Chapter 1: Introduction

About WEB·FM 4.0

WEB·FM 4.0 is a web server plug-in that enables FileMaker Pro developers to quickly and easily build wicked fast, truly dynamic and interactive online database applications for the World Wide Web or corporate Intranet. It is written as a companion to FileMaker Pro to create a web browser interface to FileMaker Pro databases.

WEB·FM does NOT rely on the built-in web services in FileMaker Pro 4.0 for publishing database information on the web. Instead, it runs as a subroutine built into Macintosh web servers providing a fast and efficient mechanism for publishing FileMaker Pro databases on the web. Just as the Web Companion is a plug-in to FileMaker Pro 4.0, WEB·FM is a plug-in to Macintosh web servers like WebSTAR, Quid Pro Quo, WebTEN, and AppleShare IP, enabling them to communicate with FileMaker Pro as a backend database application with advanced features.

WEB·FM's extensive feature list mirrors that of the FileMaker Pro application. It fully supports relational and portal fields; browsing, sorting, creating and editing database records; even running ScriptMaker™ scripts.

WEB·FM is optimized for top performance. It is fully compatible with FileMaker Pro 3.0 or 4.0, and runs native on the PowerPC™ or 68K Mac OS™ platforms. With database performance measured in ticks, not seconds, WEB·FM is capable of handling the higher traffic web sites requiring tens of thousands of database transactions per day. Of course, the faster the server, the faster the performance.

What can you use WEB·FM for? Here are just a few examples. Example Intranet Solutions

Example Internet Solutions

Customer Support and Registration

Please take a moment to go online, open your favorite web browser, and complete our online product registration at:

http://webfm.com/registration.html

Registration of your new software is required in order to receive technical support and announcements of software updates. Free technical phone support is available to registered users for installation and configuration support questions only. Additional technical support is available via email or through our web site.

  1. Installation and configuration support questions may be sent via email to support@webfm.com.
  2. "How-to" questions on implementation of specific features or solutions may be sent via email to the WEB-FM-TALK discussion list. To subscribe to this mailing list with hundreds of other WEB·FM users, please send an email message directly to requests@webfm.com. In the message body enter:
subscribe WEB-FM-TALK or subscribe digest WEB-FM-TALK

While FileMaker Pro makes it very easy for absolute database beginners to create useful databases, the more you get to know FileMaker Pro, the more you can get out of it. Since the interaction with FileMaker Pro is happening via the web, HTML is the language used to format database information. Therefore, the more you learn about HTML, the more you'll be able to do. Please review the official HTML 4.0 specification from the World Wide Web Consortium at:

http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/

WEB·FM 4.0 includes several example database solutions for you to study and learn from. In particular, the EdExpert solution includes clear annotated examples for finding records, creating new records, editing existing records, sending email, and invoking ScriptMaker scripts.

System Requirements

If you are not using at least FileMaker Pro 3.0v4, please download the most recent Updater from the FileMaker Inc. web site at http://www.filemaker.com/. Version 3.0v4 fixes several bugs which affect web serving and earlier versions are not fully compatible.

What's New?

WEB·FM 4.0 introduces support for easy-to-use Template files. Template files are Internet standard HTML documents void of confusing, incompatible, and proprietary markup [/tags]. For this reason a webmaster need not learn yet another markup language, and Template documents are fully compatible with all existing web page editors and client browsers.

A new highly intelligent parsing algorithm in WEB·FM automatically selects appropriate pop-up/pull-down menu items and automatically checks appropriate radio button or checkbox fields in a Template document using database record information. A context-sensitive [field name] token may be used throughout a Template document to dynamically insert cell data where desired, auto-populate pop-up/pull-down menus, and auto-replicate radio button and checkbox fields from database value lists, all with no tags required!

WEB·FM 4.0 introduces a new plug-in architecture for database-level add-on Filter and Server-Side Include Processors such as Maxum Development's NetCloak 2.5. Processors are separate web server plug-ins supporting the PIXO ("Plug-In Cross-Over") API standard for web server plug-ins to communicate and cooperate.

WEB·FM 4.0 significantly enhances features for record-level security. A fully revised FindUser command now supports most Find command features, but with record-level user authentication requirements. This means users can flexibly Find and modify their own, and only their own, records in databases where the permission to Browse records is disabled. Moreover, a client "Cookie" value may now also be used in place or absence of a valid password when finding or updating database records.

WEB·FM 4.0 includes two new bundled solutions. GOT COOKIES? is a new web server tool for easy, feature-rich "cookie" management. FM@iler is a ready-to-use program for email archival via Emailer 2.0 to a searchable web database.

General

  • The fastest web server plug-in available for FileMaker Pro.
  • Plug-ins for both English and Japanese FileMaker Pro.
  • Improved plug-in administration database.
  • Supports custom, database-level HTTP header fields.
  • Configure database level Style Sheets, JavaScript, etc.
  • Automatic support for custom HTTP response headers.
  • Includes "Got Cookies?" for easy, feature-rich cookie management.
  • Includes "FM@iler" for email archival to a searchable web database.
  • Send email via Emailer 2.0.

    Find Support

  • Supports Find for personal, and only personal, database records.
  • Supports Find on browser Cookie values.

    Page Generation

  • Template file support with dynamic database [field name] substitutions.
  • Store Template documents inside or outside database.
  • No need to learn another markup language.
  • Template files fully compatible with existing web page editors.
  • Automatic selection of pop-up menus, checkboxes, and radio buttons.
  • Dynamic population of pop-up menus and scroll lists.
  • Dynamic replication of checkboxes and radio buttons.
  • Supports tag with dynamic replication of relational fields.
  • Template file support with [search field] substitutions.

    [Token] Support

  • Token for [search field] substitutions.
  • Tokens for [layout], [sort], [sortorder], [script], [html] variables.
  • Tokens for [database], [field name], [page], [pages].

    Security

  • Find or modify personal, and only personal, database records.
  • Record-level security with Find command feature set.
  • Record-level security with Cookie authentication.

    Extensibility

  • PIXO dispatcher for add-on Processors including NetCloak 2.5.
  • Processors for incoming Filters and outgoing Server-Side Includes.
  • Processors for incoming/outgoing custom character translations.
  • Processor for the capture and use of browser [cookie] values.

    Release Notes

  • Fixed multiple DoScript execution in version 3.1 on Update.
  • Improved updating of portal fields.
  • Replaced [next] and [prev] tokens with and tags.
  • Replaced Translation plug-in with Encoder Processor.
  • Replaced .raw suffix flag with automatic check for custom HTTP header.
  • FindUser now requires indexed Username and Password fields.

    Feature List

    General

  • The fastest web server plug-in available for FileMaker Pro.
  • Accelerated performance measured in fractions of a second.
  • 68K and PowerPC native code fragment plug-in written in low level C.
  • Plug-ins for both English and Japanese FileMaker Pro.
  • Supports publishing up to 50 databases.
  • Supports both fill-out forms and hypertext links.
  • Supports interactive selection of the database task.
  • Supports invoking ScriptMaker scripts in background.
  • Improved plug-in administration database.
  • Supports remote administration of plug-in settings.
  • Supports custom, database-level HTTP header fields.
  • Configure database level Style Sheets, JavaScript, etc.
  • Automatic support for custom HTTP response headers.
  • Includes "Got Cookies?" for easy, feature-rich cookie management.
  • Includes "FM@iler" for email archival to a searchable web database.
  • Send email via Emailer 2.0.

    Find Support

  • Supports Find on an unlimited number of database fields.
  • Supports Find for either all records or just all unique records.
  • Supports Find with interactive selection of search field.
  • Supports Find with combined "And" and "Or" operators.
  • Supports Find for a date or numeric range of records.
  • Supports Find for personal, and only personal, database records.
  • Supports Find on browser Username and Password values.
  • Supports Find on browser Cookie values.
  • Supports Find for a Random database record.
  • Supports Find with "contains," "or", and many other operators.
  • Supports Find for unique database record ID.
  • Supports Find with custom header, footer, and error responses.
  • Supports nested Sort of found records in ascending or descending order.
  • Supports setting a maximum number of found records to return.
  • Supports customizable links for and found records.

    New Record Support

  • Supports Text, Number, Date, Time, Calc, and Global fields.
  • Supports layout specific relational and portal fields.
  • Supports repeating fields.
  • Supports fields formatted as checkbox, radio button, etc..
  • Supports field-level data validation.

    Page Generation

  • Template file support with dynamic database [field name] substitutions.
  • Store Template documents inside or outside database.
  • No need to learn another markup language.
  • Template files fully compatible with existing web page editors.
  • Automatic selection of pop-up menus, checkboxes, and radio buttons.
  • Dynamic population of pop-up menus and scroll lists.
  • Dynamic replication of checkboxes and radio buttons.
  • Supports tag with dynamic replication of relational fields.
  • Template file support with [search field] substitutions.
  • Supports HTML calculation fields with access to over 100 powerful calculation functions.
  • Supports the "www" field for using HTTP request values in scripts or calculations.
  • Supports custom HTTP response headers for URL redirects, cookies, etc.
  • Includes TAG·FM for linking databases with web page creation tools.

    [Token] Support

  • Supports a host of incoming HTTP request substitution [tokens].
  • Supports a host of server-side include substitution [tokens].
  • Supports [search field] substitution [tokens].
  • Supports [variable] substitution [tokens].
  • Supports the use of HTTP session [cookies].

    Security

  • Supports database-level, realm-based security.
  • Supports database-level, administrator security.
  • Supports task-level (browse, create, edit) security.
  • Supports record-level Admin, Password, or Cookie edit security.
  • Supports field-level security with Admin override.
  • Supports record-level security with Find command feature set.
  • Find or modify personal, and only personal, database records.

    Extensibility

  • PIXO dispatcher for add-on Processors including NetCloak 2.5.
  • Processors for incoming Filters and outgoing Server-Side Includes.
  • Processors for incoming/outgoing custom character translations.
  • Processor for the capture and use of browser [cookie] values.