Going to try publishing- some questions first.

[Connie Forttrell]

Hello, and thank you for taking the time to help me on this adventure. I am taking a Master's course on databases and am using my school's FileMaker Pro 6 database as my subject. The people who use this database (about 7 people) would like to add some functionality and I want to confirm if I will be able to get the results they are looking for:

1. Up to five people can connect to the database at one time over the Internet (so it doens't matter where they are). Correct?

2. Each record in our DB represented one student and sometimes needs fields added and sometimes students are added. There are perhaps 50 records now. We are a very small district and this is only for the special education students. Will users be able to add records and fields and have them show up on the web?

3. I see from the instruction manual that there are password features and logging features. Will the log essentially be able to indicate who made what changes?

4. an I use the password features (priviledges) to let some users be able to make changes and others not to?

Thanks for your answers. They will help me get things underway.

[Vaughan]

1) FMP 6 can host 10 users through the web interface.

2) Users will be able to add records and enter into fields, yes. They cannot "add fields" as this is a change to the structure of the database.

3) If you use the Web Security database you'll be able to specify usernames and passwords; if you use FMP's built-in passwords you'll onll authenticate on password (the username field is ignored). Logging changes is a separate issue: if all you need to know is the create date and last modified date then it's relatively straight forward, but loging WHO changed the file is difficult because the web users all connect in through the same client, and hence have the same user name.

4) The Web Security database is better for managing users through the web interface.

[Unable]

1) If I understand correctly, FMP 6 Unlimited allows thousands of users in a 12 or 24 hour period, whereas the basic 6 limits hosting to 10 in the same time period.

3) In addition to, or in lieu or Web Security, you can create a db file where each client can has their own login record (name/pword or other verifier, etc). From that you can track each individual user with a token and enter that token into a record on creation or on an edit. Or, using portals you might be able to put new rec id's or edit id's into each user's record.

A lot of design depends on how creative you choose to be.

4) See 3.

Bon chance

[Steve T.]

Hi, Connie! Just to add a bit more to what Vaughan and Unable already mentioned...

(1) by "Internet", V&U assumed you meant using Instant/Custom Web Publishing, and I would probably guess that, too... but if you meant each would also have a copy of FileMaker, then I just wanted to add that that will work, too. If each team member has a copy (diff serial #'s of course) of FMP client, they can all connect using the OPEN... HOSTS... method and have pretty much have full access as though they were opening it locally (except for Defining Fields as Vaughan mentioned, see below). Do you have a server with a static IP address?

(2) records and fields... Fields can only defined by the host, i.e. the first "person" to open a db. In your case, fields should probably be defined at the server when no one else is connected.

(3) WHO changed a file is easier if members connect through FileMaker, not web. You just define some fields w/Auto-Enter for creator name/date/time fields and modifier name/date/time fields. On the web, the CDML reference db has an INLINE ACTION example for logging in another db. If you want the info on the record itself, you can only do so if they are logged in through the web interface and then you can use things like [FMP-ClientIP], [FMP-ClientAddress], or [FMP-ClientUserName].. otherwise they appear as one person (the host) as Vaughan mentions.

(4) If you do Custom Web Publishing, you can use both Access Privileges and the Web Security Database but you may need to ask for help to get the settings right. IMO, AP is confusing to configure. Plus, you can limit access depending upon user/password, but do you have to protect records from other users? If so, that requires another step or two.

Of course, I'm biased, but I recommend FileMaker for just about ANY small group database needs. Its ease-of-use, speed, and flexibility make it the most empowering software application our staff uses.

--ST

[Connie Forttrell]

Thank you all for you response. ST- can I ask for your additional input on what you would do if you were me. My goal is to achieve the following:

1. Place online so users can work at home or at school (maximum of 8 people) probably no more than 4 at a time on. Log as best as possible who made what change and when. We do have copies of FM for everyone. Would you recommend that we use the OPEN...HOSTS... method you mentioned above and users would just take their copy form school and install at home to work from there also? If so, can you explain the OPEN...HOSTS... method and how to define some fields w/Auto-Enter for creator name/date/time fields and modifier name/date/time fields.

2. If we did it that way, users still wouldn't be able to add fields unless they were actually on the server, right? Is it possible to change that using the remote administration feature?

Thank you for your advise. Connie

[Steve T.]

Hi, Connie! If you open a FileMaker database on a computer with a static IP address and set the database to be shared for multi-user access, that db can be accessed by anyone with a compatible version of FileMaker from any internet-capable computer by going to the FILE menu, selecting OPEN..., clicking on the HOSTS button, and if necessary... specifying the host's IP address. In FM6 they made it easier by adding the OPEN REMOTE option under the FILE menu.

When you DEFINE FIELDS, you can create a date field (such as "datecreated") and then under options for that field, you can specify AUTO-ENTER the CREATION DATE. When a new record is made, the CurrentDate is automatically put into the field. You can do the same for other kinds of things you'd like to track, e.g.

datecreated... date field... auto-enter creation date

timecreated... time field... auto-enter creation time

whocreated... text field... auto-enter creator name (taken from the computer's OS file sharing name)

lastmodifed... date field... auto-enter modification date

timelastmodified... time field... auto-enter modification time

wholastmodified... text field... auto-enter modifier's name (taken from the computer's OS file sharing name)

However, this is not a log, per se. These fields would be used as administrative data and displayed on each record. Furthermore, if a record were modified by more than 1 person, only the last person would be shown under "wholastmodified", for example. This may be good enough for your purposes, though, but if not, you'd have to find out how to make your own log system.

AFAIK (as far as I know), you can only define fields when you are the only "person" with the db open. If I HAD to get around this, I would probably make extra generic fields with generic names (textfield1, textfield2, datefield1, datefield2, etc.) that users could just "take over" when they needed another field for something and then change the field name later when I was at the server. You can have extra fields pre-defined and then just drag them out to layouts as needed. If you don't want to track which extra fields have been used and which have not, you could name them after each user...

connie_text1, connie_text2, connie_date1, connie_date2

but I suppose it depends on how frequent users will be needing to do this. Plus, this only allows them access to passive storage fields. If they needed to define calculation fields or something, then this would not help.

There are software packages that allow you to "take over" a remote terminal (is that what you meant by remote administration?) like Timbuktu, but I don't have much experience with them but I guess you could do it that way. Anyone out there know and/or has done this?

Hope this helps some...

--ST

[Unable]

You may find the application Timbuktu useful for your purposes.

[Tripod]

Just to chime in here, if you had FM7, you can use instant web publishing and the access log will show who logged in and when. In FM7 there are usernames as well as passwords, and usernames show in the access log.

But you are limited to 5 users in FM7. I hear that in v8 we will be limited to 1 simultaneous user. :-)

--Tripod

[Steve T.]

LOL! Or like me... 4 copies of FM for 1 user.

--ST