Use FileMaker Pro Advanced to transfer database files to FileMaker Server. If a database uses container fields that store data externally, FileMaker Pro Advanced also uploads the externally stored data.
Note Before you can upload files, you must have the account name and password for the server administrator. See FileMaker Server Help or your server administrator for more information.
For instructions on uploading files to FileMaker Cloud, see FileMaker Cloud Help.
1. Choose File menu > Sharing > Upload to FileMaker Server.
2. For Hosts, choose the type of host you want displayed in the list.
Choose | To display |
Favorites | Hosts you previously added as favorites |
Local | FileMaker Server hosts located on your TCP/IP subnet |
3. In the list, choose the host you want to upload files to.
Or, for Host Address, type the host’s domain name (as host.domain.com) or IP address.
4. Enter your FileMaker Server Admin Console account information, then click Next.
To add your account information to your vault (Windows) or keychain (macOS), select Save password in Credential Manager (Windows) or Save password in Keychain Access (macOS).
5. The server address and destination folder appear at the top of the dialog box. To change the destination folder or create a new folder, click Change.
6. Select the files you want to upload.
To | Do this |
Add files to the upload list | Click Browse, select all the files that you want to add to the list, then click Open. |
Exclude files from the upload list | Clear the checkbox next to any file that you don’t want to upload. |
You may be asked for the encryption passwords for the files you’re uploading. See notes below.
7. For each file, look in the Status column. If FileMaker Pro Advanced detects a problem with a file, it updates the status for that file and clears the checkbox. Confirm that all the files you want to upload are selected.
8. If you want the files to be available on the server for clients to use immediately, select Automatically open databases (on server) after upload.
9. Click Upload.
When the upload is completed, FileMaker Pro Advanced updates the status for each file to indicate whether the upload was successful.
10. To open an uploaded file in FileMaker Pro Advanced, select Open with FileMaker Pro Advanced for the file. Then click Done.
FileMaker Pro Advanced opens each selected file. The filename and the server name appear in the window’s title bar.
•When you upload a file, the connection to the host is encrypted using SSL. If security is important in your environment, your server administrator needs to install a custom SSL certificate.
In the Upload to FileMaker Server dialog box, you may see a lock icon that indicates the security level of the connection. See About the security lock icons.
•If the server requires password-protected files, you cannot upload a file that has:
•a Guest account that’s assigned the Full Access privilege set
•an account using the Full Access privilege set that has an empty password
•an account using the Full Access privilege set that has its password stored in the database using the File Options dialog box Log in using option (see Setting file options)
See Creating and editing accounts.
•Before uploading files to the secure database folder, you must:
•encrypt the files (see Encrypting database files)
•disable the Guest account in each file
•ensure that no FileMaker accounts have empty passwords
•ensure that no account and password are stored in the database using the File Options dialog box Log in using option
•When you upload encrypted files to the secure database folder, FileMaker Pro Advanced asks you for the encryption password so that FileMaker Server can open the files on the server after they are uploaded. If you upload encrypted files to a folder other than the secure database folder, they must be opened on the server by the server administrator.
•FileMaker Pro Advanced does not check encrypted database files for consistency before uploading them.
•You can’t upload a file that already exists in any FileMaker Server folder; filenames must be unique for the entire server regardless of the folder or subfolder.
•If you select Automatically open databases (on server) after upload, FileMaker Server checks whether the file has some form of sharing enabled when it opens the file. If no sharing is enabled, FileMaker Server enables sharing via FileMaker Network (extended privilege fmapp) for the Full Access privilege set. However, if you enable any sharing—for example, if you enable only the fmwebdirect extended privilege for sharing via FileMaker WebDirect—but do not enable fmapp, you will not be able to open the file with FileMaker Pro Advanced.
•If you cancel a multifile upload in progress, files that are completely uploaded remain on the server, partially uploaded files are removed from the server, and FileMaker Pro Advanced does not upload any remaining files. The Status column in the Upload to FileMaker Server dialog box indicates which files were uploaded successfully.
•After the upload is completed, FileMaker Pro Advanced sets a flag in the local version of the file that indicates the file has been uploaded. When you try to open the local version of the file, FileMaker Pro Advanced prompts you to choose whether to open the local version or the hosted version of the file on FileMaker Server.
•FileMaker Server may not be able to open uploaded files automatically if:
•the limit on the number of hosted files has been reached
•the filename extension is not .fmp12 or is not registered on the server