chooses.

I got close to downloading MySQL, but i think it would really be much more than I need. I understood FileMaker Pro. It was easy. Do these other software packages kind of work the same way? identifying fields, etc. I’m wondering if I even really need a database software. Would and invoicing software perform the same way? I don’t mind having to rebuild the forms as long as its not too complicated. I can export out my data as .csv, or tabbed data, so exporting shouldn’t be a problem.

i have over 15,000 orders tho, so i really need this to work right.

i’m not sure if i’m talking about tables or a database really, but i’m pretty sure its a database. one separate Filemaker Pro file containing all the customer information. Another File with Order info, and a third document that pulls the two together and creates the invoice.

i’m an embroidery design digitizer, not a programmer, etc., so i if i could find something that works kind of like Filemaker Pro without the price tag i would be a happy camper! thanks for all the help!

If you’re talking about building forms then MySQL and MS SQL Express are out. They do not have easy interfaces like that.

MS Access does and it would be analogous to what you already have. It is a user-friendly database application onto which you can build custom forms.

You also can port your data into Quickbooks, if you have Quickbooks. Then you can stop using your own custom tables and stuff and use a full program built to do inventory and accounting. There are applications for the transfer of data between Filemaker and QB.

If a paid solution is on the menu then it would probably be significantly easier and somewhat cheaper for the OP to just buy a newer version of FIlemaker Pro than trying to convert to MS Access or other commercial DB products.

If a free or low cost solution is the only option Open Office is a good suggestion. Using something like my SQL is possible but it won’t have anything like the UI and form building capability, built-in reporting and printing layouts, etc. that the OP is accustom to in their old copy of FMP.

You’d think that finding a little program that allows you to define fields and make forms out of them would be a simple thing to find, but everything seems to be overkill.

I wonder if something like quickbooks is the answer, but i’ve never used it so i don’t know how it works.

I would have to purchase Access, correct? if i have to buy a program, it would make sense to buy Filemaker Pro, but I put my little system together 18 years and 10 versions ago, so i’m not sure i would even recognize it!

Has anybody tried anything like FileAmigo, or inFlow Inventory?

Checking on Amazon it’s gonna be $300. Still, digidana will be able to get support on exporting from the old version and importing to the new. Why blow cycles taking a running system and moving it to something foreign? May save a few hundred dollars on software and then spend weeks trying to get things working on a new system. Shame on you digidana for waiting so long to upgrade.

Yeah, i know, but it wasn’t broken so i didn’t need to fix it!

i even tried looking for older versions of filemaker pro that were cheaper. no luck.

i did just find this tho: http://alternativeto.net/software/filemaker-pro/

looks like of of what was mentioned here is at the top of the list. i looked around a little at libreoffice, but it looks like you have to download/install the whole suite for office base?

Well, that’s a little harsh. But I agree with the recommendation - if this is the only thing you’ll use the software and if it is working well for you (other than not being able to install it on Win7), then get the latest version of Filemaker. You’ll save time and money.

If you have other uses for this kind of software, then it’s worth looking at something with a bigger user base like Access. It’s easier to get support and in my opinion is a better product.

If this whole process of billing is a kluge that you’ve outgrown, then maybe look at something made for invoicing like QuickBooks. It’s a full general ledger so it can handle the invoicing, A/R, and any other accounting needs.

I want to second the recommendation of just buying the new version of FM Pro. The switching to another solution after you’ve gotten used to the FM conventions is just gonna be painful, a lot more painful than $300.

This may be a silly question, but have you tried running FM Pro 3.0 in Windows XP Compatibility Mode in Windows 7? It’s not guaranteed to work, but it’s worth trying, because it would be a no-cost option. Details of how to run a program in Compatibility Mode are here:

I like where Dervorin is going on this. digidana, why do you have to upgrade to a W7 computer? What’s changed?

My Windows 7 machine came with Microsoft Works installed, which includes a database element. You might be able to import your existing databases into that.

How long ago was that? Microsoft Works was discontinued in 2009. Don’t go that route, even if you can find an old version of it around.

I’ve been living a total computer nightmare. when MS decided to not support XP anymore, my computer started going nuts. couldn’t get online, didn’t trust it, etc. I know, i shouldn’t have been on XP for years, but, like, i said, it wasn’t broken. I initially paid over $9,000 for the software I run, and it was about another thousand to upgrade to a newer version that would run on a newer operating system…so i was fine.

FINALLY time to upgrade. drive to bestbuy and buy a new laptop, pay the grand to upgrade, bring it home and W8.1 doesn’t seem to work right with my software, no FMP anymore, last straw was my wacom digitizing tablet wasn’t working right either. Took it back after moving all my files over, etc.

So, to ebay. Won a nice asus advertised as W7. It comes, i move all my files AGAIN, and it turns out it was W8 also. I know, sounds stupid, but i had never played with a W7 before and didn’t know what it looked like…and the Asus had a different version of 8.1 on it, so it was a little different. anyway, it got shipped back too. i’m now on laptop number 3. it IS windows 7. yay, software is up and running, but the wacom still acts flickted and still can’t use the FMP.

no, i haven’t tried running xp in windows. that’s probably over my head.

i did download libreoffice, and was starting to get the hang of it this afternoon. got my first table done, and the damned thing crashed and i lost it.

my reasoning was that if i can figure this out for free, then great. paying another $300 for FMP is an option to fall back on.

really appreciate the help guys!