Chapter 20
Publishing Your FileMaker Pro Database on the Web

In This Chapter

• Thinking about why you want to publish on the Web
• Configuring the Web Companion dialog box
• Preparing your Web page's views for visitors

Depending on your perspective, the World Wide Web has changed a lot of the ways in which we live and work on the planet. So the fact that FileMaker Pro has changed with the times is only fitting, I guess; this program always keeps up with the latest. That's exactly what's happened from FileMaker Pro 3 (relational capability) to FileMaker 4 (Web publishing enhancements). Marketing folks like to call this kind of thing a paradigm shift, meaning that the purpose and power of the software has moved in a new direction.

Don't get too concerned about such a highfalutin term as paradigm shift, though. FileMaker 4 contains all the power and functionality of FileMaker Pro 3, plus this new, added capability. Incredibly, you really can publish your database on the Web by using the Web Companion that comes with the program, if you have TCP/IP Internet access.

I'm devoting this chapter and the next to explaining how you can take advantage of this new capability in FileMaker Pro 4. Amazingly enough, you don't need any extra software: It's all right there for you to set up and work with in FileMaker Pro 4.

Maybe publishing your database on the Web is not for everybody, and that's why I've put this chapter in the "Advanced Stuff, OK?" part of the book. Maybe, on the other hand, you'll get inspired after reading this chapter and see how much fun Web publishing can be and want to give it a try. In any case, I walk you through the launch procedures.

In Chapter 21, I explain the intricacies of Web publishing and what you can work with in Table and Form views. That chapter also gets into searching and sorting of data, along with suggestions for custom Web publishing and modifying your home page. The entire Web publishing field just doesn't fit into one chapter.

Defining Your Project on the Web

For starters, you need to ask yourself the most fundamental question of all: Why? Why do you want to publish your database on the Web? What purpose does it serve? Network traffic is already pretty clogged up with tons of graphics, animated GIFs, sounds, and movies, making download times unbearably long and tedious. Most folks are probably suffering from some virulent form of information overload anyway.

Well, I think a good, solid, accessible database makes much more sense being on the Web than a bunch of screaming Java applets or monster GIF files, which take forever to download. You know that the people who access your FileMaker Pro database on the Web are seeking quality content -- that is, data they can use for home, business, or education.

With FileMaker Pro 4, anyone with a Web browser (that is, Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer) and Internet or corporate intranet access can view, edit, sort, and search your valuable data. In addition, you can specify the level of access you want to allow to those folks who come to your FileMaker Pro database and search through its contents. Pretty cool, huh?

I mention all this stuff in advance of explaining how FileMaker Pro's Web Companion works because you should try to think now, if possible, about whom you want to access your database and what you want them to take away from it.

At any rate, I've come up with a set of possible uses for a database published on the Web. Some of these uses may surprise you, but they should start you thinking of things you can do.

• Commercial catalog publishing. The opportunities are obviously there to publish catalogs of various products on a Web site from which users can make credit card or other purchases.
• Personal databases you may want to access while you're on the road. Imagine accessing your own database on the Internet when you need to grab certain information but are in another city.
• Company information, such as employee records and files. Much of this information may be sensitive, but you have the advantage of limiting access to such databases on the Web by using passwords and other security protection.
• Educational databases. Information that you want to share with other students and teachers can be stored on the Web.
• Collections of items, such as books, records, or memorabilia. You may want to publish a database of items for sale from your home.

Well, those are just a few of the possibilities. I'm sure that if you put your mind to it, you can think of a dozen other uses for publishing on the Web. Let me know what they are.

Choosing among Various Ways to Publish

Once you've decided that you want to publish your FileMaker Pro database on the Web, you have three possible ways to tackle it: using Instant Web Publishing, using Custom Web Publishing, or modifying your home page.

The Instant Web Publishing route

Instant Web Publishing is the fastest and easiest method of publishing because you don't need to modify your existing FileMaker Pro database, use any software other than that bundled with your copy of FileMaker Pro 4, or even go through the motions of custom-designing special Web pages for your database. Using FileMaker Pro's Web Companion for Instant Web Publishing, you can specify all kinds of access and user privileges for visitors to your Web site, including privileges for viewing, editing, searching, and sorting your records. Visitors to your Web site and database see your database converted into a very cool-looking Web page. (Figure 20-1 shows my Contacts file as a Web page.)

Visitors have a choice of viewing your database in either Table or Form view. By clicking the Table View tab, they can see multiple records or a range of records at a single glance.

By clicking the Form View tab, they can see one record at a time, as Figure 20-2 shows.

By clicking the Search tab, the visitors to your database on the Web can search for a particular record or a group of records, as Figure 20-3 shows. Visitors can specify the exact criteria by which they want to search on the Web page, and FileMaker Pro's search engine searches through all the records in your database and returns the results with the appropriate matches. Visitors can then see the results in Table view.

The Custom Web Publishing route

Custom Web Publishing is a more difficult method of publishing your database on the Web than the Instant Web Publishing route because you have to work with Claris Dynamic Markup Language (CDML) as well as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) for best results. Custom Web Publishing with CDML tags allows you to customize your database's Web design to fit the needs of your visitors.

I recommend the Custom Web Publishing method only if you're a Webmaster, software developer, or heavy power-user with lots of HTML experience. While the custom method gives you more control over the look and feel of your database on the Web, you must delve fairly deeply into Web-page-programming stuff to bring it off. If this sounds like more of a challenge than you care to negotiate, stick with the Instant Web Publishing route as long as it serves your purpose.

Modifying your Web home page

If you've got some HTML programming or editing skills and you're using an HTML authoring tool, such as Claris Home Page or Microsoft FrontPage, you can use the HTML authoring software to integrate your FileMaker Pro database into a Web page. Web authoring software gives you more control over the look and feel of your pages, while insulating you from programming the HTML tags.

On a custom Web page that you author, you can add lots of neat things, such as

• Your company or business logo, as well as animated GIFs and other graphics
• Your e-mail address so that visitors to your Web site can get in touch with you
• Links to the databases you're publishing

Claris is coming out with a new version of Claris Home Page 3.0, which is designed to let you easily integrate your FileMaker Pro database with the pages on your Web site. This could be the answer to the prayers of users who want more control over their Web-database interface, but don't necessarily want to program in HTML or Claris Dynamic Markup Language. Stay tuned to the Claris Web site at www.claris.com for news of Home Page 3.0's arrival on the scene.

Preparing to Publish on the Web: A Brief Checklist

Before you can get rolling on publishing your database on the Web, you need to be sure that you've got the following things in order:

• Your FileMaker Pro 4 Web Companion software is installed properly on your Windows 95-compatible, Windows NT-compatible, or Mac OS-compatible computer. The Web Support files are installed automatically after you do a typical rather than a custom install on your machine.
• You've got access to the Internet or a company intranet.
• Your computer has at least a full-time dial-up connection to the Internet, but an ISDN, T1, or T2 Internet connection is preferable. Remember that your FileMaker Pro database is available to visitors on your Web site only when your computer is connected to the Internet or your company intranet.
• You've checked with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or System Administrator to be sure that your system can handle Internet access to your database.
• You've prepared the files in your database properly, including layouts and fields that you want visitors to view, as well as specified passwords for access privileges. I explain a little later in this chapter what you need to do to prepare your files. Suffice to say that preparing your files should be an item on your checklist.

• Your IP (Internet Protocol) address number, which should take the form of xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (four numbers from 0 to 254). I suggest getting this number now and writing it down because you need it to launch FileMaker Pro's Web Companion and view your database locally on your computer before you let the world see your files. That way, you can make any changes and modifications to views, edits, searches, and sorts on your database.

Setting Up Your Web Companion for Action

Technically, you need to prepare your files before you can publish them on the Web. But that may be a little tricky to do at first without really setting up and configuring your Web Companion. That's the next step for both Mac and Windows users.

To set up your Web Companion:

1. Choose Edit-->Preferences-->Application.
2. Click the Plug-Ins tab.
3. Click to select the Web Companion check box, as shown highlighted in Figure 20-4.
4. Click Done.

In Chapter 3, I talk about setting various preferences in FileMaker Pro. You may want to check out that chapter and be sure that you've set the other preferences you need as well.

Keep in mind that you need to set up the Web preference in the Plug-Ins tab one time only to enable the Web Companion plug-in to work for you.

Setting up your database for sharing

For each database that you want to publish on the Web, you need to set up that database individually for sharing. To prepare your database to be shared on the Web, follow these steps:

1. Open the FileMaker Pro database that you want to publish.
2. Choose File-->Sharing.
3. Click to select Web Companion in the check box from the Companion Sharing area of the dialog box, as Figure 20-5 shows.
4. Click OK.

The tricky thing here is to keep in mind that the settings you've specified are applicable only to the database that you have open right now. If you want to host other databases on the Web, you have to open them and perform the same sequence of steps for sharing.

Configuring your Web Companion

To finish with the setup and configuration of Web Companion, you only have a few more steps to take.

The Web Companion Configuration dialog box is the coolest dialog box in FileMaker Pro 4. I mean, once you've gone through this dialog box and checked out the items, you won't believe how easily you can publish your database on the Web. FileMaker Pro 4 practically does all the work for you. The default values in the Web Companion dialog box are perfect for most cases, so you usually don't have to modify the settings.

To change or verify the Web Companion configuration settings:

1. Choose Edit-->Preferences-->Web Companion.
2. Click Configure, and you see the dialog box shown in Figure 20-6.

You see quite a few option lists, check boxes, text boxes, and option buttons in this dialog box in technical-sounding panels like Web Companion User Interface, Remote Administration, and Alter Spy Satellite Trajectory. If this puts you off, remember that the default settings are usually good enough. But in case you need to adjust one or more of these settings, I describe them in the following sections.

The Web Companion User Interface panel

The User Interface panel of the Web Companion dialog box allows you to set up the most fundamental items about your database's Web page: whether you want to use Instant Web Publishing, what you want to use for a home page for your database, and what language your home page uses.

• Enable Instant Web Publishing check box: Check this box if you're sure that you want to publish your database by using the Instant Web Companion. If you want to go the route of custom Web publishing, don't check the box.
• Home Page list box: Pull this list down and click to designate a home page for your database. The default setting is the FileMaker Pro Web Companion's built-in home page for sharing your database on the Web (refer to Figure 20-7).

  I suggest taking a look at the built-in page, which may be adequate for your needs, before venturing out and creating your own home page. If you do want to create your own home page, you need to move it to the Web folder in the FileMaker Pro 4 folder. After you've created the page and moved it to the folder, you need to choose that home page from the Home Page drop-down list.

• Language list box: Just select the language you want your Web page to use.

The Log Activity panel

Log Activity is another panel in the dialog box which helps you keep track of how much activity your Web-published database is generating, such as the number of requests from visitors. Your options in this panel are None, Brief, and Extended. Depending on the radio button you check, FileMaker creates no activity log, an abbreviated activity log, or a detailed activity log. The log file is a text file named Web.log, which you can find in the same folder as the FileMaker Pro 4 software application.

The Remote Administration panel

Remote administration controls the uploading and downloading of database files to and from your Web folder by enforcing password access and protection. You have three options here: Disabled, Requires Password, and Requires No Password. In the Requires Password text box, you can set up the password that the Web user has to enter.

Claris recommends that you use only uppercase characters A through Z, numbers, or a combination of both when setting up your password.

The Security panel

The Security panel allows you to set up access privileges for your database. You have two options here in the Security panel of the dialog box: FileMaker Pro Access Privileges or Web Security Database. The Web Security Database gives you much more control over Web users' privileges to search, update, add, and delete the records you publish over the Web. I explain more about Web security databases in Chapter 21. For the moment, just leave the default FileMaker Pro Access Privileges option button selected.

Specifying the port number (Or any port in a storm)

Depending on whether it's a Web or an FTP server, each server has a port number assigned to it. The port number specifies the way in which your Mac or Windows PC works as a Web server. Port number 80 is the Web server's port number, so that's the default. If port number 80 is already in use, you need to change it. Claris recommends changing it to port number 591, which has been registered with Internet Assigned Numbers Authority.

FileMaker Pro 4 is pretty smart about all this port stuff, thankfully. If it recognizes that port 80 is in use, it defaults to port number 591.

Now there's a catch here: If you specify port number 591, you need to make sure that visitors to your Web site who want to access your database append a colon followed by 591 to your IP address, so it looks like this: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:591.

Once you get the Web Companion Configuration dialog box settings right where you want them, all you have to do is click the OK button to accept your changes.

Working through the Views for Instant Web Publishing

The Instant Web Publishing tool eases you through the process of setting up views of your database for Web visitors. If you have already set up the Web Companion Configuration dialog box, you're ready to tackle the steps involved in establishing exactly how you want your files to be viewed in a Web browser. The Instant Web Publishing tool enables you to present the visitors to your Web site with the following views and capabilities when they arrive at the doorstep of your FileMaker Pro database:

• A very nifty Table view of your data, which lets Web visitors see and work with multiple records or a range of records
• An equally nifty Form view of your data, if they want to see or work with just one record at a time
• A Web page that lets visitors search the data in your published database, specifying search criteria
• A Web page that lets visitors sort the data in your published database

To set up all these possible options for visitors to your Web-published database, follow these steps:

1. Choose Edit-->Preferences-->Web Companion.
2. Click one of the four tabs for the Web page you want to set up.

   Figure 20-7 shows you the Web Companion View Setup dialog box with the Table View tab selected.

3. In the Layout drop-down list, select the layout containing the fields that you want to display in various views. You can see the list of those fields below the drop-down list.
4. Click Done.

This part is a bit difficult to get used to (at least it was for me) because you can't duplicate the exact graphical layout of your database on the Web. What you're doing is just specifying the fields that you want FileMaker Pro's Web Companion to display on the Web. The best thing to do is probably to go with the trial-and-error approach. Select the fields that you want to display, work through the Table and Form views, publish the database, and see what you think is okay in your Web browser. Chapter 21 explains more of this in detail.

When you click the Form View tab, you can see a dialog box similar to the one in Figure 20-8, which lets you specify the layouts from a names-and-addresses database.

Clicking the Search tab reveals a dialog box similar to the one in Figure 20-9, which lets you specify how a visitor to your Web site can search through a typical names-and-addresses database.

Clicking the Sort tab shows you another dialog box, similar to the one in Figure 20-10, which lets you specify the order in which data is sorted from a names-and-addresses database.

After you've taken the time to prepare your files and check through the various options available, you're ready to see the results of your labors.

It Doesn't Get Any Better than This!

There, I said it in the heading: Working with databases on the Web doesn't get any better than the point at which you're ready to go to the Web like any visitor and see your database in all its online glory. All you have to do is open your Web browser, enter that IP address number in the location field -- in this case, 10.0.3.0 -- and press the Return key. Magic! You're in business. You see a Web page like the one that Figure 20-11 shows, in which I let visitors select views from two databases (Contacts and Names and Addresses) that I've set up and configured with FileMaker Pro Web Companion. The links to the those databases are already in place. Just go for it!