Will IWP work for us? Need info by Thursday at 2p

[Sxeptomaniac]

OK, guys. I could really use some experienced input regarding IWP on Server Advanced. Some of the higher-ups at the college I work at have determined that making everyone use Filemaker by way of IWP would be a good way for the school to save money. I am highly skeptical (you don't think that nick is for nothing, do you?) that this will be effective for my department, which encompasses Maintenance and Security.

I already have researched problems regarding script steps, and know that the lack of import and print steps will be a problem for some of our people if they were required to use IWP.

Will it work on a computer where the people are doing frequent data entry, 24/7, as in our security department? I don't expect it to work as well as the client, so how much time will my co-workers be losing? Some of the documentation states that complex reporting does not work. What specifically does not work? We spend more time entering information than retreiving it. Does that make a difference?

I'm being pulled into a meeting Thursday afternoon, at which I expect to have three people from other departments attempting to convince me that we don't need to buy the clients. I want to be as prepared as possible for this meeting.

Anyone with info on this, please let me know of your experience. Thanks for your help.

[transpower]

You lose a lot of functionality with IWP (but not nearly as much you did with previous FMP versions). See Chapter 21 of Using FileMaker 7 for the pros and cons.

If this were my job I would recommend--as I almost do--to use Windows Terminal Server for remote connections. You keep all the functionality of FileMaker and you can have whatever security you need through Windows. Only keystrokes, mouse movements, and screen refreshes are transmitted, so performance is excellent. The Client Access License is (from CDW, for instance) $79/user (but you'll need at least a five-user pack). See the book on this topic by Todd W. Mathers if you've never used Terminal Server.

[Sxeptomaniac]

Thanks for the book information. I've been looking for a good reference book on version 7. I checked, and Using Filemaker 7 isn't in stock anywhere close enough for me to get to it in time for this meeting, though.

I'm mainly nervous about this issue because I believe all three of these people at the meeting will have no qualms about putting my department in a position where it cannot possibly function properly, and then blaming my friends and co-workers for their loss in productivity. (one of them in particular has done it to me before)

[transpower]

Are they pointy-haired bosses?

Just today I learned that one cannot use <ENTER> to go from field-to-field using IWP; also the Tab order is not necessarily respected! The more I learn about IWP, the more limiting it appears.

[Sxeptomaniac]

Thanks again. Little issues like that are very helpful to know about. I'm trying to talk them into letting me do some testing before the meeting, at the least.

Strangely enough, all three are technically pretty close to me in rank, but I think our pointy-haired VP will overrule me in a heartbeat if I can't give a large amount of evidence for my case.

Either way, I'm bound to now be labelled "difficult." What a shame.

[Sxeptomaniac]

Well, thanks for the info, it was much appreciated. I was well-prepared for the meeting.

Unfortunately, the two that showed up weren't prepared at all. It's their idea to use IWP, and they know next to nothing about it. I'm informing them of features (or lack thereof) described in the documentation from Filemaker.com. They plan on calling Filemaker tomorrow to find out how to "fix" the issues. Seems like they are wasting time to me.

Well, thanks again, and I've ordered Using Filemaker Pro 7 for future reference.