creating a shortcut from a server database

[trunkp]

I am a new user to FMPro. I am using ver 9.0.3. I have a database file loaded onto the FMpro server ver 9.0. What I would like to do is put a shortcut onto the client's machine so they can click on the shortcut and it will open the db file that is housed on the server. I have open the file->send link. Copied and pasted that into the "create shortcut" on the desktop of the client. When I click on the shortcut I then have to go to File->Open Remote and go through the steps to open the file. How can I make it so that just clicking on the shortcut opens the file?

[stanley]

Hi Trunkp:

Welcome to the Forums.

What you're after is, in FMP parlance, an Opener File. You create a FileMaker Pro file that has no database in it. Create a script which has at least one step: open the file you have hosted on your FM Server. Set the file to launch that script on startup. Put that file on the desktop of any machine which can find the server, and voila, you can double-click and connect straight to your hosted solution.

Of course, it can all be more sophisticated than that. Your opener file can produce error messages for when the network is down, for when the server is down, or other errors. You may want to automatically close the opener file to get it out of the way, or keep it open for other purposes...

Hope that helps.

-Stanley

[fRESH_OiL]

Thanks for the Opener file idea.

I quickly found limitations to this approach. Mainly being that the file has to be maintained on each computer.

My first attempt to resolve this was to create a link/shortcut to the Opener database and have the Opener database stored on a share on the network. First problem was that a link/shortcut cannot have an icon stored on a share (pre-Vista) and I wanted a custom icon for the link/shortcut pointing to the Opener file (but not have to distribute it)

My second attempt was to create a .bat file opening the Opener database and convert that .bat into a .exe and embed the icon into the .exe, this worked for a while, and had the benefit of having a custom icon and I could edit the Opener DB file and not have to redistribute it. But, if a user opened the file and failed to log-in then the next user wouldn't have access to the Opener DB. Since I didn't really need anything fancy in the Opener DB, no special script except to open the remote file, I found a better way for my needs.

Step 1) Create a .bat file pointing to the network resource, ie: fmp7://server/file+name

I'm not sure on the various ways you can point to the resource, but I am using this

start "" "fmp7://server/file+name"

Note two things, a space in the file name must be replaced with a + and the .fp7 should not be there. If you connect to a db on a server and go to file>send link it will create an email with the link you want to put in your .bat

Step 2) Download Bat to Exe Converter here http://download.cnet.com/Bat-To-Exe-Converter/3000-2069_4-10555897.html

Step 3) Load the .bat you created into the above program and under the Versioninformations(typo in the program) tab add your icon.

Step 4) Distribute this program OR, even better, a link/shortcut to the program on a network share. Unlike links to normal files, links to .exe files will always inherit the .exe's icon regardless of it being on a network share.

You can now change the launcher program or even the icon I think and have any computer that has the link be up to date.