Add new features on a developed system.

[LVA]

I have developed a system for a client using FM7 and my client asked for some changes and will also include extra features for this system. I had this same problem with Filemaker 5.5 to add new features to the system at the client. We had 2 ways of doing it.

1) We used to add all the new features at our office and save a copy as a clone. At the client I would import the records to the new copy and substitute the system with this new copy. This isn

[transpower]

A third way is to modem into the client and use Terminal Server. This way you don't have to be on-site. Note that with version 7 you can make changes to processing without affecting current users.

[LVA]

Thanks Transpower for your help, but at this company there is no permission to access their system from outside the building.

Hasn

[Ted S]

Read up on the Separation Model. In a nutshell, it's about separating data from business rules & presentation. There are a couple of "white papers" on the FileMaker web site that discuss other topics but include a bit of information on SM theory. There is even a forum here at this site devoted to the discussing the separation model.

It looks to be much more feasible with v7 than it was with earlier versions but at this point I'm still skeptical.

[Oldfogey]

I use an Update Prodecure. The base application has a script in it to save all the current Next Serial values.

For an Update, the customer runs that script.

Next change the folder name from 'ApplicationName' to 'ApplicationName Old'.

Copy the empty updated application ('ApplicationName') to the customer system and start it. It imports all the old data into itself and away we go.

The important bit left out there is that the new copy has a global set to "UPDATE". The startup script checks for that value and updates if applicable.

This approach requires that you know which disk the application resides on. It could also be tarted up a bit using WinBatch or similar but it serves its purpose for me as is.