I currently rent space on a filemaker web server.

One of the things I notice about the databases I store on this server is that the option to "SAVE A COPY AS" is dimmed out.

I can read and write to the databases but cannot save a copy onto a thumb drive.

I have been building some proprietary software for my company and I would like my workers to have unfettered access to it

but I do not necessarily want them to own a copy of their own. If they end up going to work for somebody else I do not want my competitors

to have a copy of my software.

The people who typically work for me are smart enough to know the value of this software and smart enough to know how to copy to a thumb drive

but are not sophisticated enough to necessarily do any coding on their own.

Will the prohibition to "SAVE A COPY AS" provide any limited protection from unauthorized copying?

If this database was hosted on my own server, would the same prohibition exist?

One of the things I notice about the databases I store on this server is that the option to "SAVE A COPY AS" is dimmed out.

I can read and write to the databases but cannot save a copy onto a thumb drive.

I have been building some proprietary software for my company and I would like my workers to have unfettered access to it

but I do not necessarily want them to own a copy of their own. If they end up going to work for somebody else I do not want my competitors

to have a copy of my software.

Save A Copy...is intentionally disabled on hosted files. It is more of a structural integrity feature than a security feature. The server itself should be secured against unauthorized access as should be the database files. If you want to institute further protection for Intellectual Property, first invoke file access protection for your files. Second, after consulting with your attorneys, have your employees sign NDA agreements.

There is more on the file access protection on the FMPug site here.

Steven