Administrator’s Guide (Mac OS)

2-26 FileMaker Pro Server Administrator’s Guide
Using the Today function with FileMaker Pro Server
If a database file you’re hosting with FileMaker Pro Server contains fields
that use the Today function, you must close that file and reopen it each day
for the Today function to recalculate correctly. (See FileMaker Pro User’s
Guide for information about the Today function.)
If you have easy access to the computer that FileMaker Pro Server is running
on, reset the Today function using the following steps:
1. In FileMaker Pro Server, use Close Database in the administer window to
close the file that contains the Today function calculation.
You must use the FileMaker Pro application to recalculate the Today function.
2. Open the file in FileMaker Pro.
You see a message stating that the Today function is being calculated.
This may take some time, depending on the number of records and other
database calculations.
3. Close the file and, using the administer window, reopen it with
FileMaker Pro Server.
See “Opening a file as the host” on page 2-8 for more information.
You can use an AppleScript or a program that sends Apple events to perform
these steps. See the sample script “Recalculate Today Function” in the
AppleScript Examples folder, installed in the FileMaker Pro Server 3.0
Folder, for more information.
Recalculating the Today function remotely
You can accomplish the same thing remotely using FileMaker Pro 3.0. The
file using the Today function must be located in the same folder as the
FileMaker Pro Server application. To reset the Today function remotely:
1. Using the remote administer dialog box in the FileMaker Pro application,
close the file being hosted by FileMaker Pro Server that contains the
Today function calculation.
See “Closing a database file remotely” on page 2-25.
2. In the remote administer dialog box, immediately reopen the same file.
This marks the file to have FileMaker Pro recalculate the Today function
when it’s opened next.
3. Click Done.