Guide to Updating Plug-ins
Table Of Contents
- Preface Using the FileMakerServer documentation
- Chapter 1 Welcome to FileMakerServer 5.5
- Chapter 2 Installing FileMakerServer in Windows
- Chapter 3 Installing FileMakerServer in MacOS 8.6 to 9.1
- Chapter 4 Installing FileMakerServer in MacOS X
- Chapter 5 Installing FileMaker Server in Red Hat Linux
- Chapter 6 Configuring FileMakerServer (Windows and Mac OS)
- Using the configuration assistants (Windows)
- Opening the Properties dialog box (Windows)
- Opening the Preferences dialog box (MacOS 8.6 to 9.1)
- Opening the Preferences dialog (MacOSX)
- Setting the number of guests
- Allowing disconnection of idle guests
- Authenticating guest log on (Windows)
- Setting the maximum number of files
- Changing the amount of memory used by FileMakerServer
- Adjusting memory (MacOS 8.6 to 9.1)
- Setting how often the cache is flushed
- Allowing single user files to be hosted
- Allowing software updates to be downloaded automatically
- Opening runtime solutions automatically (Windows and MacOS X)
- Opening runtime solutions automatically (MacOS 8.6 to 9.1)
- Enabling remote administration
- Specifying a custom host name
- Maximizing performance (MacOS 8.6 to 9.1)
- Choosing network protocols
- Setting the preferred IP address
- Recording usage statistics and settingsizelimits
- Setting a size limit for the Application Log (WindowsNT)
- Setting a size limit for the Application Log (Windows2000)
- Setting a size limit for the event log (MacOS)
- Using FileMaker Server with a directoryservice
- Restoring FileMaker Server defaultsettings
- Protecting files with a password
- How FileMakerServer behaves during system sleep (Windows 2000 and Mac OS)
- Chapter 7 Administering FileMakerServer (Windows and Mac OS)
- Starting FileMakerServer (WindowsNT)
- Starting FileMaker Server (Windows 2000)
- Stopping FileMakerServer (WindowsNT)
- Stopping FileMakerServer (Windows2000)
- Starting FileMakerServer (MacOS8.6to9.1)
- Quitting FileMakerServer (MacOS8.6to9.1)
- Starting FileMakerServer (MacOS X)
- Quitting FileMakerServer (Mac OS X)
- Using remote administration
- Automatically downloading the Server Administration plug-in to a remote computer
- Opening the Remote Administration window
- Listing hosted files and current guests
- Viewing usage statistics for FileMakerServer
- Hosting FileMakerPro5.x files
- Closing hosted files
- Disconnecting guests
- Viewing detailed information about hosted files andguests
- Sending messages to guests
- Sending messages to all guests
- Determining if you have exclusive access to hosteddatabases
- Using local administration (Mac OS 8.6 to 9.1 )
- Opening the local administration window (MacOS 8.6 to 9.1)
- Listing hosted files and guests (MacOS 8.6 to 9.1)
- Viewing usage statistics (MacOS 8.6 to 9.1)
- Hosting FileMaker Pro 5.x files (MacOS 8.6 to 9.1)
- Closing hosted files (MacOS 8.6 to 9.1)
- Disconnecting guests (MacOS 8.6 to 9.1)
- Sending messages to guests (MacOS 8.6 to 9.1)
- Monitoring server performance (Windows)
- Using reported events to track activities
- Recalculating the Today function inhosteddatabases
- Chapter 8 Scheduling administrative tasks (Windows and Mac OS)
- Scheduling tasks to run automatically (Windows)
- Scheduling tasks to run automatically (MacOS 8.6 to 9.1)
- Scheduling tasks to run automatically (Mac OS X)
- Viewing scheduled tasks in the Schedules list (Windows)
- Viewing scheduled tasks in the Schedules window (MacOS)
- Running scheduled tasks manually
- Changing scheduled tasks
- Duplicating scheduled tasks
- Deleting scheduled tasks
- Enabling and disabling scheduled tasks
- Using the command line to automate tasks (Windows)
- Using a script to automate tasks (MacOS)
- Making sure you don’t run out of disk space during backups
- Chapter 9 Using FileMaker Server in Red Hat Linux
- Getting onscreen help with command and preference syntax
- Administering FileMaker Server
- Starting and stopping FileMaker Server automatically
- Configuring FileMaker Server
- Editing the configuration file
- Applying configuration changes
- Setting the number of guests
- Disconnecting idle guests
- Setting the maximum number of files
- Changing the amount of memory used by FileMaker Server
- Setting how often the cache is flushed
- Allowing single user files to be hosted
- Allowing software updates to be downloaded automatically
- Specifying the location of hosted files
- Specifying a user account name and group name for FileMaker Server
- Enabling remote administration in FileMaker Server
- Using the fmspasswd utility to encryptpasswords
- Specifying a custom host name
- Specifying the preferred IP address
- Opening runtime solutions automatically
- Using reported events and statistics to track activities
- Using FileMaker Server with a directoryservice
- Chapter 10 Manually installing the Server Administration pluginonaremote computer
- About the Server Administration plug-in
- Manually installing the plug-in on a remotecomputer (WindowsNT and Windows2000)
- Manually installing the plug-in on a remote computer (Windows95 or Windows 98)
- Enabling the Server Administration plug-in using FileMakerPro (Windows)
- Manually installing the Server Administration plug-in on a remote computer (MacOS)
- Enabling the Server Administration plug-in using FileMaker Pro (MacOS)
- Appendix A Technical specifications and optimization
- Appendix B Performance and usage tips
- Appendix C Event log messages and troubleshooting
- Appendix D About the TechInfo database
- Index
6-8 FileMaker Server Administrator’s Guide
To set up FileMaker Server to automatically download software
updates to guest computers:
1. Obtain current plug-in and version control files from your
FileMaker Pro database developers.
2. Create a folder named AutoUpdate in the folder that contains the
database that uses plug-ins.
Tip If you host multiple databases that use the same plug-ins, store
updates in the AutoUpdate folder in the FileMaker Server 5.5 folder,
rather than in individual AutoUpdate folders in each database folder.
This allows you to store an update in one place on the server
computer, and makes it available for all databases that need it.
3. Place files for automatic download in the AutoUpdate folder.
Tip If some guest computers on your network run Windows and
some run the Mac OS, you can include both Windows and Mac OS
versions of the plug-in in the AutoUpdate folder.
4. In the FileMaker Server Properties (Windows) or Preferences
(Mac OS) dialog box, click the Files tab.
5. Select Allow FileMaker Pro guests to download updates automatically.
6. Set any other options, then click OK.
7. Instruct users of guest computers to enable automatic download in
FileMaker Pro 5.5 as follows: Start FileMaker Pro, choose Edit
menu > Preferences > Application (Windows and Mac OS 8.6 to 9.1)
or FileMaker Pro menu > Preferences > Application (Mac OS X).
8. Click the Plug-ins tab and select Auto Update.
Note FileMaker Pro 5.5 can check the version of plug-in files
required by a hosted database and update plug-ins if the current
version is not located on the guest computer. However, FileMaker
Pro cannot verify the version of other downloadable files. If a non-
plug-in file is located on both the server and guest computers, the file
on the guest computer is backed up in the Saved System Folder
(Windows) or Saved FileMaker Extensions Folder (Mac OS) and
then the file from the server is placed in the System Folder
(Windows) or FileMaker Extensions Folder (Mac OS).
Opening runtime solutions automatically
(Windows and Mac OS X)
You can have FileMaker Server automatically host runtime solution
files that have been bound using FileMaker Developer 5.x and have
a custom filename extension.
About FileMaker Developer
FileMaker Developer lets database developers create and distribute
complete single user database solutions with layouts that are not
modifiable by users.
Runtime solution files typically have unique filename extensions.
For example, rather than the standard .fp5 extension, a runtime
solution file might have the extension .cm1. Registering these
runtime solution filename extensions in the FileMaker Server
Properties (Windows) or Preferences (Mac OS) dialog box enables
FileMaker Server to open these files automatically when they are
placed in the same folder as the FileMaker Server application (or
subfolders one level down).
To enable FileMaker Server to open runtime solution files
automatically:
1. In the Properties (Windows) or Preferences (Mac OS X) dialog
box, click the File Types tab.
Guest platform File format
Windows
.fmx file type for plug-in files
.txt format plug-in version control files
Mac OS
fmxt file type in bin format (MacBinary) for plug-in files
.txt format plug-in version control files