Preparing files for a runtime solution (FileMaker Pro Advanced)

•Let users open auxiliary files: In the runtime application, there are no menu options to open files. If you want users to open auxiliary files, you must provide a button or script in your solution to perform this operation. In each auxiliary file you can also place a button or startup script that returns users to the primary file.

•Let users modify the database: Unless your runtime database solution files are password-protected, users can open and modify the files in FileMaker Pro or FileMaker Pro Advanced. You can also make your files permanently unmodifiable. See Removing Admin access to databases (FileMaker Pro Advanced).

•Create a cross-platform runtime database solution: If your solution will be used in Windows, bind it using the Developer Utilities for Windows. If your solution will be used in OS X, bind it using the Developer Utilities for OS X. See Binding files into a runtime solution (FileMaker Pro Advanced).

If you’re creating a solution to be used on both Windows and OS X, create two separate runtime solutions by binding the original solution files twice: once using FileMaker Developer Utilities for Windows, and again using FileMaker Developer Utilities for Mac. Use the same binding key on both platforms.

•Provide updates for your users: You can make it easier for users to update your runtime database solution files by providing scripts in your primary file to export their data and import it into the updated solution. See Importing data into upgraded runtime solutions (FileMaker Pro Advanced).

•Let users print reports or other information from your runtime database solution: It’s a good idea to set document margins if your runtime database solution will be printed from a variety of printers. See Specifying page margins.

•Let users perform spell checking on records: You can change the main spelling dictionary language for your database solution by choosing one from the dictionaries supplied with FileMaker Pro Advanced. Your users can add or modify a user-defined dictionary to the runtime application. See Checking spelling.

In addition, if you have been preparing multiple files in separate folders, you need to verify FileMaker data source references. A data source stores the file path or paths that the runtime application searches to access an external table, script, or value list.

During the development of a database with multiple files, you may want to have some of the files in separate folders. During the creation of a runtime database solution, however, all files are moved into the same folder as the runtime application.

For this reason, include a path that is just the filename of the file being referenced. Although the runtime application will check other data sources, it will then be able to find the file in the same folder in which it resides. You can still keep any absolute or relative paths in the same data source in case the files are also used in FileMaker Pro or FileMaker Pro Advanced.

The Manage External Data Sources dialog box lists the data sources in the current database. Be sure that for each FileMaker data source, there is a reference in the File Path that is to the filename only, without any folders. The data source will look like this: file:MyFile.fmp12. See Connecting to data sources for more information.

Tip You may want to put multiple tables in one file to avoid problems with FileMaker data source references.