Understanding Data Access

January 14, 201115 yr

by Matt Petrowsky

minutes

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Security negligence. Yes, it's a really sad fact - yet it's totally true in many cases. Security is often one of the after thoughts of many FileMaker systems. True, the really good developer always tends to think about this aspect of the whole system. Especially when starting to think about the overall system architecture.

Yet, many FileMaker solutions are what I would call "hack-n-go" systems. Someone starts to hack away at the problem, and you arrive at some usable results pretty quickly. Then you host - and go. Heck, people can start using your FileMaker database the day you create it. You can improve it live, right on the server as people provide you with feedback. Not suggested, but certainly doable - even working on a peer-to-peer setup. Open FileMaker, click the sharing box and away we go.

It's both one of the big benefits and shortcomings at the same time. Mostly for a few critical reasons. One of them is "Delete this record?" combined with "Oh! Wait, I didn't mean to click that button" and others like "What's this 'Replace field contents...' option?".

While turning off the Replace field contents is simply a file wide menu switch, considering the accidental record deletion issue is a more serious item that requires implementation of some type of security.

In this 50 minute video (yeah, a lot to cover) I've packed a wealth of knowledge about managing security. Even the veteran FileMaker developer may find some tips about using some of FileMaker's own features to better manage their data level security. If you've got some tips to add or find a glaring security hole in what I've presented, then please report the bug. Watch and Enjoy!