Runtime and Windows versions

[johnrh]

I realise that FP7 will only run under Windows XP etc but does that mean that any runtimes produced are limited to these operating systems? If so this is a MAJOR problem for me and I guess many others as so many users are still using other Windows.

Assuming this is correct - is there a workaround or must we stick with FP6?

Version: v6.x

Platform: Windows XP

[dharlow]

The runtimes have the same system requirements as developer, Mac OS X or Win 2k or XP.

Daniel

[SteveB]

Can anyone definitively concur?

The runtimes have the same system requirements as developer, Mac OS X or Win 2k or XP.

With all the Win 98 machines still in use, if true, that would stop me from upgrading.

Steve

[EllenG]

Me, too.. I hope someone proves this wrong! I have users on Win 98, ME and MAC OS9. That was one of the things about FMP that I really liked, that it would run on all platforms with one set of source code. Why would FM make such a drastic mistake? Any of us with runtime applications cannot convert!!

[Steven H. Blackwell]

FMI announced in 2002 that FMP 6 was the lst OS 9 version they would support. The Windows requirements are Windows 2000 and Windows XP. FileMaker Pro or runtime either one.

Steven

[rogermax]

Win98 and others are going to be around for awhile especially in home use, so this would mean developing and maintaining both if you upgrade for runtimes. This does put a bit of a wrench in things that I hadn't considered.

[rogermax]

As a follow on to this subject:

I know I can continue to create as many runtimes in v6 as I like. I know that backwards compatability must have a line drawn somewhere. But, I believe that FMI would be smart to continue selling v6 and server 5.5 into the future.

There will be many shops in the main industry I work with that will still have many Win98 boxes for quite some time to come and would not upgrade OS just to get an FMP solution. (Even though it would be the best thing to do.)

We will be painted into a corner come September when new users won't be able to buy v6. At least that's the way I understand it.

[SteveB]

What a bad decision this is. There are probably more Win98 users than there are Win2000 and XP combined. Many business and home users can't justify in their own minds upgrading an operating system, given the work involved and the need for new hardware. Talk about a make or break issue!

Steve

[BruceJ]

Ok... I musthave been gone the day Bill Gates took over FileMaker. The whole Windoze XP/2000 requirement is a little too much.

I'd be curiosu if somebody coudl experiment and try a runtime solution on 98 or Home. I know a lot of applications claim to require XP or 200, but run fine on the previous versions as well.

[Steven H. Blackwell]

The FMI customer base is predominantly Windows 2000/Windows XP. These are the Windows OS against which FMP is certified.

Steven

[SteveB]

Many (maybe half) of the users I talk to are still using Win98. Why don't you stop giving us the FMI party line?

Steve

[complete-db]

I have tested my runtime solution with Windows 98 2nd edition and encoutered no problems, however if Microsoft does not want to support Win98 why should Filemaker, Inc. ? It's time for customers to upgrade anyway Windows 2000 Pro and XP Pro are better and more stable Operating Systems! We tend to forget how cheap Wintel boxes are these days.

My two cents!

Thanks,

PSC

[EllenG]

That may sound good in theory, and maybe for corps, that should be the rule. But I work with small business owners, alpaca ranchers, actually. These people are not computer-savvy as a group. I developed software for alpaca herd management that has been gaining wide acceptance amongst these ranchers. I cannot make it a requirement for them to upgrade their PC's or MAC's. One of the benefits of my runtime program is the ability to run on any platform. I had to create 3 runtime versions (PC, MAC OS-X and MAC OS-9), but I only have to maintain one set of source code.

There are functions in FM 7 I've been waiting for, but it doesn't look like I'll be able to upgrade under the circumstances. Still, I'm hoping it may run just fine, even if "not supported". Guess I'll have to download a copy and try it. I have XP home, ME and MAC classic environments I can test on (no Win 98, though.)

Will continue to follow this thread and see what develops!

[Steven H. Blackwell]

Since you have to provide the tech support on runtimes--not FileMaker, Inc.---then you might want to assume the risk of doing that. If, on the other hand, it does not work on these older OS, then you have to consider whether you want to either not offer a FileMaker Pro 7 version or, alternatively, offer two different versions.

Steven

[Steven H. Blackwell]

Approximately 80 percent of FMI sales go to the Windows OS platform; Windows has been the majority platform the past several years. Of that 80 percent approx 2/3 are to Volume License customers in medium sized companies or larger workgroups. Almost 9 in 10 of these sales also have FileMaker Server associated with them.

The whatever number of folks you talked to may be relying on Windows 98, but that is not the focus or the base of FileMaker Pro on Windows OS.

You're entitled to your opinion; you're not entitled to your own set of facts however.

Steven

[-Queue-]

That's great, but the set of facts don't mention a particular Windows version at all. Did I miss something?

[SteveB]

I guess we are working in different universes. My users are real estate agents and brokers. They are not corporate customers, are generally not computer savy, are also generally tight with a dollar. The fact that FM wants to appeal to corporate users is its decision, which I understand. Nevertheless, many of this (my) user base still use Win98. I don't agree with their decision, but like Ellen and a lot of other developers, we can't insist on making them upgrade.

If runtimes work on Win98, then I'll upgrade; if they don't work, then I won't.

Steve

[Steven H. Blackwell]

I have some real estate agency and mortgage agency clients as well, so I have some appreciation for what you say. I have had to restrain them from going to Windows XP because they were running FileMaker Pro 6. In coming weeks they will begin that OS upgrade as they start with FileMaker Pro 7. When FileMaker Server 7 is released, they will begin their final cutover. I need these several months to get everyone's solutions rebuilt.

I have some sympathy with the perdictament of those who have customers on older OS. I have had that problem myself, notably when FileMaker Server 5.5 came out. What I have found in the past several years however is this. As hardware retires or dies and new hardware repalces it, newer OS are required. And with that applications have to be changed as well. What becomes a real problem is when the OS or the hardware gets ahead of the applications.

Fortunately, FileMaker Pro 7 works with the currentmost Windows OS and one version backwards. When Microsoft gets Longhorn out--whenever they managed to do so--these same issues will have to be revisted again.

As a consulting developer I know my client base is somewhat different than that--say--of a commercial solution provider. As one who works with clients of between 10 to 200 users for the most part, I am constantly faced with these issues.

I hope all you folks do upgrade and that your customers are thereby able to take advantage of all the new features.

Steven

[BobWeaver]

I have had to restrain them from going to Windows XP because they were running FileMaker Pro 6

Well, that comment scared me, because I'm just finishing off a FM6 db solution for a client that has a mix of Win 2000 and XP machines. But, I assume that your solution must have been using web companion or ODBC features that won't work on XP.

[BruceJ]

My day job is running a small hospital (100 bed) on a shoe-string budget.

We've got about 150 PCs, all old-timers that we have to baby along, most running Win 98, some with 95. They can't handle much more... Figure out the cost to upgrade the machines as well as pay Bill Gates his dues.

Someday they'll updgrade ... but not anytime $oon.

[Oldfogey]

Steven,

Do you mean FMI have evidence that their customer base is Win2k and XP? I'd seriously question it.

Besides which, the FMI customer base is largely irrelevant for those of us who develop runtime solutions for precisely those people who do not have FileMaker.

I have a customer with a mix of XP and WIN 98, who has a (bad) habit of moving stuff from machine to machine. Fun!

There are hundreds of businesses out there with mixed OS networks.

[rogermax]

I have had to restrain them from going to Windows XP because they were running FileMaker Pro 6.

Educate me. Why is that the case. I use FM6 on XP home and XP pro. Why would they need to be restrained??

Version: Developer v6

Platform: Windows XP

[Steven H. Blackwell]

Well, FMP 6 isn't really certified against WXP. it's certified against Windows 2000. BTW, if you are using XP Home on a network against FIleMaker Server (5.5) and the domain option is set, you will likely not be able to connect.

Steven

[jnc62567]

Steven,

I tried to install FM7 on my Mac with OS 10.1.5 - but couldn't - requires 10.2. Question, will the runtime run on 10.x or only 10.2 and up?

John

[Steven H. Blackwell]

I believe it's 10.2 (maybe 10.2.8) and up on the Mac OS side.

Steven

[stanley]

The documentation says 10.2.8 and up. I'm running 10.2.6 without a problem (so far.)

-Stanley

[Andy Robo]

I tried a recent runtime on 2k today - the sys req. on the DEV7 box said it reqd. service pack 4, but the the OS only had Service pack 3 - go figure!!! still ran like a dream...

Nice bit of luck to... I don't own a pc, and I was wondering how the hell I could get my runtime out to PC customers, seen as I couldn't dev windows runtime on the mac dev utilities (this little bonus might be a nice add-in for Ver 8!?) - thank heavens for VPC - it's a bit of pain mounting the windows drive in order to burn my CDs and back again to distribute FMP7 files prior to binding, but it sure beats clogging up my desk space with an unnecessary paper weight!!!

Andy

[Steven H. Blackwell]

Exercise some care using VPC as a development environment. There have been problems in the past doing that.

Steven

[loogi]

I am surprised that people are still using windows 98. I dont understand why anyone wont upgrade. Its better, more reliable, more secure and not so "blue-screenish"..

I can understand that people have it at home, but not on a LAN.

[-Queue-]

If a computer isn't broken, there's no need to upgrade. If a user needs a new computer, then they get a new OS here, if it's the default install. Otherwise the execs see upgrading as a waste of money. From my limited corporation experience, this is a prevailing philosophy and a bane to small-business IT departments everywhere.

[spb]

"I have had to restrain them from going to Windows XP because they were running FileMaker Pro 6. "

Maybe this thread (and this topic) isn't the right place, but this is the closest I could find on the forum.

I am working on a runtime that I am binding on W2K with FM Dev 6. The result gets installed on new laptops running XP. Recently, two different users report that after a couple of weeks of working fine, the runtime hangs on startup, not starting at all, forcing a crash.

Is there a known XP issue? Is binding it on W2K and running it on XP a problem? Is this behavior familiar to anyone? Or should I look at my original sets of dbs, scripts & etc.?

It seems that if anything was going to go wrong, it would do so right away. The two weeks of proper functioning first is throwing me.

Steve Brown

[shadowdoc]

Is there a consensus out there on the chances that a dev7 runtime will work on win98 or Me ?

FileMaker Version: 7

Platform: Windows XP

[Oldfogey]

Steve,

I have developed a runtime solution using W2K for a franchiser. It is distributed to franchisees as part of the deal. Almost by definition, the franchisees are using new machines with WXP on them. So far only two have been distributed plus the head office one, which is not runtime. (They have FMP V6, not developer.)

I have had one odd printing problem with HO. Could not get FMP to print 2 copies. Re-built the relevant (huge) file from scratch. It managed to print on one printer but not another; customer satisfied. I am still very nervous about this.

We have distributed two franchisee copies to XP machines. Both had weird problems.

One is probably not W2K-XP related - a Container field was changed before distribution; it changed itself back when the franchisee received it.

The other is definitely (probably) an OS issue. Click a button to print a report; on return the window is reduced to about half-size.

I have run into a number of other non-FMP problems going from W2K and W98 to XP.

Email me if you want to continue this discussion; it is really not relevant to this thread.

FileMaker Version: Dev 6

Platform: Windows 2000