Editing Claris

{{Short description|Computer software development company}}
{{For|the Japanese band|ClariS}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Claris International Inc.
| logo = Claris logo blk.svg
| type = [[Subsidiary]]
| industry = [[Software]]
| predecessor = FileMaker Inc.
| successor = 
| foundation = {{start date and age|1987}}
| defunct = 
| founders = {{plainlist|
* [[Bill Campbell (business executive)|William Campbell]]
* [[Randy Komisar]]
* [[Yogen Dalal]]
}}
| key_people = {{Plainlist|
* Ryan McCann ([[Chief Executive Officer|CEO]])
* Lucy Chen (Vice President, Worldwide Product Release Engineering)
* Jehaan Mathew (Vice President, Sales)
* Peter Nelson (Vice President, Engineering)
* Ann Devens (Vice President, Marketing)
* Giuliano Iacobelli (Vice President, Product)
}}
| products = [[Claris Emailer]], [[ClarisWorks]], [[Claris CAD]], ClarisDraw, [[Claris Resolve]], [[Claris Impact]], [[FileMaker]] (Pro, Go, Server, Cloud), [[Claris Home Page]], [[MacWrite]], [[MacPaint]], [[MacDraw]], [[MacProject]]
| revenue = 
| num_employees = 300
| parent = [[Apple Inc.]]
| homepage = {{URL|claris.com}}
}}

'''Claris International Inc.''', formerly '''FileMaker Inc.''', is a computer [[software development]] company formed as a subsidiary company of [[Apple Inc.|Apple Computer]] (now Apple Inc.) in 1987. It was given the [[source code]] and [[copyright]]s to several programs that were owned by Apple, notably [[MacWrite]] and [[MacPaint]], in order to separate Apple's application software activities from its [[computer hardware|hardware]] and [[operating system]]s activities.

In 1998, the company divested itself of all but its flagship product, and reformed as FileMaker Inc. In 2019, FileMaker Inc. announced at DevCon that it was restoring the Claris brand name. Also in 2019, Claris acquired Italian startup, Stamplay, a  [[cloud-based integration]] platform which connects web services like Dropbox and Slack without writing code,<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/story/attention-apple-retro-heads-claris-back/|title=Attention Apple Retro-Heads: Claris is Back!|last=Finley|first=Klint|date=2019-08-06|magazine=Wired|access-date=2019-08-06|issn=1059-1028}}</ref> and announced they would rename their product offering as Claris Connect.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brad |first1=Freitag |title=Introducing Claris International Inc. |date=August 6, 2019 |url=https://www.claris.com/blog/2019/introducing-claris-international-inc |website=Claris.com |publisher=Claris International Inc. |access-date=6 August 2019}}</ref>

The company develops, supports and markets the [[relational database]] program [[FileMaker]]. The FileMaker Platform is available for the [[macOS]], [[Microsoft Windows]] and [[iOS]] operating systems and is aimed towards business users and power users.

== History ==
{{Original research|section|date=July 2010}}
{{plain image with caption|File:Claris old logo.svg|First Claris logo|150px}}
[[File:5201_Patrick_Henry_Drive.jpg|thumb|right|Former Claris headquarters in Santa Clara<ref name="NewProducts">{{cite journal |title=New Products |journal=Computerworld |date=May 10, 1993 |volume=27 |issue=19 |page=41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MKyWnw1bumwC&pg=PA41}}</ref> ("The Wedge"), circa 2022]]

In the early days of the [[Mac (computer)|Mac]], Apple shipped the machines with two basic programs, MacWrite and Mac Paint, so that users would have a working machine "out of the box". However, this resulted in complaints from third-party developers, who felt that these programs were good enough for so many users that there was little reason to buy something better.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pollack |first=Andrew |date=1987-04-29 |title=Apple to Spin Off Software Business |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/29/business/company-news-apple-to-spin-off-software-business.html}}</ref>

Apple decided to allow the programs to "wither" so that the third-party developers would have time to write suitable replacements. The developers did not seem to hold up their end of the bargain, and it was some time before truly capable replacements like [[WriteNow]] came along. In the meantime users complained about the lack of [[upgrade]]s, while the third-party [[Programmer|developers]] continued to complain about the ''possibility'' of upgrades.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

Eventually Apple decided the only solution was to spin off the products to a third party of its own creation, forming Claris in 1987. Claris was also given the rights to several lesser-known Apple products such as [[MacProject]], [[MacDraw]], and the hit [[Apple II]] product [[AppleWorks]]. Claris' second corporate headquarters (nicknamed "The Wedge") was in [[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]], about six miles from the main Apple campus.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

At first Claris provided only trivial upgrades, limited to making the products continue to run on newer versions of the [[classic Mac OS|Macintosh operating system]]. In 1988, Claris purchased [[FileMaker]] from Nashoba Systems and quickly released a rebranded version called FileMaker II, to conform to its naming scheme for other products, such as MacWrite II. The product, however, changed little from the last Nashoba version. Several minor versions followed; it was succeeded by FileMaker Pro 1.0 in 1990.  In the meantime, development began on major overhauls of their entire product line, including FileMaker. Each of these would be eventually released as part of the Pro series of products.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

In 1990, Apple decided that Claris should remain a wholly owned [[subsidiary]], as opposed to being completely spun off in an [[initial public offering]]. The company president soon left, and over the next year most of the other executives followed.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

That same year Claris also purchased an integrated application written by two former Claris employees. After rebranding in a style similar to FileMaker, MacDraw, and MacWrite, it was released in 1991 as [[ClarisWorks]], and became another huge success for the company. After a lengthy series of ups and downs, this product was eventually taken back by Apple in 1998 and rebranded as [[AppleWorks]] (for Macintosh).{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

In September 1992, Claris released a cross-platform version of FileMaker for both the Mac and Windows; except for a few platform-specific functions, the program's features and user interface were the same. Up to this point FileMaker had no real relational capabilities; it was limited to automatically looking up and importing values from other files. It only had the ability to save a state—a filter and a sort, and a layout for the data. Version 3.0, released around 1995, introduced new relational and scripting features.<ref name="dancing">{{cite web|url=https://fortune.com/2014/07/17/bill-campbell-apple-intuit-board/|title=After 17 years, Bill Campbell steps down from Apple's board|last=Lashinsky|first=Adam|date=July 17, 2014|website=Fortune|access-date=July 17, 2014}}</ref>

=== Transition to FileMaker Inc. ===

By the mid-1990s it appeared to most observers that Apple was in serious danger of disappearing. The main ClarisWorks development team left Claris, disillusioned with the product and the market, and founded [[Gobe Software]], which produced a Claris-like office suite for [[BeOS]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

Facing declining sales, Claris management decided that FileMaker was the only product worth keeping, and put all of the rest of the products on indefinite hold.  By 1998 the transition was complete and the company renamed itself as FileMaker Inc. Claris's only other major product, ClarisWorks, was taken back by Apple to become [[AppleWorks]]. The company kept FileMaker and Claris HomePage 3.0. The latter was discontinued in 2001 leaving FileMaker as its lone offering until January 8, 2008, when the company released [[Bento (database)|Bento]], a template-based database application with a leaning toward information from other applications. Bento was discontinued on September 30, 2013.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

=== Return to Claris ===
During DevCon 2019, the developers' conference, FileMaker announced it was resurrecting the Claris name and re-branding commenced. FileMaker Inc. changed its name to Claris International.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Apple subsidiary FileMaker Inc. changes its name (back) to Claris|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/06/apple-subsidiary-filemaker-inc-changes-its-name-back-to-claris/|access-date=2024-02-04|website=TechCrunch|date=6 August 2019 |language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807120121/https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/06/apple-subsidiary-filemaker-inc-changes-its-name-back-to-claris/|archive-date=2019-08-07}}</ref> The FileMaker product name remains as Claris FileMaker.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

== Products ==

=== FileMaker ===
{{Main|FileMaker}}
FileMaker is a cross-platform [[relational database]] application. It integrates a [[database engine]] with a graphical user interface ([[Graphical user interface|GUI]]) and security features, allowing users to modify the database by dragging new elements into layouts, screens, or forms. It started as an MS-DOS app called Nutshell, developed by Nashoba Systems.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

=== Pro series ===

In the late 1980s, Claris began a major upgrade effort, rewriting all of its products to use a more modern and common user interface. The result was the "Pro" series: MacDraw Pro, MacWrite Pro, and FileMaker Pro. In order to provide a complete [[office suite]] they later purchased the rights to the [[Informix Wingz]] [[spreadsheet]] on the Mac, rebranding it as [[Claris Resolve]],<ref name=macuser1992_06>{{cite magazine
| magazine = [[MacUser (US edition)|MacUser]]
| url      = https://archive.org/details/MacUser9206June1992/page/n121/mode/1up
| page    = 32
| date     = June 1992
| volume   = 8
| issue    = 6
| first1   = Louis E Jr
| last1    = Benjamin
| first2   = Jon
| last2    = Zilber
| title    = New Dimensions in Spreadsheets
}}</ref> and added the new [[presentation program]] [[Claris Impact]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

The series was released piecemeal over a period of about two years, during which period [[Microsoft]] was able to dominate the market with [[Microsoft Word]] and [[Microsoft Excel]]. While the Claris packages were arguably much more "approachable" than the Microsoft applications, the Claris software applications lacked some features of the now-mature Microsoft suite, leaving them lacking in "checkbox features." Their value was further eroded by aggressive bundling deals from Microsoft that could allow Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to be purchased for a cost not much higher than MacWrite alone—a bundle that Claris did not match. Claris did offer ClarisWorks, an all-in-one package; and, while the price was right, ClarisWorks was very limited and could not compete in the business market. Microsoft also released a [[Microsoft Works|Works]] package.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

Microsoft's domination of the Macintosh [[office suite]] software marketplace would be replicated five years later when (following the release of [[Windows 95]]), [[Microsoft Office]] crushed its two main rivals in Windows software: the [[WordPerfect]]/[[Quattro Pro#Quattro Pro for Windows|Quattro Pro]] suite and the [[Lotus SmartSuite]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

=== Other applications ===

By the late 1980s, [[HyperCard]] needed updating as well but Apple management did not see any value in the product and let it wither. Complaints eventually became loud enough that they decided ''something'' had to be done. Studying the problem, they decided that all software should be released through Claris, and sent HyperCard and the Mac OS{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} to them. Many of the developers refused to move to Claris, leading to a serious split in development that delayed future releases of both products. The Mac OS was soon returned to Apple; HyperCard was ignored for a time, before also returning briefly as a part of the [[QuickTime]] group.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

In 1988, Claris published [[Claris CAD]], a 2-D CAD package, and Claris Graphics Translator, a translation package for Claris CAD.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

In early 1989, Claris published Smart Form Designer,<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Flynn |first=Laurie |date=January 9, 1989 |title=Claris Finally Releases Forms Packages for Mac |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nDsEAAAAMBAJ&q=claris+smartform+designer&pg=PT4 |magazine=InfoWorld }}</ref> software to design forms, and a companion product, Smart Form Assistant, software to fill forms created by Smart Form Designer.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

In 1994, Claris published [[Amazing Animation]], software aimed at children and young teenagers, allowing them to produce their own short animated films.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

In 1995, Claris purchased and released [[Claris Home Page]], which enjoyed popularity as one of the few truly [[graphical user interface|GUI]]-based [[WYSIWYG]] [[HTML editor]]s of the time.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

Other products added to the line included [[Claris Emailer]]; Claris Office Mail, which facilitated setup by non-specialists<ref name="Z">{{cite web|url=http://www.zachary.com/s/claris_office_mail|title=Claris OfficeMail Overview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721205056/http://www.zachary.com/s/claris_office_mail|archive-date=21 July 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and [[Claris Organizer]]. These products were part of a new effort to diversify Claris and no longer chase the "office" market which, by this point, was considered a lost cause.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

The [[Bento (database)|Bento]] database product aimed at home users or small businesses was released in 2008 and discontinued in 2013.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}

== See also ==
*[[List of Mac software]]
* [[Dogcow|Clarus The Dogcow]], a prolific icon in Macintosh / Claris software, such as seen in Page Setup configuration dialogs

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin}}
* MacTech, [http://www.mactech.com/news/?p=1000152 ''Claris Solutions Alliance Expansion''], December 4, 1996
* TidBITS, Michael Jardeen, [https://web.archive.org/web/20000615182321/http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=04787 ''To Home Page and Back Again''], #422/March 30, 1998
* Wired News, Joe Ashbrook Nickell, [https://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,9912,00.html ''What is Apple Up to With Claris Shake-up?''], January 27, 1998
* Alan Zisman, [http://www.zisman.ca/Articles/1994/AppleWorksWin.html ''Apple Windows?-- Software for the rest of us?''], March 18, 1994
* [http://www.swiss.ai.mit.edu/~bob/clarisworks.php A Brief History of ClarisWorks] (broken link)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080624162702/http://modena.intergate.ca/personal/gslj/awgs.html The Life and Times of AppleWorks GS] (broken link)
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.theapplemuseum.com/index.php?id=26 The Apple Museum - Claris software codenames ]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051216112549/http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/edit202/tutorial/ClarisHomePage/claristutorial.htm Using Claris Homepage 3.0 (tutorial) ]

{{Apple Inc.}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Apple Inc. subsidiaries]]
[[Category:Software companies established in 1987]]
[[Category:Software companies disestablished in 1998]]
[[Category:Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Companies based in Cupertino, California]]
[[Category:1987 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Corporate spin-offs]]
[[Category:Software companies of the United States]]