Sharing Your Database

You've now got a solid foundation for building even the most complex database systems in FileMaker Pro. But your databases have so far been limited to just one useryou. Only the smallest small business, though, has only one person. Most databases are multi-user databases, used by lots of people, all at the same time. It's easy to set up any FileMaker database for lots of people to use; you simply turn on a checkbox or two. In this chapter, you'll learn about those settings, plus some of the things you can expect from FileMaker when you're sharing databases.

Before you dive in and start changing settings, consider where you're going to keep the shared file and how other people's computers connect to it. There are three types of sharing: Internet, Network, and FileMaker Server.

• FileMaker Network. This type of file sharing is also called peer-to-peer. That is, you don't use a server or any special software. You just use your ordinary computers to share files. Peer-to-peer sharing is limited to five guests. If more than five people need to use the database at the same time, use FileMaker Server.
• Internet Sharing. Internet sharing has its own set of benefits and tradeoffs. On the plus side, people who need access to your files don't need a copy of FileMaker. All they need is an Internet connection and a recent-model browser. On the downside, not everything you can do in FileMaker translates to the Web, so you may have to live with fewer features. FileMaker uses a type of Internet sharing called Instant Web Publishing (IWP). FileMaker translates your layouts to Web language according to settings you specify.
• FileMaker Server is the Big Daddy of FileMaker database sharing. FileMaker Server offers protection for your files in case of a crash, automated backups, and tremendous speed and stability boosts over peer-to-peer sharing.

Note: Another type of Internet sharing, called Custom Web Publishing (CWP), offers more features than IWP. Using XML/XSLT, PHP, or Lasso, you can build incredibly powerful Web-based databases. But there are steep learning curves to these technologiesplus, they're beyond the scope of this book.