A Schema-First View of Your FileMaker Pro Solution

Build a clearer workflow for FileMaker Pro: reverse engineer existing schemas into interactive ER diagrams, model changes visually, and generate reviewed SQL scripts before deployment.

DbSchema is built for visual modeling, schema documentation, and deployment. Keep an offline model in Git, collaborate across teams, and publish documentation that developers, analysts, and stakeholders can navigate in minutes.

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SQL-Based Schema Exploration for FileMaker Pro Solutions

FileMaker Pro organizes data using a relationship graph and layout-driven interface that differs fundamentally from conventional relational databases. When FileMaker solutions grow in complexity, understanding which tables are connected and how data flows through the system becomes difficult without a structured schema view. DbSchema connects to FileMaker via the FileMaker JDBC driver, discovers the tables and relationships exposed through the JDBC interface, and renders them as an entity-relationship diagram suitable for technical review and migration planning.

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Visualize FileMaker Table Relationships via JDBC

Once connected, DbSchema reads the table occurrences and field definitions exposed by FileMaker Server's JDBC interface and displays them on a visual canvas. This makes it practical to audit a FileMaker solution's data structure or prepare migration specifications for moving to a relational database like PostgreSQL or MySQL.

Inspect FileMaker Field and Table Structures

DbSchema displays the full field list for each table exposed through the FileMaker JDBC driver, including field data types and relationship definitions. This structural view is essential when designing an equivalent schema in a target database for a data migration project.

Schema Documentation for FileMaker Solutions

DbSchema generates HTML documentation from the FileMaker JDBC schema, covering tables, fields, and relationships. This documentation is especially useful for FileMaker developers handing off solutions to clients or third-party developers, since it explains the data model to someone with no FileMaker application access at all.

Connecting DbSchema to a Hosted FileMaker Pro File

Before DbSchema can see a FileMaker schema, the file must be shared over JDBC:

1. In FileMaker Server's Admin Console, enable ODBC/JDBC sharing for the database file — the file must be open and hosted on FileMaker Server, since local FileMaker Pro files are not reachable via JDBC without the server running.
2. Install DbSchema, then add the FileMaker JDBC driver (fmjdbc.jar, available from FileMaker developer resources) via DbSchema's driver manager under Connections > Manage Drivers.
3. Create a new connection using the JDBC URL jdbc:filemaker://host:2399/dbname, where dbname is the name of the hosted FileMaker database file.
4. Connect — DbSchema reads the table occurrences and field definitions and renders them as an ER diagram.

FileMaker Pro Benefits of the DbSchema Workflow

• Visualize FileMaker table and field relationships exposed through the JDBC interface
• Generate schema documentation for FileMaker solutions being migrated or audited
• Run SQL queries against FileMaker data from a standard JDBC-based SQL client
• Create ER diagrams showing the SQL-accessible data model for external developers
• Use DbSchema as a migration planning tool when moving FileMaker data to a relational database

A FileMaker relationship graph is hard to hand off; an ER diagram and HTML documentation are not. Download DbSchema and document your FileMaker Pro solution for the next developer who touches it.

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