FMP 5.5 Server.Slowdown checking Access to Records

[GibCo]

I have a problem and I am really stumped.

I created a security access file to be used to open my other databases in FMP 5.5. User name and password as well as privilege levels (restricting what layouts in the databases) and a site number (restricting which files they can access) can be set up by the customer server manager. There are 8 general levels of access which are FMP passwords that are entered by the user on opening the access file and they are passed on to the other databases when the files are opened.

I created a catenated field in the access file putting all the information I needed in the main database together in a field. It is then set in a global field and transferred via a relationship set up between two global fields set to 1 in my databases. Once the information is in the main database, I split it up into separate parts again using Left, Middle, Right and set global fields equal to each part so I can use the information in the access privileges and various scripts.

The privilege access (Browse, Edit, Delete etc.) in the main database is controlled by the FMP password entere. The information that comes over in the global catenated field controls the Limiting aspects of the access privileges in the other databases.

Everything works exactly like it should with 50 records, but when my users put in their 5000 records in the files on their FMP 5.5 Server, everything comes to a stand still and a big dialogue box comes up indicating the program is "Finding" and it takes 2 to 4 munutes, sometimes longer for it to search all the files to find the records that particular user can access. Sometimes it takes so long the users are shutting off the computer to get out of it!

My feeling is that I should not have global fields as part of the limiting access because it has to check each record to see if it matches the global field. :? If I do a find, it is istantanteous even with 5,000 records. I cannot understand why it is taking so long for the program to "find" the records that the current user can access.

When FMP passwords are used that allow access to all the records in the file, there is no slowdown.

I was overjoyed when the access privilege feature of FMP 5.5 was announced but if I cannot get the information from file to file and once that information is in there, it takes forever for the access privileges to figure out which records the user can access...well, it is useless to me. I know it must be something I am doing wrong, though when I rad other postings about this it sounds like I created setup inthe same way the other programmers did.

At this point I have three customers whose solution is not working due to this problem. One puchased a $58,000 server and FMP Server 5.5 to use my solution, which doesnot work. I am extremely frustrated.

I would appreciate any help or suggestions anyone could give me.

Bev Gibson

GibCo

P.S. I posted this somewhere else, I think, but I couldn't find the posting after I made it, so I am not sure if I posted it or not! Sorry.