"Opener" Triggers Max License Warning

[pgallagher34]

Perhaps it's my (mis)understanding of how an opener file should work or needs to be configured, so allow me to explain what we do now that brings up the warning and quits fm:

Have distributed a simple opener file to five users matching our five user license limit for FM 8.5 on Mac. The users are to keep this file on their desktop or dock on their mac.

To open a database running on the FM Server they double-click their desktop opener which merely runs a script to open a simple "Menu" database hosted remotely on FM Server then closes. This all appears to work fine. The menu db, hosted on fm server, is just buttons with scripts to open a variety of other databases hosted by fm server.

Here's the problem: if they use their desktop opener again, this seems to trigger the warning once they start clicking around the Menu db to open another hosted database.

Not familiar with this behavior in an identical set-up we had in FM 5. If a databse was already running, whether in foreground or background, opening it would merely bring it to the front. Here in FM 8 it appears to trigger the license warning.

Short of warning the users to use the opener only once, is there something else I can do, or have I configured something incorrectly here?

Thanks for any thoughts.

[Vaughan]

Does each user have a different license code or are thay all the same? (other than a VLA code)

This shouldn't be happening.

Are the users running through Citrix or something? Is thr FMP application shared on installed on each user's local hard disk?

[bruceR]

You probably have a problem with a self-referencing file reference. For instance, you are guarunteed to get this result if you use a localhost file reference, 127.0.0.1.

[pgallagher34]

Does each user have a different license code or are thay all the same? (other than a VLA code)

This shouldn't be happening.

Are the users running through Citrix or something? Is thr FMP application shared on installed on each user's local hard disk?

Hi Vaughan, thanks.

FM Pro 8.5 was installed on each user's mac with an individually supplied license code for each of the 5 users. Nothing like citrix is used here. Each individual user has their own set of apps. All macs are connected through an ethernet lan within our offices, including the server.

Everything functions fine until a user "re-opens" the opener file on their desktop, a natural habit from years of use. After the opener runs its script to open our (let's call it a) "gateway" file hosted by fm server and the user clicks on a scripted button to open for eg, a client database or purchase order database (again, all hosted by the same fm server) the max license message pops up.

Interestingly, the fm server client window does not show that user to be listed twice.

As long as one never uses the opener on their desktop after initial launching, everything works as expected.

[pgallagher34]

You probably have a problem with a self-referencing file reference. For instance, you are guarunteed to get this result if you use a localhost file reference, 127.0.0.1.

Hi BruceR, thanks.

That's a good thought. I checked the opener file's "File References" to see if that was the case. No such luck, there is only one file reference and it is configured with the fmnet IP address of the server on which fm server resides.

Also, I should note that hosted databases are in an area of the server that is inaccessible using appletalk or file sharing over our lan, so no other type of connections can be made but through fmnet remotely.

I will however mention that when using fm server administrator to open/view fm server on the server, I am always presented with a choice of "connecting" either "locally 127.0.0.1" or "Filemaker Server 10.1.10.51". I connect through the ip ...10.51

If you look at the screen shot, the basic info window says I'm hosted at address 10.1.10.51, but, the window title shows Ned Filemaker (custom name) is hosted at 127.0.0.1.

Connecting remotely from any user's mac, there is only one server available: "Ned Filemaker 10.1.10.51"

I'm thoroughly confused.

[Steven H. Blackwell]

The 127 IP is the local machine loop back address. If you're running the SAT Tool on the same machine as the server you can use that IP. Otherwise use the designated IP address.

I think the best solution to your problem may be to eliminate the "starter" file altogether. You can then put a shortcut URL on each desktop such that when the user clicks it it calls the "gateway" file hosted on the server.

Steven

[bruceR]

As I mentioned, the issue is frequenlty dues to self referencing file references. There should generally be no IP addresses in the files on the server and in particular a file that refers to itself by its IP address will definitely create this problem.

[pgallagher34]

The 127 IP is the local machine loop back address. If you're running the SAT Tool on the same machine as the server you can use that IP. Otherwise use the designated IP address.

I think the best solution to your problem may be to eliminate the "starter" file altogether. You can then put a shortcut URL on each desktop such that when the user clicks it it calls the "gateway" file hosted on the server.

Steven

Not sure what the SAT Tool is, so I'm going to say I don't use it, so by "designated address," Steven, you mean my server's actual IP of 10.1.10.51 on my network, yes?

I like the sound of a URL shortcut, but am unable to create one that works. I tried a simple fp7 file with a script that has the "Open URL" fmp7://10.1.10.51/Gallagher Database.fp7, but nothing opens. I also tried variations on the syntax: Gallagher%20Database, in case space was issue; also tried fmnet://..... in lieu of fmp7://..... , and finally tried using a Safari url shortcut which didn't work either.

As far as I can tell, there is no way for me to create a "desktop" url using the Finder's commands short of creating an apple script which I'm not that familiar with... I played around with this to no avail:

tell application "Finder"

make new internet location file at desktop to ¬

"fmnet://10.1.10.51/Gallagher%20Database.fp7" with properties {name:"Gallagher Database"}

end tell

It's also just occured to me that even if I managed to open my gateway file using a url shortcut, wouldn't the same issue arise anyway if I used the shortcut again if the gateway database was already open? That seems to be what triggers the license warning by using my fp7 opener.

The default behavior I've experienced with filemaker for the past ten years, up through fm 5.5 (just upgraded from 5.5 to 8.5), if a hosted file is opened from a user's script, and it was already open and running and called upon again by the same script or another, then it was merely brought to the foreground. Is fmp 8 behavior different?

[pgallagher34]

As I mentioned, the issue is frequenlty dues to self referencing file references. There should generally be no IP addresses in the files on the server and in particular a file that refers to itself by its IP address will definitely create this problem.

I'm thinking you're right somehow, but why it is occurring has me baffled. As I've mentioned, with the exception of the users' desktop opener script file, all the databases, including the gateway, are hosted by fm server 8.5. All file references were created using the "File References" menu which creates a path like this for eg: fmnet:/10.1.10.51/Gallagher Database

-Filemaker writes the first 2 parts of the path by default, and then when I select a particular database from the list of avails, it adds the fp7 file at the end, thus completing the path. It seems correct to me, is there another way to create a reference that doesn't use the IP?

I also see that once the path has been created, the reference always looks like this: fmnet:/*/Gallagher Database, where an asterisk was automatically substituted for the IP - is this correct behavior? I assumed so as I hadn't done that, it happens after a file reference is created and the database closed and later opened.

So far I can trigger this license issue without fail, but cannot seem to fix it. I am overlooking something very simple, no doubt.

[pgallagher34]

All file references were created using the "File References" menu which creates a path like this for eg: fmnet:/10.1.10.51/Gallagher Database

-Filemaker writes the first 2 parts of the path by default, and then when I select a particular database from the list of avails, it adds the fp7 file at the end, thus completing the path. It seems correct to me, is there another way to create a reference that doesn't use the IP?

I also see that once the path has been created, the reference always looks like this: fmnet:/*/Gallagher Database, where an asterisk was automatically substituted for the IP - is this correct behavior? I assumed so as I hadn't done that, it happens after a file reference is created and the database closed and later opened.

So far I can trigger this license issue without fail, but cannot seem to fix it. I am overlooking something very simple, no doubt.

I think I've found the problem, but not sure how to fix it. The clue is in the attached jpg, where I'm displaying a get_host ip address field (amongst others) on my Gateway file that shows the host IP to be 10.1.10.91. Ah ha, that causes the error as the path references I make are initially created with 10.1.10.51. (although then filemaker substitutes the * [asterisk] in the path for the IP - still not sure if that is normal?)

So, yes, my Xserve server has 2 LAN connections on 2 separate ethernet cards, one addressed .51 the other .91. What I can't figure out though, is, I initially configured Filemaker Server to serve over .51, as evidenced by one of the earlier jpg's I posted. Does that even matter if another card is present? Why is it switching to .91? I'll keep digging, and any suggestions are appreciated, thanks.

[pgallagher34]

Okay, seemed to have resolved this issue with assistance of fm tech support. They bypassed the whole" 2 ip addresses on one server" issue by having me replace my fmnet file paths with a relative path of "file:database_name".

Other then having to manually change a dozen paths in each of a dozen or so databases, it was, as I suspected it would be, an easy solution.

Steven, I finally managed to create a desktop url that works, the correct url (for mac using fm 8) for anyone following this thread is "FMP7://account:password@IP address/database name.fp7" I entered that in the url field in safari browser, then dragged it to my desktop where it created a ".inetloc" file that opens my gateway file hosted by fmserver.

Steven and Bruce, you guys were on the right track, I appreciate the help. Now I can get some work done! ;)