FM Server - Open files automatically as started

[LVA]

I would appreciate if you could answer a doubt I have related to Filemaker Server and Mac OS X Server 10.2.6.

I would like to know how to open automatically FileMaker files hosted on the server machine when the server is started ?

Using FileMaker Server 5.5 and Mac OS X Server 10.2.6.

[dkemme]

Place the files or folder of files you wish to have opened in the Filemaker Server folder and they will open automatically upon pressing the Start Serving button in the Config program.

[LVA]

Ok. But how about the files opening automatically when the server is started, without needing to press any button ? Do you know what I should configure for that to happen ?

[dkemme]

Cannot be done. I have worked on this problem for a long time, a while ago, because I wanted to be able to orchestrate a shut down with power failure. Unfortunately the Config program is not scriptable. The daemon that actually serves the files could be controlled from the "unix" command line and I started to work on a solution, but got side tracked when it appeared no easy answer was to be found. Should be solved in Filemaker 7 though, whenever it appears.

[stanley]

In OS X, to have an item launch on startup (or login, actually):

Open System Preferences and click Login Items. Click Add then select an application or document. Drag items in the list to change the order in which they open.

That's from Mac Help; check it on your own machine.

-Stanley

[dkemme]

That will start the Config File but not start serving the files.

[reeserv]

Check out this page http://www.afp548.com/Articles/system/fmpserver.html

The following is a snippet from the page.

As anyone who has installed FileMaker Server 5.5 on Mac OS X knows, the ability to have the server startup automatically on login or boot is missing. The documentation states that an alias of the FileMaker Server Config application placed in a user's StartupItems folder will launch the server. Not true. The Config application will launch but someone must be present to click the "Start Server" button. Tedious and unnecessary. Fortunately, if you've installed FileMaker Server for Red Hat Linux, you know that it is indeed possible. Following is the procedure for Mac OS X.

Here is another way from FM website http://www.filemaker.com/ti/107911.html

[nut]

I'm not sure if anyone but me is still interested in the answer to this, but just FYI, the FIleMaker knowledgebase has been updated, and the instructions are now here: http://filemaker.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/filemaker.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1385

[Dominic Filteau]

The step By step way is here

If you want to see live reporting, simply add the FilemakerServer Config application to yout user launch items

[Steven H. Blackwell]

It is a particularly bad and dangerous practice to have the FileMaker Server service automatically start when the Server CPU is rebooted. If there was an inelegant shutdown, you need to examine the files for damage before rehosting them.

Steven

[Dominic Filteau]

The automatic checkup is not ran on databases that were not shut down properly?

hmm, this indeed could be bad...

any suggestion?

[Steven H. Blackwell]

The automatic checkup is not ran on databases that were not shut down properly?

hmm, this indeed could be bad...

any suggestion?

It is, but that really is of no consequence. An inelegant server shutdown of hosted files is going to damage them. The questions are to what degree and to what detectable degree?

My suggestion is don't start the service automatically. Check the files.

Steven