hi, i have database that i like to share in my office. there are about 5 users ( pc ) . and i like to do it by intranet network.

can someone tell me how to set this up ? what do i need and what should i do ?

regards,

kyle

You need one computer to use as the *dedicated* FileMaker Host. It runs 24/7 just serving the databases. Don't use it for anything else. It doesn't have to be a Cray supercomputer but obviously the faster the better.

Preferably buy Filemaker Server to run on the host machine. It allows automated backup, easy administration and is the fastest option. It is really stable. The other option (second by a fair margin) is a normal copy of FM Pro to host the files.

Whatever you do DON'T put the files on a network volume and let people open them by double-clicking on their icons. That way lies only tears and heartache.

hi, vaughan ! my problem is my client don't want to buy fm server and each local seat licenses. so i need to do it cheapest way. i heard that i can set up web based intranet which is networkable and don't require fmp on each machine. that is what i want to find out. can you tell me anything about that ?

regards,

kyle

Web based intranet capabilities are very limited right out of the box in FMP. You can only run certain scripts and there is only a limited functionality that will work over the web. There are certain applications that this will work great for but it is not as great as it sounds. We found this out. If you really want a good web based solution, you need to develop it in cdml or xml. But that adds a lot of extra complexity to it. We were in the same boat as you are in hoping that we would not have to buy as many licenses by using the web publishing. In the end we bought more licenses because the web publishing would not meet our needs. We also don't have the expertise right now to develop in CDML or XML. That is hopefully in the not too distant future. Just thought I would give you our experience with web publishing.

John

John, thanks for the info. web is not my area yet. so i guess i need to think something else.

thanks,

kyle

Kyle,

You can try Instant Web Publishing (IWP) using standard FM as the server. For five users this should work fine.

All the best.

Garry

thanks , garry ! that is what i need .

regards,

kyle

The web interface is *significantly* different (read: limited) to the FMP interface in terms of functionality and appearance.

If IWP works, by all means use it.

thanks, vaughan !

regards,

kyle