Multi-user file but "file in use or single user"

[quentin]

I hope that someone might be able to shed some light on a problem that I am experiencing.

There is a Filemaker 5 DB that I use on a daily basis, located on the server of our company LAN. My colleague needs occasional access to the DB at the same time as I am using it. We are both using Windows PCs and FM Pro v5.5.

I used to run Win 2000, my colleague had XP and we had no problems: I would have the file open all day and act as the host and she could open it as a guest as and when she needed.

I have just been upgraded to XP also and since then, whenever either of us has the DB open, the other cannot open the file, instead seeing an error that the file is either in use or set for single-user use only.

We are using two separate copies of FM, the file is set for multi-user, local data access companion and remote data access companion are both checked on both machines, both are set to use TCP/IP for sharing.

As I mentioned, when we were using Win 2000/XP, or even 2000/98 before that, we had no problems, but now we are both using XP we are unable to share the file.

I am at a loss as to what the problem is or how to solve it. Can anyone help?

Many thanks

Quentin

PS Is this the correct place to have posted this, or would I have been better in connectivity?

[pmusaev]

any luck with figuring this out? I am interested in the solution... please post

[slstrother]

Quentin,

I have done some testing and I am able to share a FM 5.5v2 DB between two XP Pro machines. The only glitch I found was that the DB did not show in the hosts list, but was able to enter the IP using specify host, then the DB showed in the list and opened fine.

How are you connecting the second machine to the hosted DB? I hope you are using File>Open then selecting the Hosts button. Do not use windows file sharing and open the same file on two machines. Aside from sharing violations you might encounter, you can corrupt the DB. Use FM's built in sharing.

Also, you should download and install the latest updater for your version of FM.

Hope this helps,

Steve

[Vaughan]

Quentin, this is a really flakey way to share FMP files. The recommended method is to copy the dbs to the local hard disk of one computer and open it in FMP so it becomes the host.

Sharing FMP files on a network volume leads to data corruption.

[quentin]

Thanks for your replies. I'll try sharing the file the way you suggest.

In response to Steve: I think the other user would be just double-clicking to open the file, using a shortcut to the file or using "Open file" in the ordinary way (not "Open hosts"). I hadn't realised that that method was using Windows file-sharing (and I must admit I'm a little confused by this) since the first person to open the DB would get the message "You are about to become the host of the multi-user file... which resides on a remote volume. This may result in slow performance" etc etc, and the second user would get a message to the effect that they were opening the file as a guest of the user who already had the file open. We never had any problems with corruption of the file (except once when the server went down whilst I was entering some data!). The only thing I noticed was that you couldn't both have the same record open at the same time (which made sense to me).

I think the reason we have it on the server and used to open it the way we did (aside from that that was what I was told to do when I first joined as everyone else does it that way) is that anything on the server gets backed up daily, whereas saving it to someone's hard drive and connecting using an IP address in the "Specified Hosts" dialog (apart from being a bit more complicated) would mean that the DB wouldn't be backed-up unless you remembered to do it, although I will write a script to do it automatically on exit.

Once again, thanks for your help. I'll try and remember to let you know how I get on.

Quentin

[quentin]

Right. I have now managed to solve both my initial problem and the one Steve mentioned about not being able to see hosts. The answer is simple

[Steve T.]

Hi, Quentin!

Whatever computer opens the db first becomes the host, regardless of where the actual file is located (local/server). Anyone needing to access the db after that should be using the HOSTS button from within FileMaker or corruption can occur.

If you double-click (or equivalent) a FileMaker db that is not on your computer's local drive(s), you are opening it through some kind of network file sharing, probably your OS's built-in file sharing. From what I understand, this can also cause data corruption.

If you double-click (or equivalent) a FileMaker db that has already been opened by another host AND you are doing so through a network using file sharing, I would think you are at even great risk. This does not mean that it will not work and does not mean you have to do it, it's just not the recommended way and you should be aware of the risks.

We still open db's from time to time as host using network file sharing when we need to modify/change the db (like define fields) but we try to minimize this and do it directly from the server as host whenever possible.

--ST

[zoddie]

Hi Quentin,

Our network on occasion resets the preferences of the FMP application which causes the same symptoms as you are experiencing. In order to solve our problem, I recommend the user go to Edit --> Preferences --> Application. In the dialog box have the user ensure that his/her name is in the user name field and that the Network Protocol is set to TCP/IP. After clicking <OK>, the user will then have to restart FMP for the preferences to take effect.

HTH,

Lisa