Basic Filemaker 9 Help to Set Up Remote Access

With the Filemaker Pro 9 application, you can set up a database for remote access to share it with other users. After remote access has been configured on your database, other people will be able to open the file from outside computers and make changes based on their access level. In order for Filemaker remote access to work properly, the computer that you are hosting the database from must remain turned on.

Configuring Remote Access

To set up remote access with Filemaker Pro 9, first open the database you wish to share on the computer that you will use as the host. Keep in mind that for database sharing to work correctly, this host computer must remain on. With the database open, go to the "Sharing" menu and choose the "Filemaker Network" option. A window will open detailing all of the remote access options. To enable remote access for the database, select the "On" option. Then choose the "All Users" option to allow other users to be able to remotely access the file. Click "OK" to save the settings.

Setting Up Accounts

Before other Filemaker users will be able to access your shared database, you must create individual accounts for them to use. To set up new accounts, open the "File" menu at the top of the screen, expand the "Define" submenu and select "Accounts & Privileges." A list of all the accounts in the database will be displayed in a pop-up window. Click "New" to add a new account, and then select a username, password and privilege level. Click "OK" to save the new account.

Accessing a Remote Database

Once remote access has been enabled on a Filemaker Pro 9 database and accounts have been set up, outside users will be able to open and edit the database from their own Filemaker application. To access a remote database from an outside computer, the user should go to the "File" menu and select "Open Remote." Then at the bottom of the window, the remote user will need to enter the address of the computer that is hosting the shared database, followed by the exact name of the database. After clicking "Open," the user will be prompted to log in to the shared database using the username and password that was previously set up.

References

• Sharing Filemaker Databases