Adding new data over the Web

[doe]

Hey everyone! I'm new to this site but I wish I'd found it long ago. Anyway here is my question. I have several databases that are shared over our network. The users add data to the files every day from all over the state. This means each user has a version of FMP running on their desktop. I'm using FMP Server 3.0 on an old NT box with Multi- User turned on. My boss wants to take this box down.

We have another box running W2000 and FMP Unlimited 6.0. This box publishes databases to our users through the company intranet. My question is this. Since the databases that are running now are purely for information to the user they have no way of entering data. I need to know if I move my databases over to the new box can I allow users to add new data over the web the same way they did when it was a multi-user file on the old box.

Please feel free to answer me like I'm 5 years old. I find it helps. Thanks and again great site!

[Reed]

You can use filemaker unlimited to add data over the web, the question is: how are you going to implement this? You can use instant web publishing to allow people to add data to the files, but IWP in v6 and lower is very limiting, and is only good for very basic tasks. You could also use custom web publishing via CDML to create custom web pages for data entry. Then you'll have to learn CDML (or some other language like Lasso or PHP).

You could also upgrade the W2000 box to filemaker 7, and depending on how many simultaneous users need to access the data, this could cost from $300 to $2500. But I've found the new instant web publishing to be much improved and very useful for web-enabling databases with a minimum of changes compared to using FMP multi-user networking.

The $300 price tag is for FMP 7 this allows for 5 concurrent web sessions

The $2500 is for FM Server Advanced. this allows 100 concurrent sessions, and offers many additional features like automated scheduled live backups, remote admin, and the ability to do custom web publishing with XSLT, PHP, Lasso.

[Steve T.]

Hello, doe! Reed's right on and I think it depends on how complicated your user data entry and layouts are. Since they were using FM3, though, I'll guess it's probably just basic stuff like creating new records and typing in fields. If so, IWP should be okay as long as everything fits on screen well enough. If your layouts are jam packed and tightly spaced with tiny fonts, I'm guessing you'll have trouble unless you reformat some stuff. I really don't have much experience with IWP, though, so I could be way off. I'd suggest just updating a copy of the db to FM6 and opening it on the new box and trying it out.

I think FileMaker, Inc. tells us not to use the same db for web publishing as we do for direct FM access but we've been doing so for years now without any obvious problems except for some mysterious crashes/unexpected quits from time to time... but I cannot say for sure if they are related.

--ST

[transpower]

Because of the limitations of IWP, I recommend (as I usually do) that you employ Terminal Server with Windows Server 2003. This way your users can remotely log in to your network and use FM just as if they were on your LAN.

[kenneth2k1]

Because of the limitations of IWP, I recommend (as I usually do) that you employ Terminal Server with Windows Server 2003. This way your users can remotely log in to your network and use FM just as if they were on your LAN.

How secure is this? I heard that the best way to remote access FileMaker is to use remote control software (like Timbuktu) that way only keyboard and mouse info is sent accross the internet, and not specific database info.

[Garry Claridge]

Terminal Services is very good, it is "remote control software (like Timbuktu)".

All the best.

Garry