Porting entire FM installation

[LouK]

I just started a new job and this is the first time I have been exposed to Filemaker Pro. The company I work for is quite small and their Filemaker Pro is extremley important. What I would like to ask is if it is possible to port the entire Filemaker installation from the server to my laptop so I can mess around and learn with a local installation of the database without the fear of destroying anything that is live. If you need any more information just ask.

Thanks, Louise

[mr_vodka]

If you copy the main files from the server to your laptop it should be fine. Depending on if the server is running FM Server though, you might want to stop services first.

[LouK]

Thanks John, I take it by all the main files you mean all the *.fp7 files?

Louise

[stanley]

Louise:

Welcome to the Forums.

Yes, you would take all of the .fp7 files. Before you do so, I would recommend the following:

1. If you are running FileMaker Server, have it perform an automated backup and then stop services. This can take a while.

2. If you are running FileMaker Pro (on the server) you can simply quit. You'll want to make sure any users finish whatever they are doing first.

3. Copy the files over to your laptop, then start the hosting software (FMP or FMS) again.

When running your local copy of the solution on your laptop, I recommend you be physically disconnected from the network - this is to ensure that you do not connect to any of the served files erroneously. Likewise, You'll want to be very wary of opening the served databases from that machine if you have copies of the same files on your hard drive.

-Stanley

[LouK]

Thank you. I will give it a go!

Louise