Upgrading FileMaker Server on an existing single machine and secondary machine (Windows and macOS)

You can upgrade previously installed versions of FileMaker Server. See the FileMaker Server Release Notes for the versions you can upgrade from. In addition, settings are migrated from an existing FileMaker Server installation automatically. See Installing FileMaker Server.

  1. Follow your electronic download instructions to download the installation disk image and license certificate file. Place the license certificate in one of the following locations:

    • the default Downloads folder

      Windows: [drive]:\Users\[user]\Downloads

      macOS: /Users/[user]/Downloads

    • the installer folder (the folder where the installer is located)

    • the License file folder

      Windows: [drive]:\Program Files\FileMaker\FileMaker Server\CStore\LicenseFile, where [drive] is the drive on which FileMaker Server is being installed

      macOS: /Library/FileMaker Server/CStore/LicenseFile on the machine where FileMaker Server is being installed

  2. Start the installation.

    • Windows: Double-click Setup.exe. If a User Account Control alert appears, click Yes.

    • macOS: Double-click the installation icon. If a security message appears, click Continue.

  3. Windows: Choose a language, click OK.

  4. Windows: If your existing FileMaker Server still running, you are prompted to allow the FileMaker Server installer to stop it.

  5. To continue with installation, click Next (Windows) or Continue (macOS).

  6. Read the important information displayed. If there is a task you did not do, quit the installer and do the task.

  7. Review and accept the end user license agreement.

  8. Choose an option for the FileMaker Server user account (the account under which the previous version of FileMaker Server was running).

    • To use the default account, choose Local System (Windows) or fmserver (macOS).

    • To use an existing account on this machine, choose User Name, enter the account's user name and password. You may want to choose this option if you already have an account that has privileges set as you want—for example, to access network-attached storage.

      If the existing user account you specified does not have sufficient privileges for FileMaker Server to run, the installer displays an error message. See Installation notes.

  9. Click Install.

    macOS only:

    • Enter your macOS user name and password, then click Install Software.

    • If Bonjour is not running, you are prompted to run it. See Installation notes.

    FileMaker Server begins to install. This process may take several minutes.

  10. After the software has been successfully installed, you are prompted to allow the FileMaker Server installer to reboot your system.