Separation Model unwanted WAN login

[Peter Lehrack]

I have implemented a separation model in order to make a mirror file but when the users in the office which hosts the FM server locally are logged into the mirror file via a script step, they automatically log in via WAN instead of LAN. FM Server shows clients logged in with the same client name via the WAN and LAN.

 

How can I force the clients in the office with the FM server to log in via a script set using the LAN instead of the WAN?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Peter Lehrack

[dansmith65]

check how you defined your External Data source. If it contains the url/ip of the host then it will cause what you are describing. Either change it so it only contains "file:YOUR FILE NAME", or prepend that to what is already there (in return-delimited format).

[truelifeajf]

If you have in the External Data Source 2 file references:

 

myfile

some.fmserver.com/myfile

 

FileMaker will always open the local "myfile" if it exists, and if it doesn't, it'll try to open "myfile" on the server,

 

And I don't think that's what the OP wants.

 

I think he wants to be able to say, "I'd like my UI file to connect to the local data file" and then, the next day, "I'd now like my UI file to connect to the remote data file".

 

The only way to do this is to rename or move the local data file so FileMaker can't find it, and it'll therefore "fail over" to the hosted data file.

 

You'll need:

- a "launcher" file with a script which asks the user which file they want to use

- the above script CAN NOT make any reference to either the local or hosted data file (I'll explain why in a second)

- that script then moves / renames the local data file depending on the user's selection

- that script then calls another script which actually opens the data file

 

Why can't the first script, which asks the user which file they want have a script step which opens the data file?

 

Because the moment a script is run that references the data file, FileMaker will open (in the background) the data file and it'll first look for the local data file, probably find it, and then even if you rename or move the local data file, FileMaker won't care and will only use the local data file.

 

Also remember, that just because you can specify more than one file refernce for an External Data Source, it doesn't mean FileMaker looks from top to bottom.

 

So, if you're external data source file list is:

 

 

myfile

some.fmserver.com/myfile

 

and you happen to have "some.fmserver.com/myfile" open in the background (because some script referenced that data file), when you go to actually open the data file, FileMaker will say, "well, I've already found the hosted data file so I won't even bother looking for the local data file".

 

Anyway, switching between local and remote data files can be done (I use it in my solutions). It's just a hell of a learning curve to work out how FileMaker references files.