Upgrading to FMP 5, Developer or NOT Developer?

[pbright]

I have inherited a large production/scheduling database running on FMP server 3. There are approximately 25 users (out of 90) with a mixture of FMP v3 & v4. Of these only 5 users do any developing/modifying of the existing databases, the rest just use FMP to view the databases.

More of my users require access to the database and as ver 3 & 4 licences are hard to come by (unless you are prepared to bid on eBay etc.) I have decided to bite the bullet and upgrade to ver 5.

My question is: Is it feasible for me to:

(a) Buy FMP 5 Developer then convert all existing v3 databases (on the FMP server) to v5 and to create run-time versions so that more staff have access to the databases and...

( Buy 5x ver 5 upgrades so that the 5 "power" users can still make changes to the core parts of the databases as needed

Any tips welcome.

Regards,

PB

[Chuck]

FMP Developer 5 doesn't support bundling files and then having those bundled files served over a network.

Chuck

[pbright]

Chuck, thanks for your reply.

What's the best way for me to move ahead?

Just buy individual upgrades?

PB

[Chuck]

You really have two viable choices. First, buy a copy of FMP Server 5 and serve the files with all of the users accessing them via FMP 5. But for the five users who have the ability to make changes to the structure of the database are going to run into some obstacles, since the databases can't really be altered in many ways while being served with guests logged in. Some changes can't be made at all while logged in as a guest.

My suggestion if you go this route would be to designate one person as the master of the database, and give only that person access to changing the structure. The person can make changes to a copy of the databases on their own computer while the master copies are being served, and in off hours (evenings, weekends) when people aren't logged on as guests of the server, he or she can import the data from the served files into their new version and replace the served files with the version they have edited.

The other route doesn't really get around the need to figure out what to do about editing database structure, but it does get around the need to buy 90 licenses of FileMaker. You get one copy of FileMaker Unlimited and create web pages to access the system. But this requires learning at least CDML and perhaps Lasso. It wouldn't be easy to duplicate the interface of the databases in a web browser, but it's usually possible. However, the cost savings you might get from avoiding the purchase of 90 copies of FMP client might be offset by the cost to get the system to a usable form.

If I had to choose, I would go with FMP Server 5 and client copies for all the users.

Chuck

[Vaughan]

Could you please explain: why spend big buck$ and buy FMP 5 Unlimited, then buy Lasso as well? Isn't Lasso the same as Web Companion in terms of fucntionality? What can Lasso do that Web Companion cannot?

Thanks.

[pbright]

Thanks Chuck,

I think I will go with option 1, I just wish it was cheaper to upgrade than it is.

Regards

Peter

[Chuck]

If I'm not mistaken, the license for FileMaker Pro 5 requires that if you are serving the data to more than 10 users within a 24 hour period, you need to get the Unlimited version. While it's true that Lasso can get you around this limitation, I believe doing do violates the license.

Lasso does offer quite a bit more features than Web Companion. It also gives better speed, since while FileMaker is not multi-threaded (much to many developers chagrin), Lasso can pick up some of the slack because it can handle multiple requests. This also allows you to perform some actions totally within Lasso without even needing to go to FileMaker (such as string and math functions).

Lasso also offers their Inline code, which allows the developer to hide the code used from the user, so that a determined user can't build queries on the fly that you don't want them to build. I don't really know Inlines well, but I believe that there are other advantages as well to them.

Lasso can also give you secure connections using the SSL secure socket layer of transmission, you have greater security features, more complex options with If/Else tags, support for ODBC, Java and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Basically, if the site is being accessed by just a few people every day, and you don't need to have encryption for financial transactions, I would recommend CDML, but for most businesses that are building publically accessable web sites, Lasso is definately the way to go.

Chuck

[Vaughan]

Korky -- I've heard something similar too, and I'm in Australia! Basicaly FileMaker Inc just want you to buy more licenses, and since (it appears, haven't tried it yet) the installation code scheme is identical between FMP 4 and 5, you can install v4 with a v5 code. Neato!

[Korky]

I was told that it's possible to buy just the number of v5 copies you need and then install copies of the v4 versions you already have using the installation codes of the new copies. I haven't tried it,though.

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