Guide to Updating Plug-ins

Configuring FileMaker Server (Windows and Mac OS) 6-7
FileMaker Server, virtual memory, and physical
memory requirements
FileMaker Server and the virtual memory option (available with
Mac OS 8.6 to 9.1) both use your hard disk to store temporary
information. Virtual memory provides file mapping, which can
improve the performance of FileMaker Server. If you choose to turn
on virtual memory while FileMaker Server is running, ensure that
you have enough physical memory to satisfy the requirements of
both the Mac OS and FileMaker Server so that virtual memory won’t
degrade the performance of FileMaker Server.
To determine how much physical memory you need to use
FileMaker Server with virtual memory turned on:
1. Click the desktop to switch to the Finder.
2. Choose 4 > About This Computer and note how much memory the
Mac OS is using.
3. Add this figure to the preferred amount of memory to determine
how much physical memory you need for optimal performance of
FileMaker Server with virtual memory turned on. FileMaker Server
requires 8 MB for 25 guests and 50 files.
Setting how often the cache is flushed
FileMaker Server flushes (writes) information stored in the cache
(temporary storage) to disk whenever FileMaker Server is idle, but
you can set the cache to be flushed at specific intervals. If the cache
is flushed frequently, data integrity in hosted files is improved but
performance may decline.
1. In the Properties (Windows) or Preferences (Mac OS) dialog box,
click the Files tab.
2. Select Flush cache every n hours or minutes.
3. Click the up or down arrow to select the time interval.
The minimum setting is 15 minutes and the maximum setting is 2 hours.
4. Set any other options, then click OK.
Allowing single user files to be hosted
For your convenience, you can set FileMaker Server to host single
user files. This setting lets you host databases without first having to
manually change them to multi-user in FileMaker Pro.
1. In the Properties (Windows) or Preferences (Mac OS) dialog box,
click the Files tab.
2. Select Allow FileMaker Server to host Single User files.
3. Set any other options, then click OK.
Allowing software updates to be
downloaded automatically
You can store software updates on the server computer and allow
FileMaker Pro 5.5 guests to download these files automatically when
they open database files hosted by FileMaker Server 5.5. Examples
of files you can download automatically are plug-in files or plug-in
license files, sometimes required by FileMaker Pro databases.
When a FileMaker Pro file is hosted using FileMaker Server, any
plug-ins required by the file must exist on each guest computer used
to open the database. By allowing plug-in updates to be downloaded
automatically, you ensure that all guests have access to plug-ins
required by a database the first time they attempt to open it. In
addition, when plug-ins are changed by database developers, you can
store new versions on the server computer, so you don’t have to
update plug-ins on many individual guest computers.
For automatic file downloading to work correctly, you must place
current plug-in files and text files containing plug-in version
information in the correct location on the server computer. In
addition, guests must activate the Auto Update plug-in in the
Application preferences in FileMaker Pro 5.5 before attempting to
open hosted files that require plug-ins.