Administrator’s Guide

Table Of Contents
3-8 FileMaker Pro 5.5 Unlimited Administrator’s Guide
2. Include a FileMaker CGI request for the FileMaker WebPortal
object:
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript" SRC="FMPro?-webportal">
</SCRIPT>
3. As desired, use scripting to write HTML and text to the document.
4. Save the file with the .htm or .html filename extension and place it
in the root level of the Web folder (inside the FileMaker Pro 5.5
folder).
5. In the Web Companion Configuration dialog box, select Enable
Instant Web Publishing, choose your custom web page from the Home
Page list, and click OK.
Note Instant Web Publishing is not supported under the Web Server
Connector in FileMaker Pro 5.5 Unlimited.
Creating a custom web site using a
database layout
With new features in FileMaker Pro 5.5 and FileMaker Pro 5.5
Unlimited, you can now design your own page layouts for Instant
Web Publishing in Layout mode, and then display the layouts in the
web browser.
First, you create a startup script to hide the Instant Web Publishing
interface. Then you create buttons in the layouts to navigate the web
site and perform database functions. To bypass the Instant Web
Publishing home page, you use a custom home page that contains a
redirect statement for opening the database layout in a particular
instant web page.
Overview of using a database layout as the Instant Web
Publishing home page
To create a custom home page that uses a database layout for the
interface:
1. In Layout mode in FileMaker Pro, design the layout for your
custom home page. Create script buttons for every type of interaction
you want the web user to be able to do on this page. (See “Using
script buttons in Instant Web Publishing” on page 3-9.)
2. Create a startup script that hides the Instant Web Publishing
interface. (See “Suppressing the Instant Web Publishing interface
on page 3-11.)
3. Enable the Web Companion and configure it for Instant Web
Publishing.
4. Set up file sharing for the database through the Web Companion
(see “Sharing the database via the Web” on page 3-5), and click Set
Up Views in the File Sharing dialog box.
5. In the Web Companion View Setup dialog box, choose either Soft
Gray, Lavender, Wheat, or Blue and Gold 1 for the web style. Then
specify the layout you want used for each view (instant web page).
6. Choose Edit > Preferences > Document and set up FileMaker Pro to
switch to the layout you created in step 1 and perform the startup
script you created in step 2 when the database opens.
When the database is opened in the web browser, the layout that you
select for the Switch to Layout option in the Document Preferences
dialog box overrides all layouts selected in the Web Companion
View Setup dialog box for file sharing.
7. Create a web page with a redirect statement that bypasses the built-
in Instant Web Publishing home page and displays your custom
layout in the browser. (See “Bypassing the Instant Web Publishing
home page” on page 3-12.)
8. Configure the Web Companion to open the web page as the default
home page. (See “Specifying a custom home page as the default” on
page 3-6.)