Split FM5 into data & structure files

[garyfilemaker]

Talking to an MS Access programmer today he told me he always splits his .mdb file into two separate files, one containing only the app data and the other only the app structure. Can FM do this? If yes, how?

TIA

gary

[danjacoby]

Out of curiosity, does this Access guy say why he does this?

[miramaya]

I guess he wants to separate the data structure from the interface and wants to protect this structure from alteration.

Cheers.

[danjacoby]

Um, first you mention a difference between "app data" and "app structure", then you talk about "data structure".

I suggest the Access person is mixing terms as well, without fully understanding them. In FMP, you can protect the underlying layouts and scripts from being viewed or changed through passwords. Of course, you can protect the data from being altered or exported as well. Check out "Access privileges" under the "File" menu.

HTH,

Dan

[garyfilemaker]

"first you mention a difference between "app data" and "app structure", then you talk about "data structure".

He (Access programmer) wasn't sloppy, I was when writing the posting. As someone earlier suggested, they wanted to protect the interface and structure from being altered.

From the kind advice, it appears that two files are unnecessary and it can be done within the db

Thanks

gary

[BobWeaver]

The idea of separating the data from the application goes back to the days of dBase and FoxPro (and probably before then). It's a nice feature for developers, because the developer can modify the structure and macros (scripts) while the users work with the existing database. Then the developer can integrate the updated appications with the data very quickly. In Filemaker, If the developer makes modifications to a separate copy of files, then when it is installed, all of the user's data must be imported into the new files, which can be an extremely slow process.

While you could conceivably do this to some extent with filemaker, it's not designed to work this way, and you would have severe operating constraints (speed and functionality).