Creating Web-Enabled Filemaker
Database Forms

by Wesley Fryer
Last updated June 9, 2003 1:11 PM

These instructions have been created for use with Filemaker version 5.5.

Table of Contents:

  1. Examples
  2. Basic concepts and Terms
  3. Tools you need
  4. Step 1: Create the Database(back-end)
  5. Step 2: Create the draft web pages(front-end)
  6. Step 3: Customize web pages
  7. Step 4: Move to production server and configure

1. Examples of Filemaker Enabled Database Forms running on our network include:

  1. People Finder
  2. Directory Profile Update
  3. Distance Learning Course Database
  4. Multimedia Classroom Photos / Blueprints
  5. Undergradaute Teacher Education application
  6. Summer RA Scheduling System
  7. Student Teaching Application
  8. College Scholarship Applications (Graduate and Undergraduate)
  9. iTV Remote Delivery Request
  10. Summer 2003 Faculty Technology Survey

2. Basic concepts and Terms

  1. Filemaker Pro (www.filemaker.com) is database software similar to Access, only many people find it much easier and intuitive to use.
    1. Advantages: Filemaker is easy to use and it is fast to securely create interactive web forms. Some of the functionality available includes:
      • solicit info from students
      • allow them to view and update their info if desired
      • email notification to students after a web form is submitted
      • can email notification to someone on our staff after a form is submitted or updated
      • create customized filemaker interfaces which permit data sorting, editing, generation of semicolon delimited email address lists for copy/paste into outlook, etc (this is what I created for Irene and the undergrad application)
    2. Limitations / Disadvantages:
      • Not included with MS Office: Filemaker is a separate program for which a user license must be purchased to create web forms and databases like those described here
      • Standard version allows for only 10 web users (verfied by IP address, allowed in a set number of hours.) For serious use on the web, Filemaker Pro Unlimited should be purchased / used. It allows an unlimited number of web users.
    3. Other Differences:
      • Filemaker Server software is available to share access to multiple Filemaker databases over a local network. This allows multiple people to have the same Filemaker database open at the same time, as well as a computer running FMP Unlimited sharing the database over the web.
      • Unlike MS Access, Filemaker databases must actually be OPEN on the computer hosting them for web access to work.
      • To create or edit fields in the database, only ONE user can have the database open. This means others must temporarily close (or a Filemaker administrator can close) the database files on their computers while the fields are being edited.
      • Because the Filemaker database must be open on the computer hosting it for web access, if that access must be interrupted (so people can't submit new applications at a certain time, for example) then that database can be simply closed on the computer running FMP Unlimited. It does not need to be closed on Filemaker Server, and the webpages connected
  2. Layout = similar to a "table" in Access, this is created in the Filemaker program itself. Layouts contain different fields in the database and display data from those fields in different ways. I recommend creating one layout named "all" which contains all the fields in your database, to use with web forms.
  3. Value List: This is a list created in filemaker that can be used in a popup menu, radio button menu, etc. By using a value list instead of "hard coding" menu choices into forms, the value list can be updated in one place and all web forms as well as Filemaker layouts using that value list are simultaneously updated.

3. Tools you need

For the techniques described in this tutorial, you will need:

  1. Filemaker Pro software installed on your computer (Windows or Macintosh versions, can be demo version or licensed version)
  2. Claris Homepage Software (Windows or Macintosh versions, can be demo version, licensed version no longer available)

Optional:

  1. Filemaker Server software (hosting created databases on your local network)
  2. Filemaker Pro Unlimited (to allow more than 10 simultaneous web users to access your database)

4. Step 1: Create the Database

Create and configure the database in Filemaker Pro first.

  1. Open Filemaker Pro

  2. From the File menu, choose NEW DATABASE.

  3. Save the database you are creating on the desktop with a filename like my_database.fp5 (do not use spaces or special characters other than underscore -- make sure and use the extension fp5 or fp6.)

Define Fields

  1. Create a new field for each piece of information you want to keep track of or ask web users for.
  2. Do not use any spaces or special characters other than underscore for field names
  3. Generally, create all fields as TEXT fields unless calculations will be made with the field (then define NUMERIC fields)
  4. Optional: Create a "date_created" and "time_created" fields, use DATE and TIME formats for these. Set options to auto-enter date and time created (these will not be user-editable)

Define Value Lists

  1. From the FILE menu choose DEFINE VALUE LISTS
  2. Create value lists (following same naming conventions as fields) for every list you will want to use as a pop-up menu or radio button selection list
  3. Note the name of your value lists on a sheet of paper
  4. Note that contents of fields can be specified to auto-populate a value list!

Change layout name to "all"

  1. Press Control/Command - L to switch to Layout mode
  2. From the LAYOUTS menu choose LAYOUT SETUP
  3. Change the name of the created layout (which should have all the fields in the database already on it) from "Layout #1" to "all" (without the quotation marks)
  4. Click OK
  5. Press Control/Command - B to switch back to Browse mode

Set SHARING attributes

  1. From the FILE menu choose SHARING
  2. Configure sharing attributes as shown below (set multi-user only if this file will be opened with Filemaker Server for simultaneous access by multiple people.)

 

Set ACCESS PRIVILEDGES

Setting access priviledges prevents unauthorized users on your local network (or who know / guess the IP address of the computer running Filemaker Server) from opening your databases.

  1. From the FILE menu choose ACCESS PRIVILEDGES - PASSWORDS
  2. Type the master password for this database and click CREATE:
  3. Click DONE.
  4. You will have to enter the password you just created to exit.

Open and Configure Web Security database (local version)

  1. Open the existing database Web Security.fp5 located in the Filemaker Pro program folder, Web Security folder, Databases folder
  2. Open Filemaker Application preferences (EDIT - Preferences - Application or Filemaker Pro - Preferences - Application)
  3. Under general preferences, make sure TCP/IP is set as the protocol and a custom name is selected if the "system name" is not descriptive of the computer you are using. (This is used to identify your computer to other filemaker users):
  4. Click the Plug-Ins tab and make sure the Web Companion Plug-In is enabled:
  5. Click once on the Web Companion plug-in name and click CONFIGURE:
  6. Make sure the following are set as shown above: Instant Web Publishing is DISABLED, Security is set to WEB SECURITY DATABASE, TCP/IP Port is set to either 591 or 8080. Remote Admin and Logging settings are optional. Note the IP Guest Limit (depends on the version of FMP being used.)
  7. With the Web Security.fp5 database selected, create a new record (RECORDS - NEW RECORD)
  8. Type the name of the database you created and are working on next to DATABASE NAME (include the .fp5 extension)
  9. Type the password you set for the database.
  10. Under USER NAME type "All Users" and click the checkboxes to assign Browser, Create, and Edit permissions:

 

Your Filemaker software, created database, and Web Security database should now be configured for web form creation using Claris Homepage.

 

5. Step 2: Create the draft web pages

Use the Filemaker Connection Assistant built in to Claris Homepage to create "draft" webpages. These will include pages to create new records, search the database, and edit records (if desired.) The file structure of the site created with this method can look like the following:

Here are the steps:

Open Claris Homepage 3.0

Close the blank empty webpage created by default at startup

From the FILE menu, choose NEW. Click the radio button to USE ASSISTANT, then choose FILEMAKER CONNECTION ASSISTANT:

Click NEXT twice

Enter the IP address of your computer, followed by a colon and the port number you specified for Filemaker Application Preferences. Click CONNECT TO SERVER, the database you created should appear in the left menu:

Click on the database to select it, then click NEXT.

Under Layout Selection, from the popup menu choose your layout named "all" and click NEXT:

Under FEATURE selection, choose all that are desired and click NEXT:

Select Search fields as desired. Note that value lists can be assigned to fields, make these selections on the left side of the dialog window. Click NEXT when finished:

On SEARCH PAGE LOGICAL OPERATOR change values if desired, then click NEXT.

On the SEARCH RESULTS page, select desired fields. The first selected field will be LINKED to the details page (if selected previously under features.) Click NEXT when done:

Set SORT RESULTS as desired, click NEXT.

Set SORT ORDER as desired, click NEXT.

Set desired fields for DETAILS page. These will be editable if that feature was selected previously. Value lists can also be used. Click NEXT when done:

Select desired fields for NEW RECORD page. Again, use Value Lists as desired. Click NEXT when done:

Click NEXT on the ADDITIONAL PAGES explanation page.

Select a page Style as desired. Click custom (optional) to change settings. SOFT LINES works well. Click NEXT when finished:

Click NEXT on FINAL HINTS

On LOCATION click NEW FOLDER, enter a name (no spaces or special characters) and save to the desktop. Then click CREATE to make all the webpages:

Close the READ ME file which opens by default.

Click the CONSOLIDATE button at the top of the window. Then choose ENTIRE SITE. This will move all graphics used in your selected style to your created desktop folder (so image links won't be broken when you move the files to another server.)

Your draft website is now complete! Now move it to the Filemaker Program folder, into the WEB folder.

To preview it, open your web browser and in the address bar enter:

 

6. Step 3: Customize web pages

Use Claris Homepage or another webpage authoring tool (like Dreamweaver) to customize the web enabled pages you just created.

Make sure field names included on pages are included on the layout "all" used by the pages, otherwise an error will result.

7. Step 4: Move to production server and configure

If desired:

  1. Close and move the actual Filemaker database to the computer on your network running Filemaker Server.

  2. Open the Filemaker database on the computer on your network running Filemaker Pro Unlimited.

  3. Add a record to the Web Security database (on Unlimited server) for the new database you have just opened

These configuration instructions are very basic, more complicated security setups (allowing for record level security, for example) are possible.

The Filemaker Web Server Connector (which comes with FMP Unlimited) should be used if SSL encryption will be used on webpages.

An alternate engine for sharing Filemaker as well as other ODBC data sources (including SQL) is Lasso by Blue World (www.blueworld.com). Syntax for Lasso is different. LassoStudio (www.lassostudio.com) is available for Dreamweaver and GoLive which offers similar functionality to the Claris Homepage Filemaker Connection Assistant.

 

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