Studio Manager Bulletin

Studio Manager 9.2: Adding FM10 features, Still FM9 Compatible

We've just completed two major changes in Studio Manager.

First, we added dedicated table view layouts with subsummaries to 10-plus Studio Manager tables. All the major tables have this new interactive, browse-mode-oriented summary tool. These layouts work fine in FileMaker Pro 9, but they shine in FileMaker Pro 10 because the subsummaries work in Browse mode, not just in a Preview. You see your headings and subtotals while you edit your data (See my FileMaker Fever Posts here and here to see why this is very cool).

Second, we modifed the entry screen form factor a bit so that FileMaker 10 users can fit the entry screens with the 1" toolbar on top within the height of a 13" monitor. We wanted to support Macbooks on FileMaker 10.

The adjustment was small. The entry screens are 15 pixels wider and 14 pixels shorter. We expect our FileMaker 9 users not to notice but for FM10 users with 13" screens, the change will be critical to avoid a vertical scroll to see the whole screen.

We added a 3rd FileMaker 10 feature in SM 9.1. The FileMaker-native tabs in Contacts are now *smart* on their own. When you select a tab, the records filter to the type of Contact you are selecting with the tab. Click Clients and you get clients, etc.. This only works in FileMaker Pro 10. If you are in FileMaker Pro 9, you need to double-click the tabs in Contacts to get the automatic filtering.

Studio Manager 9.1 Demo is Up

In case you aren't also checking in at our main Studio Manager page, you may have missed our Demo announcement on Monday. The new demo is compatible with FileMaker Pro 10 now and still runs fine with FileMaker Pro 9. You can download a free trial version of FileMaker Pro 10.

We added a FileMaker 10-only improvement which makes the Contact tabs filter the records to be approrpiate for the tab with a single click. This feat isn't possible with FileMaker's new tab controls without a new feature in FileMaker Pro 10 called script triggers.

We already had and fixed bug #1 in SM 9.1. The first implementation of this demo put up on Monday had a bug in this new feature which has now been corrected. If you got the demo before Jan 22 09 3 pm, you may have the bug which causes you to land on the wrong contact sometimes. Glad we do testing on our software before and after we post it. 

Keys to Backing Up Studio Manager

We all know we should backup our data and most of us do backups on a fairly regular basis. It is a good idea but most of us don't backup as much, as thoroughly or as regularly as we should. It is human nature to succumb to wishful thinking: "I'm sure nothing bad will happen tonight".

Firms with 20 or more employees tend to have decent backup systems in place. Smaller firms may vary. I get some very unpleasant calls for help from time to time. Yes, I've had my own data problems that meant I had to do hours and hours of rebuilding to get my database back with all its current functionality. In my case my hard drive failed and then my backup drive failed while I was working on recovering from backup.

I'm writing this as a reminder for my Studio Manager customers. Hard drives fail pretty regularly. Studio Manager holds your mission-critical data, so it can be expensive, time-consuming and even devastating to lose a lot of your data due to file damage or loss when a recent backup isn't available.

The top four things to do to backup your Studio Manager data are:

Do Archival Backups. You can overwrite your backups sometimes, but you need snapshots of your data at different points in time because you may not notice a data problem right away. If you backup over a previous backup and you've got a data problem, your backup will also have that data problem.

Backup offsite at least once a week. You need to have a strategy to guard against fire, flooding and theft. Many businesses go out of business after a catastrophic event that destroys their on-site computer installation, software, data and all. It is just too hard to recover. You can either have an employee hand carry a drive or DVD offsite once a week or pay for a professional online backup service that keeps your data backed up at a data center.

Backup when Studio Manager is closed. If you have FileMaker Server, it can be set to do backups at regular intervals. You can get backups hourly, nightly, exactly what you want. And, FileMaker Server will close your Studio Manager file before it backups up so that all the automatic housekeeping that filemaker does when it closes files is done before the backup is done. Then have your regular backup program backup up FileMaker Server's backups in its regular routine.

If you don't have FileMaker Server, you need to do this closing of FileMaker manually before doing backups. The convenience of having FileMaker Server close your files and do automated backups pays for it right there in most cases. 

Backup nightly, weekly and monthly. Here's a suggested backup schedule: daily keeping the last weeks worth of days, weekly, keeping the last six weeks, monthly keeping the last six months. It is not unusual to run into a data problem that is subtle and goes undetected for more than a couple months before you realize you have a problem. It is good to have your weekly and especially monthly backups both onsite and offsite.

That's all there is to it. Make it easy on yourself and get religious about backing up your data. 

Introducing ScreenSteps for Studio Manager 9

We have something new for you today. We are switching over to live web-based documentation for Studio Manager 9. We just opened our account today and have put up a few Studio Manager lessons that are available for public access.

Shortly we will be putting up a lot more lessons that will only be available to Studio Manager customers. What that means to you if you are a Studio Manager customer is that you'll need to register for an account.

Because some of our FileMaker consulting work is not for Studio Manager, we've opened the account under the name "tokerud" and the public URL is: tokerud.screenstepslive.com. We are hoping to use ScreenSteps whenever we have a need to explain how to do something in Studio Manager, FileMaker or the Mac.

One cool feature of ScreenSteps is that the user can download a PDF of a single lesson and be guaranteed of getting the most up to date information on that subject. You don't necessarily have to print a big manual all at once. Print as needed or just download PDFs of sections you are working on. Don't keep too many too long. Better to come back and get the freshest version of that lesson when you need it.

Unlike getting a full user manual that is current as of a single date, you get each lesson updated as recently as can be. We want to put up documentation as it is written rather than waiting for months to write the entire manual from start to finish.

Another thing we like about ScreenSteps is that each lesson is like a blog post with a comments area at the bottom. That means when you read a lesson and have a question, you can post it there. We then have the option of (1) writing a comment of our own to clarify or (2) improving the lesson to handle your question.

If we do our ScreenSteps documentation at the level of excellence that we are shooting for, we hope to attract a lot of comments and useage from our customer base. Our not so hidden agenda is to create a thriving community around Studio Manager that communicates. We want you guys to help each other and share knowledge.

Administer Studio Manager from your iPhone or Treo

If you currently use FileMaker Server to serve Studio Manager to your users, you need to know about this product. It will let you administer FileMaker Server from your iPhone or Treo.

The product is called AdminAnywhere and FileMaker is featuring it here. FileMaker lists it for $49!

You won't have to go to your desk or the server room to handle a server admin task anymore. You can even monitor and run your backups from your phone.

Click here or on the photo to enlarge it to full size.

Studio Manager 9 is Designed to be Customized

When you are out shopping for the mission critical softare that will be at the heart of your creative services business, think about this. Will you get a one-size-fits-all black box system or a modifiable database that you can shape and control? Black box systems are those that are programmed with such intricate complexity that the developers don't let the customer under the hood. Period.

The set it and forget it nature of a black box system might seem appealing, but most firms make sure they can modify their own mission critical software. They want their most important business software to closely fit their needs and mirror hard won business practices. They want to be able to modify the software over time as their needs change and evolve.

The software you pick may be web-based involving PHP, Javascript, Java or other web-oriented languages. If so, it will not be easy or quick to modify or extend. Maybe the software underneath the surface will be a regular programming language like Real Basic. Again, forget customization. Forget modifying or extending it in any significant way.

Studio Manager is based on FileMaker Pro, an incredibly easy-to-use database development environment. Databases are a lot easier to customize than traditional programmed software. FileMaker is the easiest database tool out there. This sounds a little crass, but it is a lot cheaper to develop with FileMaker.

Cheap translates to affordable customizing. Using a tool like FileMaker as the basis of your mission critical software gives you a level of control and flexibility that is remarkable in the software world. For example, you can easily add or modify reports. You can add, resequence or delete tabs that your don't need.

When you compare features between different pieces of software, don’t forget to think about the platform you have signed up for. Group your options by platform. For example, you could have groups for web-based, programmed, FileMaker-based, Other database.

Open vs. Closed. One last thing, most vertical market software is closed even if based on FileMaker. They may offer customization services. But you won't be able to choose your own consultant or do it yourself. Studio Manager is in the open category with 99.9% customizability - not just a few user-modifiable options. We strongly believe that FileMaker, an end-user-oriented development tool, is meant to be open.

Studio Manager Support Packages Available

As we discussed in our recent post about creating Studio Manager support packages, we think support packages are a good idea as long as (1) they are optional and (2) you get a better deal than you would buying support ad hoc. We spent some time working over the numbers and here's what we can offer:

AD HOC SUPPORT::
You can buy time in as small as 10-minute increments. The truth is the majority of our support requests are handled in 10 minutes. Keep in mind that most phone support is done by Janet with Sally handling more routine questions when Janet isn't available.

Janet $180/hour or $30 for 10 minutes. UC Berkeley MBA, 20-year speciallst in providing FileMaker-based systems to creative services businesses. Architect and chief developer of Studio Manager. Working full-time on Studio Manager, Janet delivers phone, email and remote access support to our customer base. She also does upgrades and customization projects.

Scout $90/hour. Scout spent 2 years as the product manager for Studio Manager and has been working with Janet since 1989. Before that Scout worked in printing and as a production graphic artist. She has written most of Studio Manager's technical documentation and participates in product planning, design and development. Works mostly on Studio Manager testing, documentation and customization projects.

Sally $60/hour. The newest member of the Studio Manager team, Sally does admin, customer support, testing, documentation and beginner level Studio Manager training. She has a Masters degree in education and is helping us beef up all of our documentation and training. As she masters Studio Manager and FileMaker, Sally will be doing more and more of our customer training.

SUPPORT PACKAGES::
You are going to want to purchase support packages for four reasons: (1) to have it budgeted for, (2) to make a commitment to use Studio Manager to its fullest, (3) to pay for upgrade and customization projects that will take several hours to complete and (4) to get a discount.

The blocks of support hours below are quoted at Janet's hourly rate because she does the bulk of customer support. However, since we structure our rates to be easily calculated, you can divide by two to see the rate you will pay for Scout's contributions and divide by three to see what you'll pay for Sally's time.

Studio Manager Support Packages Coming

Up till now, we've been doing support on an hourly basis with occasional sales of blocks of time. We've decided that our customers more often than not skimp on support. They don't budget for it at the time of purchase and then try to get along with little to no extra help. Because of this, some of our customers aren't getting as much as they should out of Studio Manager.

One option would be raise the price of Studio Manager so that we can offer more support with the product. Right now you get one hour of free support. We could raise the price of Studio Manager by a few hundred dollars and give you 5 hours of support. But that would penalize those of you who prefer to do things on your own with your own local or in-house FileMaker talent. Studio Manager is very popular among firms who are already using FileMaker. We aim to please, so we are going to attack the support issue by offering you incentives. Yeah, that's right, discounts!

Here's what we are thinking right now. Provide the following discounted chunks of service that can be purchased in advance: 5-hours, 10-hours, 25-hours and 50-hours. If you need a different number of hours, you can add additional hours to any one of these plans. If you want 35 hours instead of 25, for example, we'll sell you all 35 hours at a better discount than you would get by buying both a 10-hour and 25-hour package.

Discounts will range from about 5% for the 5 hour block of time to a little over 20% off for the largest block of hours. You will have 12 months to use your hours. We are working on the support packages this week and should have something firmed up by week's end.

If you happen to see this post before we've finalized our support packages and pricing, please let us know what you think. We would love the input.

Supporting You with Screen Sharing in OSX Leopard

Now that Apple has released the second update to OS X Leopard, 10.5.2, the promise of Leopard is being realized. We are enjoying being able to almost instantly see and manipulate local computers in the office. I can reach out to my iMac from my MacBook Pro and see the screen and run programs. I can open our business database if it isn't open. All this is ultra easy now.

In this world of remote desktop that Apple calls Screen Sharing, we can Screen Share with you in either direction if you are also on a Mac running OS X Leopard. We can demonstrate things on our Macs while you watch and we can also remotely control your computer when you have so authorized and make changes or add things to your custom version of Studio Manager. Pretty slick.

It's sometimes been a challenge to explain things on a graphical user interface by phone. Leopard screen sharing can make things much easier. If you ever call us for tech support or have a question that requires looking at your Mac screen running Leopard, please let us know so we can augment our conversation by seeing your screen or vice versa.

Please note that if you are using remote desktop on a Tiger based machine, we can also use remote desktop to accomplish much of the same thing. It's just a wee bit easier in Leopard.

Studio Manager Bulletin Has a New Look

Wow! TypePad just expanded their themes and I found this one that I really like. So much for white backgrounds. I just love this. I'm hoping that enjoyment won't fade quickly. We'll see. Hope you like the new look.

One of the things I like about TypePad is their strength in design. That's why I'm on TypePad for my blogging service. You aren't stuck with a generic theme either. You can add your own CSS into the page to override theme CSS.

By the way, I use CSSedit these days. Fun to use and effective! Today I'm using the theme unedited. After I examine it in more detail, I'll start tweaking.

One thing I have to do is go back and change some of my graphics to have transparent backgrounds. Black aint going to work anymore. Argh! Cutting corners sometimes bites you in the butt later.