Administrator’s Guide (Mac OS)

2-16 FileMaker Pro Server Administrator’s Guide
Backing up FileMaker Pro Server databases
When many users share files and make changes to them on a network, it’s
important to back up the databases regularly. With FileMaker Pro Server,
you can define schedules, or regular tasks (like backups), to be performed
when you specify.
Keep these points in mind when defining and running backup schedules:
1 FileMaker Pro Server only backs up open files.
1 Because read-only files can’t be changed, FileMaker Pro Server doesn’t
back up read-only files.
1 You can back up more than one file at a time. FileMaker Pro Server
pauses all files included in one schedule (except read-only files), copies
them to the specified folder, and then resumes them. It’s a good idea to
include related files, where data is interdependent, in one folder, and back
up the folder in one schedule. Because of the pausing of files, keep
unrelated files in separate schedules for best results.
1 You can define a schedule to run an external AppleScript application that
performs a task. The task can be something other than a backup, like
recalculating a file that uses the Today function. FileMaker Pro Server
includes AppleScript templates for backing up folders and recalculating
the Today function in the AppleScript Examples folder (in the
FileMaker Pro Server 3.0 Folder).
When FileMaker Pro Server runs a script, the interaction level is set to
“NeverInteract.” This is because the schedule is likely to be running
automatically, when no users are available to respond to dialog boxes.
Important Your schedules are stored in the FileMaker Pro Server Preferences
file in the Preferences folder in the System Folder. If you want to move
FileMaker Pro Server to another computer and keep the schedules you
defined, copy the FileMaker Pro Server Preferences file to the new location.
Defining a schedule
To define a schedule:
1. Choose Schedules from the Edit menu.