[FP5] Master Time in GMT?

[dimossi]

Hello,

I am looking for a plug-in, third-party product, or other solution that would allow me to use GMT (or Universal Time) for my Filemaker Database. The database I have is an Asset Tracking system that will be accessed from different locations around the world using version 5.x of FMP. Within this database there are date and time stamp fields that I want to have populated using one master date and time (perhaps from the Filemaker Pro Server system if possible) instead of using each individuals' own system date and time. The solution also contains many calculations and scripts that use the "CurrentTime" and "CurrentDate" functions. These functions would also need to use the one master date and time.

Any ideas?

(Using Filemaker Server 5 on WinXP to serve up the databases with multiple versions of Filemaker 5.x on various different platforms.)

FileMaker Version: 5

Platform: Windows XP

[Ender]

There is no built-in function in FM5 to get the current host time/date from a server, but when I asked the guys at FileMaker about it, they sent me an "unsupported" plug-in that can do it. Unfortunately it didn't work for servers running on OS X, so I gave up on it.

FM7 has a new function to get the current host timestamp. Another incentive to upgrade.

[dimossi]

Thank you for the response.

Do you happen to know if FM7 has a function to get the current host date as well? Do you still happen to have that plug-in the Filemaker guys sent you?

Thanks,

Dimossi

FileMaker Version: 5

Platform: Windows XP

[Ender]

The Get(CurrentHostTimeStamp) function returns both date and time.

[dimossi]

It sounds like this new field type "timestamp" in FM7 will make many of my work arounds in order to get differences between start date and time fields and ending date and time fields. Currently in a FM5 solution I built, I have a "status display" that requires a script to constantly loop in order to refresh/update the current date and time contained in necessary calculations.

Does FM7 make it possible to make a timestamp field that is dynamic? Especially, the Get(CurrentHostTimeStamp) function?

- Dimossi

FileMaker Version: 5

Platform: Windows XP

[Ender]

I think the timestamp functions are meant to be used in scripts.