jfletch

Claris had to generate a new license key for me. Then, they had to do it again, because it was done wrong the first time and hadn't fixed that problem. Their first clue was that they had the wrong license quantities when you logged in for the downloads.

I have deleted files in those locations on Mac and Windows and the issue still exists. I have alerted customer service who gave me new certificates last week, one for the concurrencies on the server and one for the user licenses on the desktops. The one they gave me for the concurrencies fixed an incorrect number of licenses issue on the server, while the one they reset for the Users that they instructed me to install on the desktops still give's me everyone's favorite error message. ::-(

I am having the same issue. Windows 10, new downloaded FMP, fresh download of the install certificate. Happening to at least two different users for a client of mine. They just upgraded to 19. Many of the users are still remote and using WebD, so I don't know if they have all had a chance to try FMP yet. The two that I KNOW have tried to log in with FMP have this issue.

Yeah, I think that is why I am using MBS. Are you saying that you can access an SFTP server using the FTPS switch in Insert From URL? That would certainly be, as you say, "weird, but true." The protocols are really different. They do transfer files, but the method of encryption and handshaking is really incompatible. I know this because we had to get the client's client to get a whole other FTP Server app just to work with them. FTPS is a bear to work with. I'll stick with Christian's great plugin for the time being.

Wim, but FTPS and SFTP are totally unrelated to each other. How does that work? Is it a bug?

Christian, I have a solution that uses the desktop version of MBS to do just that and it works as advertised. The issue is that there is a lot of data--with some included Base-64 images--and there are several dozens of files to send over a mediocre internet connection, so the user's FileMaker is locked up for a few HOURS a day in processing these reports. If I get the server license for MBS, will it work properly to send them to a processing queue and then run them with a Server scheduled script? The other option that the client is considering is to buy another computer and run it from there, but that would still tie up resources with all the data slinging back and forth. Suggestions? Jonathan

What are the ramifications of using MirrorSync with the new iOS SDK? It sounds like it would work fine to me, but has anyone tried it?

I just did a job recently where I used a PHP page to accept the parameters, create a log record in FileMaker and then send the person on to IWP/WebDirect. The startup script checks the account that is logging in and then checks for a log record in the past few minutes and retrieves the parameters from that log to know where to send the client. I'm sure it's got some kind of security hole in it, but I don't immediately see where that might be if you take care to check for out-of-bounds parameters. The user has to know their username and password to take advantage of the solution, so I don't think it's TOO insecure.

@Aussie John: Have you found a solution for this issue? I have it on several clients' servers. It seems to be related to not having a monitor attached to the server that I am accessing. Still looking for an answer. Google is especially quiet on the subject. It can't be THAT rare. It is a serious issue for me on several servers. All headless. FMS 11 AND 12. All Macs, too. If I can get their IT to relinquish the proper ports, I can remote in with the console, but failing that, screen sharing to a headless server does NOT work, so I am stuck in a few annoying instances.

Klypto, what is the latest on this technique? Have you found it to be reliable? I have a need to do this and can't find anything conclusive on it. Some say to use symlinks and you (and others) indicate that FMS might prefer hard links. -jonathan fletcher

This is so sad. Guess we all are gonna have to make peace with Windows server hardware. Much as it pains me to say it. I used to paraphrase the old bumper sticker: "I will give up my Mac when they un wrap my cold dead fingers from around it." Now, while I still can use it for client machines, servers are less and less an option. I worry about what the FileMaker hosting companies are going to do. Hackintoshes anyone?

Yup. That's my experience as well. Almost makes me want to chuck it and stick with 11. I have been using Matt Petrowsky's wonderful set of keyboard shortcuts for FMPA 11 and have gotten REAL used to them. This, um, "Inhales sharply!"

Clarify with Advisor Media. They're the ones who put on DevCon.

Yeah, thanks! I'm fine now. Nothing broken. (Thank God!) My biggest issue is how do you process four days of intense mental activity while on prescription pain-killers? Thankfully, I'm off the drugs, but I'm going back to my notes, saying, "I don't remember that!" ::-

Beverly, I didn't see you there. Of course it would have helped if I knew what you looked like. Maybe next time. We'll have to do a Kentucky table! I ALSO put some pictures on Flickr. Mine were not as awesome as Martha's, as they were all iPhone pictures. But look closely. I'm the one on the back board at the end. The Marriott shuttle bus had a little mishap on the way back to the hotel Wednesday night. Shoulda skipped THAT burger run!

Hardware is mostly your call. FMI says the latest Tiger or Leopard, G5 or Intel. An Intel mini qualifies, but you will find many in The Family who will shout that one down. Why not find a cheap(er) G5 tower on eBay and mirror a couple of NEW (5-year warranty) internal drives to give you a boatload of reliability.

Oooh, scary. How do you like your hosed files? You have two options: 1. Buy and use FileMaker Server to host the files. B. Put all your files and a copy of FileMaker Pro on the same computer. TURN OFF FILE SHARING--at the very least to the folder that your files are in. Open them all in that copy of FMP and leave them open, either all the time or at least the entire time your employees need to access them. FileMaker will serve them over the network, in a manner similar to (but not nearly as robust as) Server. Users open them as needed with the Open Remote command from within their own copies of FMP. Doing anything other than these two options is a recipe for disaster, Ignore at your own peril, Danger Steep Cliffs Ahead, Thar be monsters, watch out for that falling piano, etc. BACKUP: (If you are using FileMaker Server--now aren't you glad you did--use its built-in back-up functionality and then a back-up-the-backup strategy similar to what's described below) EVERY time you get to the point that you would hate to have to rekey all that data since the last time you backed up, you need to do another backup. If that's every ten minutes, so be it. Use a script within the file that uses the Save As (compacted) command and do all your files that way. Timestamp each file or set of files and save all copies for as long as you can, reducing it to one a day, one a week, one a month as you gain more confidence that your current files have correct, uncorrupted data. So, for instance, keep every hourly backup for a week, keep every daily backup for a month, keep every weekly backup for six months, keep every monthly backup forever. YMMV with your needs, but they are probably greater than you think.

Gathering book data with an ISBN lookup. Looking for the XSL that works with ISBNDB book lookups. Fenton? TIA!