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Where can I get an older version of Filemaker Pro (6.0 Mac)?
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Where can I get an older version of Filemaker Pro (6.0 Mac)? -
02-19-2010
, 12:37 PM
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I have a Mac 10.4 and a Mac OS9. My partner has a newer Mac laptop (not sure which version but I'm sure it is 10.4 or later) I have an older database on the OS9 that I would like to port into Filemaker Pro. If I obtain Filemaker Pro 6.0 and patch it to v.3 I will be able to reprogram the database in Filemaker and port it to the newer machines so my partner can use it as well. Filemaker cust service was less than helpful, saying "because it is unsupported, it is not available anywhere". I -assume- this means, If I purchase Filemaker Pro 6.0 unsupported, it would come without a license which means I could make less than 5 copies (two copies, one for my 10.4 and one for my partner's laptop) but would be unable to upgrade the copies -- my partner would have to purchase a separate copy if he wanted FM10. Then again, since it is not freeware, if it's not available from Filemaker even in unsupported format, how am I supposed to be able to obtain it? |
an older db through FM6 to get it into 10.
If it's an .fp3 or .fp5 file format, it should convert directly. If
it's a non-FM db, export the data into a text, .csv, or Excel file
format and then open it in FM10.
But no, you will not be able to purchase FM6 and get an upgrade price
to 10. That ship has sailed.
--
Lynn Allen
--
www.semiotics.com
Member FBA
FM 10 Certified Developer
#3
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I have a Mac 10.4 and a Mac OS9. My partner has a newer Mac laptop (not sure which version but I'm sure it is 10.4 or later) I have an older database on the OS9 that I would like to port into Filemaker Pro. If I obtain Filemaker Pro 6.0 and patch it to v.3 I will be able to reprogram the database in Filemaker and port it to the newer machines so my partner can use it as well. Filemaker cust service was less than helpful, saying "because it is unsupported, it is not available anywhere". I -assume- this means, If I purchase Filemaker Pro 6.0 unsupported, it would come without a license which means I could make less than 5 copies (two copies, one for my 10.4 and one for my partner's laptop) but would be unable to upgrade the copies -- my partner would have to purchase a separate copy if he wanted FM10. Then again, since it is not freeware, if it's not available from Filemaker even in unsupported format, how am I supposed to be able to obtain it? |
#4
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By the way, I run everyday FMDev6 DB on my iMac MacOS X, AND on my PC with Vista Pro. It works as a charm - I am an FM developer -. |
need it for advanced applications (does the developer version do SQL
type stuff or do you even need it for that if you have a decent
webhost? I am not a webmaster although I do basic HTML, but we do need
to upgrade our organization's website. We would like to use javascript
forms so that people can enter small amounts of data into a small data
set to keep track of requests; this could be done with SQL (which I
know nothing about) or javascript-and-a-DAT file (I suppose). Is FM
useful for that? I imagine allowing people to upload data via a
javascript form would require an SQL database or something. Perhaps
our webhost (a standard hosting company) has that. Would FM be able to
read and manipulate the resulting data?
However, what we really need an actual program for is our private
contact list, which only needs to be on these two machines, and I was
hoping to be able to share them across both machines without having to
e-mail back and forth (I don't need them to be fully networked, I just
mean the file would be on one machine, FM would upload it to an online
archive when saved, and if I opened it up on the laptop it would be
the same file. Is that how it works?) Full disclosure, I used to work
in web and my family helps run a small community nonprofit and that is
what we use the DB for.
Remi --
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Now, if you wish to have the database unique on one of the machines, let it there, be sure there no other copy of the DB on the network - as FMP is very quick in finding another copy of a given file, thus jeopardizing the result... -. Then open the 5003 port (reserved to FileMaker) on every firewall - at least the ones on the OS machines themselves plus on the router(s) - Then make the DB 'multiuser' and allow each copy of FM to have the TCP/IP protocole open. At last, run 'File' / 'Open remote' from the remote computer, and open the (remote) DB. |
(not hosted) on one computer, but could be accessed remotely via FM's
own TCP/IP connection, as if you would access a file on a LAN. When I
access it remotely from home (I would host the file on the laptop to
prevent future complications, since it is a newer computer) would be
manipulating the only copy of the file and would have to "open remote"
and "save remote" during which period it could not be accessed from
the computer on which the file is saved (which is not a problem).
Does all of the foregoing require the Advanced edition (or
FM6Developer in this case)?
David --
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To use it on two machines you need two licences. (There is an exception for one user being permitted to run a copy on a work computer and on a laptop they take home; they can't be used at the same time, nor by two people.) That is indeed the exact case in my situation. It's a single household; one OS9, one laptop. (The other mac I'm using here at home doesn't need a copy of the program.) Can I network the two copies under this exception? No. The second copy will refuse to run at all if the other installed copy is already running on another computer on the same network. |
* Would I be able to save the file on a single machine
and access it on one other if needed? Not at the same
time, but remotely.
* Would the DB be able to automatically read and manipulate
data from our website, such as a simple javascript contact
form, and save it on that one machine?
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You would need to quit FileMaker Pro on the desktop computer before running it on the laptop (or vice versa). |
connect to the Internet on launch...
Ah, but that conflicts with what Remi said about multiuser, which
would require both programs to be ON in order to access the file, or
does it?
if the data is all accessible over a TCP port and/or if FMPro
automatically makes an online backup, how do I know it is secure?
I am new to online databases, as you can tell.
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You should never use file sharing to access a FileMaker Pro database across a network (copy it to the computer which needs to access it), and you must close the database in FileMaker Pro (or quit the application) before attempting to copy it. |
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If you had two separate licences, the two copies could run at the same time, one of them could host the database and the other could access it over the network (via FileMaker's built-in sharing protocol, not via standard file sharing). |
since the discount is only for large users.
If I purchased a second, opened unused older version of FMPro on Ebay
or somewhere, could I use that license to run a second copy of the
same FileMaker6 CD, or is each license tied to the software/CD install
it comes with?
Sorry for so many questions.
#5
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Thanks everyone for the input so far. Lynn -- I'm not really sure I understand the idea of a "runtime" version if the two copies are not allowed to access the same file. (I don't need both computers to access the same file simultaneously.) |
that can be installed on any computer without needing any licensing. The
problems are that a runtime cannot be used to access a shared database and
cannot be used to makes changes to the database's structure.
The "runtime" itself is created using a licensed version of the more
expensive FileMaker Advanced. (Note: FileMaker has renamed their products
over the years, so older versions of "Advanced" and "Server" may have a
different name.)
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You should never use file sharing to access a FileMaker Pro database across a network (copy it to the computer which needs to access it), and you must close the database in FileMaker Pro (or quit the application) before attempting to copy it. Does "open remote" do this as mentioned by Remi above? If you had two separate licences, the two copies could run at the same time, one of them could host the database and the other could access it over the network (via FileMaker's built-in sharing protocol, not via standard file sharing). And a second license in and of itself would cost full retail price, since the discount is only for large users. If I purchased a second, opened unused older version of FMPro on Ebay or somewhere, could I use that license to run a second copy of the same FileMaker6 CD, or is each license tied to the software/CD install it comes with? |
(from it's hard drive) and then using FileMaker on the second computer to
connect (not open) to the file over the network. For this you must have two
fully licensed versions of FileMaker.
You are not meant to open FileMaker databases using the operating system's
sharing functions, so you can't open the database on the second computer
from the first computer's hard drive - this also means you can't store the
database on a shared network hard drive. If you want to store the database
on a network server, then you ALSO need a licensed copy of FileMaker Server
as well as two copies of FileMaker.
You're should have two copies of the same version of FileMaker (technically
FileMaker 6 can open FileMaker 5.5 files, etc.), which will each include
their own license code and CD. As far as I know, the license codes are
unique to each version of FileMaker - you can't enter a FileMaker 8 license
code in FileMaker 6, not vice-versa.
Helpful Harry
)
#6
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Thanks everyone for the input so far. Lynn -- I'm not really sure I understand the idea of a "runtime" version if the two copies are not allowed to access the same file. (I don't need both computers to access the same file simultaneously.) |
together a copy of the database and the runtime engine, which is
basically a cut-down version of FileMaker Pro.
The runtime engine only works with your database (specific files
selected during the binding process in FileMaker Developer), and is
missing all the structural editing features of FileMaker Pro - any
changes to layouts, field definitions, scripts, etc. must be done using
FileMaker Developer (or a separate copy of FileMaker Pro).
Once you have created a runtime copy of your database, the database
files and the runtime engine can be copied as many times as you like.
There is no licence key.
The runtime database can export and import data, which could be used to
merge changes between multiple copies.
(FileMaker Developer was renamed as FileMaker Pro Advanced somewhere
around version 8; in later versions it has a few extra features useful
for doing database development such as copying table structures between
files. I didn't use it before version 9 so don't know exactly which
features are in FileMaker Developer 6.)
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By the way, I run everyday FMDev6 DB on my iMac MacOS X, AND on my PC with Vista Pro. It works as a charm - I am an FM developer -. I don't have a problem using FM 6 especially since I don't think I need it for advanced applications (does the developer version do SQL type stuff or do you even need it for that if you have a decent webhost? |
itself. It allows you to create runtime databases and maybe some
additional features for modifying the database.
Some SQL functionality was added in later versions of FileMaker Pro (so
aren't an option with Mac OS 9).
Version 6 has ODBC support, which might work in conjunction with some
SQL databases (if they also have ODBC support).
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I am not a webmaster although I do basic HTML, but we do need to upgrade our organization's website. We would like to use javascript forms so that people can enter small amounts of data into a small data set to keep track of requests; this could be done with SQL (which I know nothing about) or javascript-and-a-DAT file (I suppose). Is FM useful for that? I imagine allowing people to upload data via a javascript form would require an SQL database or something. Perhaps our webhost (a standard hosting company) has that. Would FM be able to read and manipulate the resulting data? |
database to collect the data, and have a mechanism to export it in a
file format which can be imported by FileMaker Pro (such as a
tab-delimited text file).
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However, what we really need an actual program for is our private contact list, which only needs to be on these two machines, and I was hoping to be able to share them across both machines without having to e-mail back and forth (I don't need them to be fully networked, I just mean the file would be on one machine, FM would upload it to an online archive when saved, and if I opened it up on the laptop it would be the same file. Is that how it works?) |
database, which could be to a file sharing server, or to a local folder
and then FileMaker Pro could invoke an AppleScript to run some external
tool to create an online archive.
The other direction (updating a local database from an online archive)
would be complicated, especially if you need to merge changes. It would
be better to export just the data which needs to be merged and import
that data.
Quote:
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Full disclosure, I used to work in web and my family helps run a small community nonprofit and that is what we use the DB for. Now, if you wish to have the database unique on one of the machines, let it there, be sure there no other copy of the DB on the network - as FMP is very quick in finding another copy of a given file, thus jeopardizing the result... -. Then open the 5003 port (reserved to FileMaker) on every firewall - at least the ones on the OS machines themselves plus on the router(s) - Then make the DB 'multiuser' and allow each copy of FM to have the TCP/IP protocole open. At last, run 'File' / 'Open remote' from the remote computer, and open the (remote) DB. Yes, I think I understand! In other words, the file would be saved (not hosted) on one computer, but could be accessed remotely via FM's own TCP/IP connection, as if you would access a file on a LAN. When I access it remotely from home (I would host the file on the laptop to prevent future complications, since it is a newer computer) would be manipulating the only copy of the file and would have to "open remote" and "save remote" during which period it could not be accessed from the computer on which the file is saved (which is not a problem). |
Doing this would require two licences of FileMaker Pro.
The "host" computer has to be running FileMaker Pro, have the database
file(s) open and set to be shared. The "guest" computer can then use
Open Remote to connect to FileMaker Pro on the "host" computer.
It is possible for both computers to be modifying data at the same time
(but not the same record).
Minor database structure changes can be made by the guest (scripting,
relationships, passwords, value lists, layouts).
The guest cannot do major structural changes to the database (field
defintions, change layout order, groups and access privileges).
Any of these would require working on the host computer with no guests
connected, or closing the database on the host, taking a copy of the
database file, working on it locally, then replacing the copy on the
host.
File management can only be done on the host (save a copy of the
database, turn on/off multi-user access, close a shared file).
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Does all of the foregoing require the Advanced edition (or FM6Developer in this case)? |
Pro.
The runtime versions created with FileMaker Developer (or FileMaker Pro
Advanced) do NOT have network sharing support.
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To use it on two machines you need two licences. (There is an exception for one user being permitted to run a copy on a work computer and on a laptop they take home; they can't be used at the same time, nor by two people.) That is indeed the exact case in my situation. It's a single household; one OS9, one laptop. (The other mac I'm using here at home doesn't need a copy of the program.) Can I network the two copies under this exception? No. The second copy will refuse to run at all if the other installed copy is already running on another computer on the same network. Excuse me, I'm probably using inaccurate layman's term for "network". * Would I be able to save the file on a single machine and access it on one other if needed? Not at the same time, but remotely. |
built-in networking features, yes.
If you have a single licence of FileMaker Pro and have installed it on
two computers (work and home), they cannot connect to each other via
FileMaker Pro's network support, because they have the same licence key.
The only way to get database files back and forth in this configuration
is to manually copy them.
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* Would the DB be able to automatically read and manipulate data from our website, such as a simple javascript contact form, and save it on that one machine? |
something like a plain text file in a form that FileMaker Pro can
directly import, then yes.
An SQL database as a temporary store is probably a good idea, to deal
with multi-user access issues (two web clients creating records at the
same time).
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You would need to quit FileMaker Pro on the desktop computer before running it on the laptop (or vice versa). Makes sense. I take it all recent versions of FMPro automatically connect to the Internet on launch... |
FileMaker Pro with the same licence key.
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Ah, but that conflicts with what Remi said about multiuser, which would require both programs to be ON in order to access the file, or does it? |
FileMaker Pro's network sharing (you need to buy two copies of FileMaker
Pro to do this).
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if the data is all accessible over a TCP port and/or if FMPro automatically makes an online backup, how do I know it is secure? |
everything is on the local network (assuming you trust the other
computers).
If you need external access, you will have to open a port via your
firewall or NAT router, or do something more secure like set up a VPN
between the two locations.
You can set up FileMaker Pro to require a password to access the
database, but the connection is not encrypted (I don't know if the
password is sent securely).
There is no automatic online backup - you would have to construct your
own mechanism for that.
Quote:
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You should never use file sharing to access a FileMaker Pro database across a network (copy it to the computer which needs to access it), and you must close the database in FileMaker Pro (or quit the application) before attempting to copy it. Does "open remote" do this as mentioned by Remi above? |
sharing to store the database on one computer and accessing it directly
over the network from FileMaker Pro on another computer.
This is not a good idea. It is especially bad if FileMaker Pro is able
to be run on two computers which access the same file. Doing this will
corrupt the database.
On the other hand, the "Open Remote" feature requires that both
computers be running FileMaker Pro and that the "host" computer has the
database open. FileMaker Pro itself deals with synchronization issues
required to share access to the same database file.
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If you had two separate licences, the two copies could run at the same time, one of them could host the database and the other could access it over the network (via FileMaker's built-in sharing protocol, not via standard file sharing). And a second license in and of itself would cost full retail price, since the discount is only for large users. |
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If I purchased a second, opened unused older version of FMPro on Ebay or somewhere, could I use that license to run a second copy of the same FileMaker6 CD, or is each license tied to the software/CD install it comes with? |
Note that an "upgrade" licence key requires validation that you own a
previous version, typically by looking for an installed copy of an older
version.
Recent versions will let you enter the licence key for a previous
version to confirm you own it, but I can't see that option mentioned in
the installation guide for FileMaker Pro 6.
--
David Empson
dempson (AT) actrix (DOT) gen.nz
#7
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As far as I know, the license codes are unique to each version of FileMaker - you can't enter a FileMaker 8 license code in FileMaker 6, not vice-versa. |
--
David Empson
dempson (AT) actrix (DOT) gen.nz
#8
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If you have a single licence of FileMaker Pro and have installed it on two computers (work and home), they cannot connect to each other via FileMaker Pro's network support, because they have the same licence key. The only way to get database files back and forth in this configuration is to manually copy them. |
24/7 as a server] and my MacBook [used when away form 'home']. I use
FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced and it is allowed to have up till two
installations on different computers. The number af computers with
installations is controlled through 'activation' and 'de-activation'
over the internet.
I haven't tried working directly between two installed versions of FM to
the same database - but it is fully possible to do it without the need
of more than one FMP installations. Just publish the databse
[File->Sharing] to the net, be it a LAN or the internet [with port
forwarding in the router].
Personally, I have no use of that as both computers together with two
others are using the same display, keyboard and trackball through this
4-port DVI KVMP-switch:
<http://www.iogear.com/product/GCS1104/>
--
Per Erik Rønne
http://www.RQNNE.dk
Errare humanum est, sed in errore perseverare turpe
#9
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David Empson <dempson (AT) actrix (DOT) gen.nz> wrote: If you have a single licence of FileMaker Pro and have installed it on two computers (work and home), they cannot connect to each other via FileMaker Pro's network support, because they have the same licence key. The only way to get database files back and forth in this configuration is to manually copy them. I use Synchronize Pro to sync various files between my MacMini [open 24/7 as a server] and my MacBook [used when away form 'home']. I use FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced and it is allowed to have up till two installations on different computers. |
thread.
The licence agreement allows two installations with the same licence key
for use by the same person on a work computer and a home or portable
computer. (But they can't be used in the same location simultaneously.)
It does not permit two installations with the same licence key which are
used by different people.
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The number af computers with installations is controlled through 'activation' and 'de-activation' over the internet. |
Advanced), and then only for retail copies, not multi-user licences.
(It is still described in the manual for FileMaker Pro 10, but the
mechanism isn't actually there any more, at least not in my copy of
FileMaker Pro Advanced 10.)
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I haven't tried working directly between two installed versions of FM to the same database - but it is fully possible to do it without the need of more than one FMP installations. Just publish the databse [File->Sharing] to the net, be it a LAN or the internet [with port forwarding in the router]. |
(mainly due to greater risk of database corruption, especially over the
Internet). If you tried to access it simultaneously from two copies of
FileMaker Pro it would damage the database.
If you have two licence keys you don't need to risk OS-level file
sharing - just use FileMaker's built-in sharing, which is designed to
allow safe access to a shared database.
--
David Empson
dempson (AT) actrix (DOT) gen.nz
#10
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