WebDirect Guide

Chapter 1 | Introducing FileMaker WebDirect 11
Connecting via the Internet or an intranet
When you publish databases on the Internet or an intranet, the host computer must be running
FileMaker
Server, and the databases you want to share must be open.
In addition:
1 It is strongly recommended that you publish your database on a computer with a full-time
Internet or intranet connection using TCP/IP. You can publish databases without a full-time
connection, but they are only available to users when your computer is connected to the
Internet or an intranet.
1 The host computer should have a dedicated static (permanent) Internet Protocol (IP) address
or a domain name. If you connect to the Internet with an Internet service provider (ISP), your IP
address might be dynamically allocated (it is different each time you connect). A dynamic IP
address makes it more difficult for users to locate your databases. If you are not sure of the type
of access available to you, consult your ISP or network administrator.
1 While a web user is connected to a FileMaker WebDirect solution, he or she should use a single
ethernet, Wi-Fi, or mobile (4G or LTE) network connection with consistent signal strength and
connectivity. Loss of network connectivity—which can be caused by intermittent signal or by
switching between networks—can cause FileMaker
WebDirect to disconnect from the server.
1 Consider using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption to secure communication between
FileMaker
WebDirect and FileMaker Server. See “Enabling SSL encryption” on page 27.
About accessing databases with FileMaker WebDirect
By default, FileMaker Server supports one FileMaker WebDirect or one FileMaker Go connection
at a time. To share information with multiple simultaneous web users, you can purchase additional
concurrent connections at the FileMaker Store. See
http://www.filemaker.com.
Other ways to publish FileMaker data on the web
In addition to FileMaker WebDirect, there are two other ways to publish your data:
Static publishing: If your data rarely changes, or if you don’t want users to have a live connection
to your database, you can use static publishing. With static publishing, you export FileMaker
Pro
data to create a webpage that you can further customize with HTML. The webpage doesn’t
change when information in your database changes, and users don’t connect to your database.
See FileMaker
Pro Help.
Custom Web Publishing: To integrate your FileMaker database with a custom website, use the
Custom Web Publishing technologies. See FileMaker
Server Custom Web Publishing Guide.