FileMaker 9 Certification
March 10, 2008 - Los Angeles, California
Just weeks after the official FileMaker 9 certification program was announced, The Alchemy Group once again met the rigorous criteria for this significant milestone. Certification is not only a sign of our commiment to the FileMaker platform, but our assurance to our customers that we remain on the cutting edge of FileMaker technology.

Visual Design Presentation Given By AG President Bob Shockey
Jan. 11, 2008 - Los Angeles, California
At today's monthly meeting of FMDiSC (FileMaker Developers in Southern
California), Alchemy Group president Bob Shockey gave a presentation
on the importance of good visual design in FileMaker databases. "A
database user's first impression is often the last," says Shockey. "If
it's not pleasing to the eye, well organized, and fitted to the needs
and sensibilities of those using it, resistance will be very high. Good
design increases user confidence and invites exploration and discovery." The
lecture was geared toward helping typically left-brain oriented programmers
understand basic design principles, such as color theory, positioning
of elements, use of space, icons, and organization. Also presenting on
the topic of visual design were Linda Preuss of Graphics to Go, and Jonathan
Reff of Imaging Solutions.
FileMaker 9 Impresses with ESS and PHP
July 10, 2007 - Santa Clara, California
FileMaker Inc. has released an amazing new major update of its product
with FileMaker 9. The software not only includes some very nice user interface
features, but al
so boasts significant improvements in the area of connectivity.
Sharing data between SQL databases built in Oracle, MS SQL Server, and
MySQL is now extremely easy and powerful. This new technology, officially
dubbed ESS (Extended SQL Source), allows FileMaker to connect to these
data sources as if they were native tables. Another excellent new feature
is the PHP Site Assistant, which can create a fully functional PHP site
with just a few clicks. Contact us for more info on how these great new
features can help your organization succeed.
Alchemy
Group Once Again Earns FM Certification
Oct.
31, 2006 - Claremont, California
The Alchemy Group remains a pre-eminent FileMaker development
firm with the addition of FileMaker 8 certification. We are
committed to continued excellence in the field of FileMaker development
by keeping up with current trends in the FileMaker arena and
in the technology world at large.

FileMaker 8 - A Fantastic New Upgrade!
Bob
and Dina have
recently returned from the 10th Annual FileMaker Developer Conference
in Phoenix. At this year's conference, FileMaker, Inc. announced
the release of FileMaker Pro 8.0, a significant upgrade of their
award-winning suite of database products. FileMaker 8 features
a robust set of new features that greatly enhances its already
strong performance. Besides offering significant speed gains
for certain common functions, FileMaker 8 also offers:
- Automatic generation of PDFs and Excel spreadsheets
- Sending of Email directly from the database
- Type-ahead/Auto-complete in any field
- Pop-up date picker (calendar) on any date field
- Enter a day of week into a date search field and see all matching
dates
- Real-time visual spell-checking
- Tool tips/help pop-ups
- Support for mouse wheels
- Custom menus
...and a host of new development improvements that make it
possible for developers to build better, faster solutions
for your business. In fact, this update offers more significant
developer tools than any previous release, and streamlines
the development process in ways never before possible. Call us for details!
Alchemy Group Earns Official FileMaker Certification
Nov. 3, 2004 - Claremont, California
The Alchemy Group has earned the title of "FileMaker
7 Certified Developer," as awarded by FileMaker, Inc. The Certification
program, begun in August of 2004, provides an avenue for identifying
and recognizing FileMaker developers who have gained a high level
of competency in FileMaker 7 database development. This certification
further cements The
Alchemy Group's reputation as a leader in its field.

Alchemy
Group President is the New “FileMaker Idol”
Sept. 1, 2004 - Phoenix, Arizona
Alchemy Group president Bob Shockey was awarded the
grand prize in the “FileMaker Idol” solution competition
at this year’s FileMaker Developer Conference in Phoenix,
Arizona. Seven finalists were selected from over 50 entrants.
Along with the other finalists, Bob demonstrated his "CareMinder" medical
solution at the opening session of the conference in front of
1500 attendees, who then voted for the winner. The criteria for
selection included best use of FileMaker 7 features, best interface
design, and originality.
"I’m
thrilled to be honored in this fashion," says
Bob. "FileMaker has created an environment that is very conducive
to developing powerful, elegant solutions, and I feel lucky to
have helped showcase some of those benefits. I wish to thank the
helpful staff at FileMaker and my wonderful friends from FileMaker
Developers in Southern California (FMDiSC),
as well as my client on this project, Cancer Care Consultants,
for their encouragement and support. Also special thanks to my
associate, Dina Torok, and my QA staff, Anthony and Candice, for
all their fine work and helpful advice. It's said that it takes
a community to raise a child, and I believe it is the same with
any good work to be done."
In addition to the recognition that Bob received for his solution,
he was awarded prizes from Apple Computer and FileMaker, Inc.
FileMaker
7 Offers Over 100 New Features
Most
Extensive Upgrade in Years
March
9, 2004 - FileMaker announced today the release of FileMaker
7, boasting an impressive array of powerful new features:
-
Greater
stability. FileMaker 7 is far more robust than any version
that we have seen before. Where previous versions
were sensitive to crashes and could become corrupted,
FileMaker 7 is far less susceptible to file corruption.
-
Greatly
improved security. FileMaker 7 offers new role-based security
options and a greatly improved security interface. It offers
enterprise integration and is fully compatible with Active
Directory, LDAP, and Open Directory services. FileMaker now
also supports SSL Encryption. The level of security granularity
is also now enhanced. Logins to served solutions can be fully
encrypted. Users can now be limited to seeing only solutions
that are designated for their use.
-
No
limits. The file-size and field contents limitations in previous
versions of FileMaker have now been removed. There
is virtually no limit on the amount of information you can
store.
-
Multiple-table
support. One file can now hold an unlimited number of tables.
Instead of watching many files open one-by-one as you start
up your database, you will instead see only one or a few
files open. This self-contained architecture
allows FileMaker to function more efficiently.
-
Improved Relational capabilities. FileMaker now supports complex,
multi-tier queries that make it even more powerful and flexible
than before.
-
Multiple windows. A single file can now display multiple views
and sets of records from the same source. For example, you can
perform two separate searches in a contacts module and compare
the two lists side by side.
-
Storage of all file types. You can store any type of file,
from Word documents to Acrobat PDFs in a FileMaker field and
access it any time you want with a click of the mouse.
-
Commitment. You can prevent changes to a record from becoming
permanent until you choose to save them.
-
Improved LAN/WAN performance under FileMaker Server with server-side
calcs and plug-ins. Computing is no longer completely dependent
on client workstations. Fewer, larger network packets means increased
network speed and faster performance at the user level.
-
New functions. FileMaker boasts a substantial number of new
functions, script steps and design features that make it an even
more powerful, flexible tool. The developer edition includes
tools that make it possible for us to optimize and improve your
database solutions like never before.
-
Vastly improved Instant Web Publishing .
Who should upgrade?
While FileMaker 7 offers many enticing new features, not everyone
should upgrade right away. Your unique situation and needs will have
to be carefully considered before upgrading your solution. Please
contact The Alchemy Group or Torok Design Solutions today to discuss
an upgrade plan that's right for you.
Torok
Design Solutions and The Alchemy Group Join Forces
Strategic
Alliance Benefits customers
December,
2003 - The Alchemy Group and Torok-Design Solutions, two of Southern
California's premiere database consultancies, are proud to announce
the formation of a new strategic alliance. "We are very
excited about this new business relationship," said Bob
Shockey, President of The Alchemy Group. "Torok-Design Solutions
and The Alchemy Group have successfully collaborated in the past,
and this will give us the opportunity to share our talents and
resources on new projects of all sizes. Our existing clients
will benefit from our combined expertise, and we will be better
positioned to serve larger and more diverse clients in the future."
The Alchemy Group (formerly Shockey Solutions) has been successfully
providing database solutions to large and small businesses, educational
institutions, and non-profit groups for five years. President Bob
Shockey has written for FileMaker Advisor Magazine, and has served
on the advisory board for FileMaker Developers in Southern California
(FMDiSC). He has delivered several technical lectures before FMDiSC
and is an Associate Member of the FileMaker Solutions Alliance
(FSA), as well as a member of the Servoy Alliance Network (SAN).
Dina
Torok is a computer consultant specializing in providing FileMaker
Pro database services. Dina has been developing
solutions with FileMaker Pro since 1994, and has been president
of Torok-Design Solutions since 1998. Her clients range from
sole-proprietors to enterprises with over 100 employees. Dina's
personal attention to clients' business needs, her comfortable
demeanor, and her development skills have kept her clients raving
about her contribution to the success of their businesses. Dina
has served as Topics Committee Chair and as a speaker for FileMaker
Developers in Southern California (FMDiSC), and is an Associate
Member of the FileMaker Solutions Alliance (FSA).
"Dina
brings a unique and refreshing perspective to everything she
undertakes. Her database design credentials are impeccable,"
continues Shockey. "We are very lucky to have her on board,
and we are looking forward to working with her and her clients,
and having her meet and work with ours."
Torok-Design
Solutions is on the Web at http://www.torok-design.com .
FileMaker
Pro Advisor article demonstrates powerful reporting
methods
January, 2003
- FileMaker Pro Advisor, the world's premiere source
for Filemaker news and information, has published a new article
by Alchemy Group President Bob Shockey. The Article,
entitled "Create Custom Reports On-The-Fly," is a technical
piece designed to teach intermediate- to advanced-level developers
how to give users greater flexibility in creating reports within
FileMaker. The article details a system for creating a highly
flexible report-building system that allows users to work with
information from various areas of a database structure, change
layouts, and save data sets and field mapping without affecting
the proprietary structure of the database solution itself.
"We
found this to be a very useful tool in dealing with our power-user
clients, and we felt that others would benefit from it as well.
Any developer who is concerned with proprietary database development
issues can learn from this article," said Bob. "We
are very proud to be published in FMP Advisor. We truly enjoyed
the experience of working with them, and look forward to contributing
more in the future."
More
about the
article can be found at http://FileMakerAdvisor.com/doc/09286
Alchemy
Group President
Joins FMDiSC Board
November,
2001 - Bob Shockey, President of The Alchemy Group, has been
elected to the Board of Directors for FileMaker Developers in
Southern California (FMDiSC), a highly respected professional
organization of FileMaker developers and consultants boasting
over 100 members. Bob has spoken before FMDiSC on a variety of
topics, including technical support issues, video-capture into
FileMaker databases, and interface design. Bob is excited to
be a part of this valuable organization.