i'm trying to share files within a database on a host computer with other computers. I originally uploaded the entire file into the database which worked well for sharing, but made the database un-sustainably huge. so someone suggested i just put in the reference to the file, so that it can be called up from the host computer when a remote user tries to download it. trouble is, when i try to download the file (say a pdf), my remote computer tells me it can't find the file....any idea of where i'm going wrong here?

thanks in advance for your help.

The remote computers need to be able to access the actual pdf files, such as in a shared folder on the network.

can't just access the files remotely through the network? instead of on a shared folder?

You may be having a similar issue to what I was having. (See http://www.fmforums.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=160803&an=0&page=0#160803)

The volume with your referenced files will need to be mapped/mounted to your remote computer(s), and you need a valid file reference in the container field. If your solution is running on both macs and windows machines, you'll need to use a calculation to create a valid reference for both mac and windows clients.