14 DAY TRIAL // FM.NEXUS has released version 2.0 of its database inspection tool, Inspector. Mac users and FileMaker professionals should really consider giving this piece of software a try, if they haven't already. The latest release adds support for FileMaker Pro 9, scripting, calculations, ESS tables, "instant search" for layout objects. It is also able to generate visual overviews for basetables, occurrences, layouts and more, using FileMaker's built-in Database Design Reporting (DDR). A new UI has also been added for FM 9 script groups.
Just to give you an example of how Inspector can help you with your projects, the professional tool is able to link directly to referenced objects. All you have to do is click on the yellow arrow. Inspector keeps track of where you have been using browser-like backwards or forwards buttons.
New in Inspector 2.0: support for FileMaker Advanced 9.0 DDR (Design Database Report); support for auto-resize throughout most of the UI screens; 11 non-referenced element reports; support for fm 9 script groups (New UI); support for conditional formatting calculation dependencies; dramatically improved comparison reporting with better progress information; new instant search for layout object with tooltips; new calculation area to allow focusing the calculation search results.
"Since its release, Inspector has been an integral part of our solution Q/A process. We use Inspector in the final stages of development to identify issues that our testers may have missed. In a recent FileMaker 6 to FileMaker 8 migration project, Inspector found a whopping 1,700 issues which we were able to rapidly fix. Inspector has surely increased the quality of our products, and has lowered our time to market. The speed boost associated with the Inspector 1.1 release has allowed us to more tightly integrate Inspector into our Q/A process. Since the imports are dramatically faster, we can perform more frequent analysis as we zero in on the finished product," said Charlie Bailey of inResonance.
A trial version of Inspector 2.0 is available HERE. However, you will have to apply for a trial test code to be able to try it out.
FileMaker Advanced version 9.x is required to generate the DDR. Inspector 2.0 works with all previous versions of the DDR including 8.0.