Administrator’s Guide

Table Of Contents
3-6 FileMaker Pro 5.5 Unlimited Administrator’s Guide
When web users enter the IP address of the host computer in their
web browsers, the Web Companion will serve either the built-in
home page used for Instant Web Publishing, any web page named
“default.htm,” “default.html,” “index.htm,” or “index.html” that is
located in the root level of the Web folder or in a site folder within
it, or the custom home page you specify in the Web Companion
Configuration dialog box (which must be located in the root level of
the Web folder).
If you’re hosting multiple sites each with its own home page, you can have
each home page named “default.htm” or “index.htm” inside each site
folder within the Web folder, and the Web Companion will display them
when web users enter the name of the site folder after the IP address.
http://17.17.17.17/guest_book
If you want, create a link to the IP address of the site folder—
otherwise, let users know so they can type it in their web browsers.
Note You can enter “localhost” instead of the IP address when
FileMaker Pro and all the files are on your computer. See “Testing
your site without a network connection” on page 3-18.
http://localhost
http://localhost/guest_book
Specifying a custom home page as the default
To specify the custom home page as the default in the Web
Companion Configuration dialog box:
1. Make sure the custom home page is located in the root level of the
Web folder.
The custom home page can be named anything but must be in HTML
format (with the .htm or .html filename extension).
2. In the Web Companion Configuration dialog box, choose your
custom home page from the Home Page list.
Creating a custom home page for Instant
Web Publishing
The simplest and quickest way to publish your FileMaker database
on the Web is to let FileMaker Pro Instant Web Publishing design
your web pages for you. You can create your own web page to
replace the built-in FileMaker Pro Instant Web Publishing home
page and still use the instant web pages generated by the Web
Companion. Your new custom home page can contain anything else
you want to include for your web site, such as web graphics, movies,
and Macromedia Flash animations.
Any .htm or .html
file located in the
root level of the
Web folder
appears in this list
Any .htm or .html
file located in the
root level of the
Web folder
appears in this list