User manual

Publishing databases on the Web 14-3
There are two additional ways to publish your data using
FileMaker Pro:
1 For more control over the appearance and functionality of your
published database, use the features available in the FileMaker
Developer software. For example, you can create custom web pages
that interactively enter web users’ names into a database field. For
information about FileMaker Developer, choose Help menu >
FileMaker on the Web.
1 If your data rarely changes, or if you don’t want users to connect
directly to your database, you can use static publishing to make your
data available on the Internet or an intranet. With static publishing,
you export FileMaker Pro data to create a web page. The web page
doesn’t change when information in your database changes, and
users don’t connect to your database. (With Instant Web Publishing,
data is updated in a web browser window each time the browser
sends a request to the Web Companion.)
Static publishing is documented in Help. Choose Help menu >
Contents and Index, click the Index tab, and type static web
publishing.
This chapter explains how to publish databases using the Instant
Web Publishing feature.
How users work with databases on the Web
To work with a published FileMaker Pro database, users need:
1 web browser software. For more information, see “About browser
requirements” on page 14-11.
1 access to the Internet or an intranet
1 the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer that hosts your
database file
To access a published database, web users launch web browser
software, then type the IP address of your host computer.
In the home page that displays, users click a filename to open a
database. If the database requires a password, users must type it in
the Password dialog box. Then, the database opens.
Note If you’re using the Web Security Database, web users must
also enter a name in the Password dialog box. For information about
the Web Security Database, see “Protecting published databases” on
page 14-5.
The built-in home page, called the Instant Web Portal, lists the
FileMaker Pro databases that are open on the host computer and
enabled for web sharing. (See “Enabling Web Companion sharing”
on page 14-10.)
FileMaker Pro Instant Web Publishing provides web pages, or views,
for working with your database. Web users click buttons or links on
the pages to browse, find, sort, add, edit, and delete records. (See
“About browser views for web publishing” on page 14-14.)
Type the IP address in
the browser window
Click a filename
to open the
database
Web Companion built-in home page