I open filemaker files with FMP 10 on a shared directory, and then with
another instance of FMP I connect to it with "open remote".

So actually the warning is very annoying and actually not really useful
in this case, is there a way to get rid of it?

Andrea Crotti <andrea.crotti.0 (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

Take the files away from the shared directory and open them locally.

--
http://clk.ch

clk (AT) tele2 (DOT) ch (Christoph Kaufmann) writes:

That's not a solution, those files have to be on that shared directory
hosted on afp filesystem on a linux fileserver.
I don't trust the osx clients to keep the files.

I can't believe is not possible to switch this off...

Andrea Crotti <andrea.crotti.0 (AT) gmail (DOT) com> writes:

No way to get rid of it?
It seems impossible to me that everyone open fp7 files on a local disk,
every stupid even small office should have a fileserver and keep
everything there.

Filemaker people don't know it maybe?

Andrea Crotti <andrea.crotti.0 (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

I wouldn't know about that, but the warning is there for a reason. If
the software that serves the files is not on the same computer as the
files themselves, you risk file corruption.

The stupid small office uses the software Filemaker Server on that file
server in order to keep Filemaker files clean and save.

If you need or want to share files without using filemaker server, have
FMP serve the files on a local machine and use a scripted "save as"
command to put out backups on the file server.
--
http://clk.ch

clk (AT) tele2 (DOT) ch (Christoph Kaufmann) writes:

I risk in theory, since I know that noone else opens the file directly
from there I don't risk anything, and the warning is just useless.

There are 2 people and a half working there, I don't think it makes
sense to have filemaker server, also because it doesn't run on linux.

It would be better of course, but since also FMP10 can share files
natively, it should not be a problem.
The "save as" is not that nice either, I'll just have to say that every
time the first that comes have to click 10 times on "ok"...

"Andrea Crotti" <andrea.crotti.0 (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

If no one else opens the file directly from the file server, then why can't
it be stored locally on one person's computer, opened there and then shared
via FileMaker's sharing? You can set the database to be opened automatically
when that computer is started up and the person using that computer told to
not quit from FileMaker, except when shutting the computer down. I've had a
few small organisations running this way over the years.

I have (and still do) also had databases stored on a fileserver and opened
as you are doing. I don't know if that warning is Windows-only or a feature
of newer versions of FileMaker, but I've never seen it and never had any
problems with the files. One place has FileMaker Server running for the main
databses and others are opened / closed as single-user via the OS
filesharing system as needed.

BUT, having said that, it's not something I fully recommend and only use for
unimportant databases, and ones properly backup very regularly (and I have
clean copies on my own computer).



For such a small office you don't need FileMaker Server. You can simply use
a normal copy of FileMaker constantly running on the server computer ... but
it would have to be Mac OS or Windows of course. Technically, all of
FileMaker Inc's information suggests that FileMaker Server really be run on
a separate computer from a fileserver anyway.

One cheaper option for small work places is to get an older computer (or
upgrade another one and move the current one) to sit in the corner acting as
a FileMaker server using a standard copy of FileMaker Pro.



Personally I wouldn't use Save As. My own preference would be to use a
proper backup application or an OS script to make a copy of the file(s) just
before the computer shuts down.


Helpful Harry )

"Your Name" <your.name (AT) isp (DOT) com> writes:

Thanks for the answer, well the reason is simple, the files should be on
the fileserver because those disks are faster and more reliable.

Moreover backup is easier to manage then having to ssh on another
machine or use rsync (or something like that).

It really doesn't make any sense to have them locally, it was like this
until 3 weeks ago and I was so happy that I finally moved them out, the
only annoying part is this freaking stupid filemaker pro that thinks it
knows better than me how to work.

Sure, and actually it's more or less like that, the mac opening the
files directly keep them open all the time, but of course at every
reboot we need to open them again.

I even tried to look in the horrible script editor if there is some
option to just confirm to this stupid question but nothing found...

It's not the end of the world anyway, if it's not possible we'll just
keep confirming the obvious...

In article <m139p42ubz.fsf (AT) ip1-201 (DOT) halifax.rwth-aachen.de>, Andrea Crotti
<andrea.crotti.0 (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

The speed of the hard drives is largely irrelevant - the database's
accessibility will be restricted by the speed of the network connections,
which will be pretty much the same no matter which computer the files are
hosted on for connected users. The database itself will almost certainly
be faster for the main user when hosted locally. Although, with today's
computers, the speed is pretty much irrelevant unless you've got LOTS of
records and doing heavy calculation / summarising.




The local computer just needs to run a script on shutdown to copy the
FileMaker file(s) to the file server. The file server can then backup as
normal. It's really only a one line script that shouldn't take long unless
the FileMaker database is HUGE.
i.e.
Copy FileMaker.fpx server:FileMaker.fpx

On Mac OS X machiones this can easily be done with Automator as saved as
an "application" run at shutdown.



FileMaker Inc. DOES know better than you about their product. )

All their information advises against opening files using OS level
filesharing, and instead tells you to host the files locally (either
within FileMaker Pro or FileMaker Server) and then connect from FileMaker
Pro's Open Hosts command from the guest computers, or via a web browser.



It's nothing to do with the database itself. It's part of FileMaker Pro,
so at best there would be an option in the Application Preferences, but I
doubt it's there.


Helpful Harry )

On 2011-01-07 07:39:17 -0800, Andrea Crotti <andrea.crotti.0 (AT) gmail (DOT) com> said:

Sharing peer-to-peer isn't a bad idea for a small office given two conditions:

1. DO NOT HOST THE FILES REMOTELY
2. Have a concrete, well-understood and adhered to plan for closing the
files on the host machine and creating backups that are zipped and
stored somewhere else on a regular basis.

Note Condition #1. The reason for this is that when a single user first
opens the files remotely (ignoring the warning because they think they
know better) and becomes the host, and then that same person also opens
the files using "Open/Remote", they are accessing the files two ways,
once through the OS filesharing, and once through FM filesharing.

This creates conditions for collision of access to the hosted files,
which destabilizes the server (user) machine, causes freezes and
crashes, and will eventually result in corruption of the files.

This corruption can start without a sign, and end up in many
subsequently backed up files. It may end up in ALL the backups, if it
continues long enough. Corrupt files will eventually stop working,
sometimes disastrously.

If the first user opens the files remotely, and then works directly in
the files, while other users access them through Open/Remote, then the
main user will both experience and cause all sorts of poor performance
and slowdowns as they occupy both their own computer's processors and
the local network with lots of back and forth traffic, and other users
try to do the same.

While you can open files remotely, the capability is there to allow
things like editing of globals and other maintenance tasks, NOT general
operational access. That's what the warning is telling you.

Ignore it, and all the warnings you've gotten here at your own risk.
"I've never had a problem" is not a good basis on which to decide Best
Practices for mission-critical data. If the data isn't that important,
then I'd recommend index cards. They rarely get corrupted.

Best in peer-to-peer is to open the files ON the physical machine they
live on and let that be the host. Don't use it as a workstation.
Everyone use Open/Remote. An older, slower machine can work just fine
as the "server" in this case. It still works like a server, just with a
copy of FM Pro instead of server. It's a low-cost, not a zero-cost
solution.

#2 is generally not well followed in most deployments either. How is
your backup strategy?
--
Lynn Allen
--
www.semiotics.com
Member FBA
FM 10 Certified Developer