How to Open FP7 Files Without FileMaker

A free, private, browser-based way to read legacy FileMaker Pro databases
Private by design. Files are read entirely on your device and are never uploaded or saved.

FileMaker Pro discontinued the classic .fp7 format after version 11, and modern FileMaker releases can no longer open these files directly. If you inherited an old .fp7 database and don't want to hunt for a legacy FileMaker license just to read it, you have a fully free alternative that runs in your browser.

The short answer

Use FP7 Viewer — it opens .fp7 and .fmp12 FileMaker databases directly in your browser, lets you browse every table and record, and exports the data to CSV, XLS, or XLSX. Nothing is uploaded to a server; the file is parsed locally on your device.

Why opening .fp7 files is hard today

  • Current FileMaker Pro versions dropped support for the .fp7 format.
  • FileMaker 11 and earlier are no longer sold and are hard to license legally.
  • Third-party converters usually require uploading your database to an unknown server.
  • Most people just want to read the records once and export them — not run a database server.

Step-by-step: open an FP7 file in your browser

  1. Open FP7 Viewer. Go to the FP7 Viewer home page. There is nothing to install and no account to create.
  2. Drop your file in. Drag the .fp7 file onto the drop zone, or click the drop zone to pick it from your device. .fmp12 files work the same way.
  3. Wait a moment while it parses. The file is decoded in your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is sent anywhere; you can verify this in your browser's Network tab.
  4. Browse tables and records. Switch between tables using the tab bar. Use the global search, per-column filters, and the advanced filter builder to find specific rows. Global fields are shown separately from record-level fields.
  5. Export to a modern format. Use the Download CSV, Download XLS, or Download XLSX buttons to save the current table in a format any spreadsheet — Excel, Numbers, Google Sheets, LibreOffice — can open.

What FP7 Viewer can and can't do

FP7 Viewer is a reader and exporter. It's ideal for archival, data recovery, migration, and audit workflows where you need to see and extract the data from an old FileMaker database.

  • Can: open .fp7 and .fmp12 files, list tables, show records and global fields, filter and search, export to CSV/XLS/XLSX.
  • Can't: edit records, execute FileMaker scripts, render layouts, or replace a live FileMaker deployment.

Is it safe to open a sensitive .fp7 file this way?

Yes. The file never leaves your device. The entire parser is JavaScript running inside your browser tab, so no bytes of your database are uploaded anywhere. Closing the tab erases the file from memory. If you're security-conscious, you can even disconnect from the network before dropping the file in — the app keeps working.

Alternatives (and why they usually aren't worth it)

  • Buy legacy FileMaker Pro 11: hard to source legitimately and requires an old OS to run.
  • Hire a data-recovery service: works, but expensive and slow for a one-off read.
  • Upload to a converter site: convenient, but you're sending a private database to a third-party server.

For most people the browser-based route is the fastest and safest option.

Try it now

Open FP7 Viewer →