For years I have used a starter file as an "icon" on the user's desktop, which then calls the main file on the server, and away we go. External Authentication with Active Directory takes it from there. PC users don't have to enter their credentials if they are properly logged into their workstation.

After upgrading from server 9 to 10 (I know, we're behind the times), this no longer works very well. The server tries to use the credentials from the starter file. As a local file cannot authenticate externally, it apparently passes along local credentials. For some reason Server 9 would just ignore this and use external authentication. Server 10 tries to use the local credentials on the served files, fails, and gives the user a password dialog.

I've made sure the files on the server have the proper authentication order (they already did) and that none of the served files have a stored automatic logon.

Is a starter file out of the cards?

Should I just add the file path for the "home" file on the server to each user's Favorites? This is more cumbersome than distributing a starter file, and requires users start FileMaker, then mouse and click on Favorites, rather than just double clicking an icon on their desktop.

Thanks.

Create a windows shortcut to the served file.

fmp7://yourserver/YourFileName.fp7

Better than I had hoped for. Thank you!

Your original scenario should still work though so something else is going on. The local file will try to pull open the hosted file with its own account, which will fail (and it logs an error 661 on the server). But it will then try with the user's Windows' credentials and that should work. Except if the user has an expired session ticket on the domain or the FMS box takes too long to authenticate against the domain controller.

Did you get a new machine or just installed FMS10 on the machine that had FMS9?

Went from FMS9 on Windows Server 2003 to FMS10 on 2008 R2. I thought something else might be going on as well, but that fixed it.... And man is it fast. Your server hardware matters.