Claris

{{Short description|Apple software subsidiary}} {{For|the Japanese band|ClariS}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox company | name = Claris International Inc. | logo = Claris logo blk.svg | type = Subsidiary | industry = Software | founded = {{Start date and age|1987}} | hq_location = Cupertino, California | key_people = Ryan McCann (CEO) | products = FileMaker<br />Claris Connect | parent = Apple Inc. | website = {{URL|claris.com}} }}

'''Claris International Inc.''', formerly '''FileMaker Inc.''', is an American software company owned by Apple Inc. Apple formed the company in 1987 to manage and market application software separately from Apple's hardware and operating-system businesses. During its first period under the Claris name, the company published Macintosh and Apple II software including MacWrite, MacPaint, MacDraw, MacProject, AppleWorks, ClarisWorks, Claris Emailer, Claris Home Page, and FileMaker. Apple reorganized Claris as FileMaker Inc. in 1998, when the subsidiary narrowed its focus to the FileMaker database product line. FileMaker Inc. restored the Claris name in 2019 after acquiring the integration startup Stamplay, whose product became Claris Connect.

== History ==

=== Apple software subsidiary === thumb|alt=Low-rise office building formerly used as Claris headquarters in Santa Clara, California|Former Claris headquarters in Santa Clara, California

Apple announced plans in April 1987 to spin off its application software business into a separate subsidiary.<ref name="nyt-1987">{{cite news |last=Pollack |first=Andrew |date=April 29, 1987 |title=Apple to Spin Off Software Business |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/29/business/company-news-apple-to-spin-off-software-business.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref> The company began with five major Apple software products and about $50 million in annual revenue, and Apple expected it to become independent within 18 months.<ref name="computerworld-1987">{{cite magazine |last1=Ryan |first1=Alan J. |last2=Pitta |first2=Julie |date=November 2, 1987 |title=Challengers: Computer Associates, Claris Corp. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mUSIMiurpfYC&pg=PP85 |magazine=Computerworld |volume=21 |issue=44 |page=SR19 |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref> Apple retained ownership of the new company, which was based in the Silicon Valley area and initially led by Apple executive Bill Campbell.<ref name="computerworld-1987" />

Claris was formed partly to reduce tension between Apple and third-party Macintosh developers. Apple had shipped early Macintosh computers with MacWrite and MacPaint, giving buyers useful bundled software but also competing with independent developers selling similar programs.<ref name="nyt-1987" /> Apple transferred products such as MacWrite, MacPaint, MacDraw, MacProject, and AppleWorks to the new subsidiary.<ref name="techcrunch-2019">{{cite news |last=Lardinois |first=Frederic |date=August 6, 2019 |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/ |work=TechCrunch |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref>

In 1988, Claris acquired the database application FileMaker from Nashoba Systems and released it as FileMaker II.<ref>{{cite news |date=July 19, 1988 |title=Apple Unit Buys Software Concern |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/19/business/company-news-apple-unit-buys-software-concern.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref> FileMaker became one of Claris's most durable products. The company released FileMaker Pro in 1990 and a cross-platform version for Macintosh and Windows in 1992.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Flynn |first=Laurie |date=September 7, 1992 |title=Claris ships FileMaker Pro for Windows |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0FAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA20 |magazine=InfoWorld |volume=14 |issue=36 |page=20 |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref>

=== Products in the 1990s === ClarisWorks, an integrated office suite created by former Claris employees Bob Hearn and Scott Holdaway, was released for Macintosh in 1991.<ref name="hearn">{{cite web |last=Hearn |first=Bob |date=2003 |title=A Brief History of ClarisWorks |url=http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/bob/clarisworks.php |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref> The product was separate from the earlier Apple II AppleWorks line, though it later inherited the AppleWorks name after being moved back to Apple.<ref name="hearn" />

Claris also developed and published a broader line of Macintosh software. Its "Pro" applications included MacWrite Pro, MacDraw Pro, and FileMaker Pro. Claris bought rights to the Macintosh version of the Wingz spreadsheet and released it as Claris Resolve.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Benjamin |first1=Louis E. Jr. |last2=Zilber |first2=Jon |date=June 1992 |title=New Dimensions in Spreadsheets |url=https://archive.org/details/MacUser9206June1992/page/n121/mode/1up |magazine=MacUser |volume=8 |issue=6 |page=32 |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref> Other products included Claris Emailer, Claris CAD, ClarisDraw, Claris Organizer, Claris Impact, and Claris Home Page.<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&pg=PT4 |magazine=InfoWorld |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=March 30, 1998 |title=To Home Page and Back Again |url=https://tidbits.com/1998/03/30/to-home-page-and-back-again/ |website=TidBITS |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref>

Claris Home Page included tools for building database-driven websites with FileMaker Pro 4.1 and Claris Dynamic Markup Language (CDML).<ref>{{cite web |title=CDML tags |url=https://www.macos.utah.edu/documentation/general_software_and_utilities/filemaker_pro/filemaker_pro_4-1v3/cdml_tags.html |publisher=University of Utah |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref> CDML later survived mainly as a historical term associated with FileMaker's older web-publishing tools.<ref>{{cite web |title=Converting FileMaker databases from previous versions |url=https://support.claris.com/servlet/fileField?entityId=ka10H000000g3WI&field=Public_File_2__Body__s |publisher=Claris International |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref>

=== FileMaker Inc. === Apple kept Claris as a wholly owned subsidiary rather than completing the independent spin-off originally contemplated in 1987.<ref name="techcrunch-2019" /> In January 1998, Apple announced that Claris would be reorganized around FileMaker Pro, lay off about 300 employees, and change its name to FileMaker Inc.<ref name="wired-1998">{{cite magazine |author=Wired News Report |date=January 27, 1998 |title=Claris to Lay Off 300, Change Name to FileMaker Inc. |url=https://www.wired.com/1998/01/claris-to-lay-off-300-change-name-to-filemaker-inc/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref> Apple took over distribution of ClarisWorks and Mac OS products, while FileMaker Inc. continued to develop and market FileMaker Pro.<ref name="wired-1998" />

FileMaker Inc. remained an Apple subsidiary after the reorganization. It later released Bento, a personal database application for Mac OS X, in 2008. Bento was discontinued in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 31, 2013 |title=FileMaker, Inc. announces Bento retirement |url=https://support.claris.com/s/article/FileMaker-Inc-announces-Bento-retirement-1503692927939 |publisher=Claris International |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref>

=== Return to the Claris name === FileMaker Inc. announced in August 2019 that it was restoring the Claris name and becoming Claris International Inc.<ref name="techcrunch-2019" /> The rebrand followed its acquisition of Stamplay, an Italian startup whose integration product was renamed Claris Connect.<ref name="wired-2019">{{cite magazine |last=Finley |first=Klint |date=August 6, 2019 |title=Attention Apple Retro-Heads: Claris is Back! |url=https://www.wired.com/story/attention-apple-retro-heads-claris-back/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref> TechCrunch reported that the FileMaker product line would continue under the Claris FileMaker name.<ref name="techcrunch-2019" />

Claris named Ryan McCann chief executive officer in 2026.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 13, 2026 |title=Claris is proud to announce Ryan McCann named Claris CEO |url=https://www.claris.com/blog/2025/claris-is-proud-to-announce-ryan-mccann-named-claris-ceo |publisher=Claris International |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref> As of 2026, the company's principal products were Claris FileMaker, a low-code custom app and database platform, and Claris Connect, a workflow automation and app-integration service.<ref name="claris-fm">{{cite web |title=Claris FileMaker |url=https://www.claris.com/filemaker/ |publisher=Claris International |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref><ref name="claris-connect">{{cite web |title=Claris Connect |url=https://www.claris.com/connect/ |publisher=Claris International |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref>

== Products == {{Main|FileMaker}} Claris's historical products included the Apple-originated MacWrite, MacPaint, MacDraw, MacProject, and AppleWorks applications; FileMaker and FileMaker Pro; the ClarisWorks integrated suite; and later products such as Claris Emailer, Claris Resolve, Claris Impact, Claris Organizer, Claris CAD, and Claris Home Page. Most non-FileMaker products were either moved back to Apple, discontinued, or left unsupported after the 1998 restructuring.<ref name="wired-1998" /><ref name="techcrunch-2019" />

The current Claris product line centers on FileMaker and Claris Connect. FileMaker integrates a database engine, graphical development tools, scripting, security features, and client/server deployment options for building business applications.<ref>{{cite web |title=Claris FileMaker |url=https://www.claris.com/filemaker/ |publisher=Claris International |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref> Claris Connect is marketed as a workflow automation service for connecting business applications and web services.<ref>{{cite web |title=Workflow Automation for Integrating Apps — Claris Connect |url=https://www.claris.com/connect/ |publisher=Claris International |access-date=May 24, 2026}}</ref>

== See also == * List of Mac software * Clarus the Dogcow

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{Commons category}} * {{Official website|https://www.claris.com/}}

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

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