Administrator’s Guide

B-2 FileMaker Server Administrator’s Guide
1 Avoid automatic file compression. If the hard disk runs out of
space while a file is being modified or if a database file reaches the
2 GB size limit, FileMaker Server will automatically begin
compressing the hosted file to reduce the amount of disk space it
uses. During the compression, all guest activity to that file is paused.
To avoid automatic compression, leave plenty of free hard disk space
on the computer running FileMaker Server and monitor database file
sizes.
1 Enable FileMaker Server to open files automatically. Put database
files you want FileMaker Server to host in the same folder as
FileMaker Server (and subfolders one level down) to take advantage
of the application’s ability to open these files automatically on
startup and when remote administration is enabled.
1 Avoid using FileMaker Server on the same computer that is
operating as a file server as performance will be significantly
decreased for both services.
1 Increase the cache size in the Properties (Windows) or Preferences
(Mac OS) dialog box. See “Changing the amount of memory used by
FileMaker Server” on page 4-4 for details.
1 Verify that no other processor-intensive programs or applications
that create a high level of network traffic are being used on the
computer running FileMaker Server. Examples of software that can
cause performance problems for FileMaker Server include screen
savers, Internet Information Server (Windows), or SQL Server
(Windows).
Windows: Consider using either the Logon screen saver or the Blank
Screen screen saver that is available with Windows.
1 Don’t use personal file sharing to share FileMaker Pro files. Guests
should access hosted FileMaker Pro files using the Hosts button in
the Open dialog box in FileMaker Pro.
Usage tips
1 FileMaker Server can host FileMaker Pro 5 files created on either
the Windows or Mac OS platform, but the files should reside in the
FileMaker Server 5 folder (and subfolders one level down). With
Windows, you can have the files in other folders if you place
shortcuts to the FileMaker Pro files (or to folders containing
FileMaker Pro files) in the FileMaker Server 5 folder. You can also
drag database files on top of the fmserver.exe (Windows) or
FileMaker Server (Mac OS) application icon to open them.
1 Windows: If you modify the .fp5 extension of a FileMaker Pro file,
FileMaker Server can't automatically open the file when started. To
open files with modified filename extensions:
1 Register the non-standard file extension using the File Type
properties (see page 4-5) and place the file in the FileMaker Server
5 folder (and subfolders one level down) so it opens when the
FileMaker Server service starts.
1 Manually drop the file with the non-standard extension on top of
the FMServer.exe file.
1 Use the command line to open the file with the non-standard
extension. For more information about command line options, see
“Using the command line to automate tasks (Windows)” on
page 6-6.
1 If you have duplicate filenames in the FileMaker Server 5 folder
and subfolders one level down, FileMaker Server opens the first
copy it finds.
1 FileMaker Server administration allows several operations to be
performed simultaneously on all of the files in a single subfolder (for
example, Pause, Resume, Close, and Open from the command line
or Back-up and Send Message from a scheduled task). To take
advantage of this feature, place related databases into the same
subfolder. When FileMaker Server is started, these files will be
hosted as a group.