Custom Web Publishing Guide

16 FileMaker Server Advanced Custom Web Publishing Guide
Migrating web publishing solutions from previous versions of FileMaker Pro
Before updating existing databases to FileMaker Pro 8, it is important to review the Converting FileMaker
Databases from Previous Versions
guide, available at www.filemaker.com/downloads.
When migrating the web publishing solution, start by backing up your files and setting up a separate test
environment to do the conversion. After developing the XML or XSLT solution, test its functionality and
security (accounts and privileges) before placing the site into production.
Here are some other considerations when migrating solutions you want to publish using XML or XSLT,
especially for solutions created prior to version 7:
1 The access privileges model was improved in FileMaker Pro 7. Consider re-assigning user names and
passwords to take advantage of accounts and privileges. See FileMaker Pro Help.
1 Plug-ins designed for use with FileMaker Pro are not automatically enabled for FileMaker Server. See
the FileMaker Server Advanced Web Publishing Installation Guide.
1 The Web Security Databases are no longer supported. If you relied on them for web-based security, you
must transfer the accounts, passwords, and associated privileges into your converted database files in
FileMaker Pro. See
Converting FileMaker Databases from Previous Versions.
1 If you are migrating a CDML solution, see appendix C, “Converting CDML solutions to FileMaker
XSLT.”
1 If your database has a container field that stores a file reference instead of an actual object, then the
referenced container object must be stored in the FileMaker Pro Web folder when the record is created or
edited, and then copied or moved to a folder with the same relative location in the root folder of the web
server software. See
“About publishing the contents of container fields on the web” on page 21.
1 The URL syntax for web-published files changed in FileMaker Pro Server 7 Advanced. If you created
any links to access a database on the web with versions prior to FileMaker Pro Server 7 Advanced, you
must update the links using the new syntax and database location after converting the file and hosting it
on FileMaker Server. See
“About the URL syntax for XML data and container objects” on page 25, and
“About the URL syntax for FileMaker XSLT stylesheets” on page 52.
1 Script support for the web was enhanced in FileMaker Pro 7.
1 Access privileges for web users can be set to allow execution of specific, individual scripts and
prevent execution of others.
1 ScriptMaker’s Edit Script dialog box includes the option Indicate web compatibility to show whether a
script step is “web-compatible”; special scripts can be created for web users. After converting your
files, open each script that web users might run and enable
Indicate web compatibility to see if your
scripts contain steps that might produce unexpected results when executed from a web browser.
1 On the web, scripts are always executed with Error Capture on.
Go to Field You cannot use Go to Field to make a particular field active in the web browser, but you can
use this script step in conjunction with other script steps to perform tasks. For example, you
can go to a field, copy the contents, go to another field and paste the value. To see the effect
in the browser, be sure to save the record with the Commit Record script step.
Commit
Record/Request
Submits the record to the database.
Script step Behavior in Custom Web Publishing solutions