If you need to set up a full-service Intranet with a powerful database server, but you don't have a lot of time or resources, you may want to look at FileMaker Pro Unlimited 5. With its built in Web server and data manager, you can essentially turn any PC on your newsroom or company network into a file server. This may sound like a product pitch (trust me, I get nothing from the FileMaker Pro people), but you can have a searchable database up and running in a matter of minutes without any programming. You just import a DBF or XLS file, turn on the Web-sharing feature and away you go.
FMU's server software allows any machine on the Intranet to access the databases you want your users to see and search. We even have a source page that reporters can add or change records to on the fly.
Larger databases will take longer to set up since you will need to index all the key search fields, a slow process.
FMU's server software allows any machine on the Intranet to access the databases you want your users to see and search. We even have a source page that reporters can add or change records to on the fly.
You can use FMU's default search page, which allows you to search any field in the database, or design your own with FileMaker Home Page 3.0, a separate product. If you shop around, you will likely find you can buy both products for less than $1,000.
We have more than a dozen databases running on a Pentium Pro 200 dual chip server with 256 megs of RAM. The databases range from 500 records to more than 600,000. Once indexed, searches are lightning fast for both the large and small data sets.
How it works
Our system runs this way: the newsroom's Intranet page was designed using FrontPage 2000 with links to our databases. Each database search page was designed with FileMaker Home Page since FrontPage can't read the proprietary HTML that FMU uses.
Since we are part of a larger Intranet network, the home page resides on a different server, but FMU and the search pages have their own machine. I estimate the FMU server gets up to two-dozen hits at a time with more than 100 PCs attached to it. I have not noticed any degradation during searches, even at peak hours.
One downside to FMU is a lack of clear documentation. We found integrating the Home Page files into the overall Intranet frustrating until Robert Weston from AP's The Wire Web site, who has used FMP for a number of months, cleared up the confusion. If you run into this problem, the best suggestion is to use the "Consolidate" option in Home Page and copy the search folder to one level above where your databases reside in FMU.
It is also best to use flat files for speed. Joining files may save space, but the learning curve on that is steeper.
More information
More information about FMU and Home Page can be found at www.filemaker.com. You can also download demos of both products at www.filemaker.com/downloads/index.html. Be careful not to confuse the Unlimited version with the standard FileMaker Pro. Only the Unlimited can publish databases to the Internet or Intranet.
If you set the software up properly but other machines cannot see it, you may want to consult with your IS folks. They may have to tinker with the firewall or change your TCP/IP settings.
Web links
Paul D'Ambrosio can be reached by e-mail at pmd@app.com.