Hosting databases

Before you can share FileMaker Pro database files, it's important to prepare the files for hosting. The steps below provide an overview of the process.

  1. Edit the accounts and privileges sets that clients will use for shared access. See Editing accounts and privilege sets.

  2. Upload the database files to FileMaker Server. See Uploading database files using FileMaker Pro.

  3. Verify the status of your files on the Databases page, and verify that the files are available to FileMaker clients. See Verifying databases are available to FileMaker clients.

Notes 

  • FileMaker Server only: FileMaker Server 19 supports these clients: FileMaker Pro Advanced version 18 and FileMaker Pro version 19; and FileMaker Go versions 18 and 19. Note that clients running versions 17 of FileMaker Pro, FileMaker Pro Advanced, and FileMaker Go cannot use FileMaker Pro 19 features.

  • Claris Server only: Claris Server supports these clients: Claris Pro and Claris Go.

  • Use FileMaker Pro to convert files created in FileMaker Pro 11 Advanced, FileMaker Pro 11, and earlier (FP7 files) to the FileMaker Pro 12 format (FMP12 files). See Claris Pro and FileMaker Pro Help.

  • Claris Server only: Use FileMaker Pro to convert files created in FileMaker Pro 11 Advanced, FileMaker Pro 11, and earlier (FP7 files) to the FileMaker Pro 12 format (FMP12 files), and then use Claris Pro to convert the files to the Claris Pro format (CLARIS files). See Claris Pro and FileMaker Pro Help.

  • If a hosted database is designed to access data from an external SQL data source, you must set up the same ODBC data source name (DSN) on the FileMaker Server primary machine as was set up on the machine running FileMaker Pro when the database was created. See Accessing external ODBC data sources.

  • If a hosted database uses plug-in files or you want to allow the Install Plug-In File script step to update server-side plug-in files, then you need to set the Server Plug-Ins settings. See Managing plug-ins.

  • You cannot use FileMaker Pro peer-to-peer database hosting on a FileMaker Server machine.

  • As FileMaker Server opens files that were not closed properly, FileMaker Server performs a consistency check on each file and logs the result of the check in the event log. See Event log.

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