Networking?

[Roger1]

Hi. I have made runtime version of database using FM 4.1 and Developer 4.0 version 1.

The database needed to be used by a number of people on a NON networked setup so I duplicated the base about 8 times.

Obviously a clumsy way to go especially when updating data from all machines, but this was done to one source and refreshed back to the individual bases. This is largely done manually as I wasn’t going to spend the time automating until I was happy that they would use it. Well they love it and want to now access the same copy at the same time, but are still not ready to network their entire system.

They access each others machine via a LAN

1. I want to put one copy on one machine, with access by say up to 8 people at once if needed. I understand that there is a network version of Filemaker available that would do this. This would probably be the simplest way to go.

2. Someone else suggested that as this organisation owns a web domain I could publish the database on their domain and they access it through the Web. They all have Internet access via WIN 98 second edition. If I did that I think that there are some security considerations.

Can someone give me some pointers re 1 (which is my preferred option) and the merits of 2.

Thanks for your help.

[LiveOak]

A normal version of FM has the capability to service networked users. You will, however, need a licensed copy for each of the users you wish to network, as FM checks licenses.

Access of FM via a web browser is a different animal. Web access is "transaction" based, not "session" based, as is you current access. What this means is each web transaction must stand alone or provide its own status and user information. In normal session based FM access, FM knows who each user is. FM keeps a found set, sort order, global variables, etc. for each networked user.

-bd

[Steven H. Blackwell]

Well you can take the data files---not the runtime engine--and host them by use of FileMaker Server with access by FileMaker Pro. Runtime engines are not networkable.

HTH

Old Advance Man

[Anatoli]

quote:

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Originally posted by LiveOak:

Access of FM via a web browser is a different animal. Web access is "transaction" based, not "session" based, as is you current access. What this means is each web transaction must stand alone or provide its own status and user information. In normal session based FM access, FM knows who each user is. FM keeps a found set, sort order, global variables, etc. for each networked user.

-bd

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This sound more scary, then 95% of web usage is although LiveOak is 100% right.

But in Browser session data send to browser know about found set and how to Skip 10-or more records forward or backward. It is more load on WebCompanion (the web serving plug-in), but it will be not so difficult to implement.