We intend to produce a CDrom for distribution to our dealers with runtime versions of some of our solutions that have been produced on FMP 5.0 and FMP 5.5 These include price lists, parts lists, inventories etc. It is not intended (at this time) to have them on the web.

This would be an ongoing program with other various FM databases we already have in use to be put on CDrom as runtime DB's. Some to be sold for profit. These would be developed and published over a long period.

I have been advised that we need to purchase FM Dev.6 to do this.

Is this the best way for us to go? We are well experienced with creating solutions in FMP.

The runtime solutions would be run from the CD (but an installer included for permanent users) and loaded from an auto-load Multi-media presentation program on the CD.

(FM unlimited is beyond our budget for this project)

Your experience is respected.

Glider

Runtimes executing from CD is fine, so long as users don't require write privileges.

If write access is desired, there are several alternatives, one of which is provision of an installer program, as you're already planning. Another approach is to (via external calls to a plug-in pre-installed on the CD) write a data storage file a related db) to a designated directory on the local hard drive and place user data there

Purchasing the developer edition and packaging your dbs as runtimes is not the only way to go, but from what you've said it is probably the best solution overall for what you are looking to achieve at this point.

RE: FM unlimited is beyond our budget for this project

FM Unlimited is for web serving and not for production of run-time or CD authoring.