Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Sharing Databases on the Internet Without
WebDirect
WebDirect lets you share FileMaker databases without learning the HTML, PHP, or XML
code that most websites depend on. But if you need to do more than the lightweight uses that
are most suited to WebDirect, or if you just want more control over the design and features
of your FileMaker-driven website, you have other choices. You can write everything from
scratch, using Custom Web Publishing (CWP) or you can publish static web pages from ex-
ported data.
Custom Web Publishing
Custom Web Publishing requires you to roll your own solution from scratch. That is, you'll
write HTML web pages that include custom code that interacts with your FileMaker data-
base. Using XML/XSLT or PHP for the code, you can build incredibly powerful web-based
databases. With add-on software, you can even use other web technologies like Ruby on
Rails (
www.sixfriedrice.com/wp/products/rfm
) or Lasso (
www.lassosoft.com
). But all these
custom coding languages have steep learning curves and are beyond the scope of this topic.
Get your feet wet with FileMaker Server 13's Help, where you'll get a sense of what's pos-
sible. Then start learning code, or hire someone who knows how to get FileMaker singing on
the Web.
To configure FileMaker Server to share custom web publishing databases, you need to en-
able the Web Server and either PHP or XML, depending on which of those coding languages
your website uses.
Static Web Publishing
Static web publishing is handy in a small handful of cases where the data you need to run a
website comes from your database, but users don't need a live connection to the data. Maybe
your website rarely changes—say you wrote a database for your favorite cancelled TV show
that lists the cast, crew, and summaries for each episode. You can publish that information on
the Web by exporting HTML tables from FileMaker (
Exporting Data
). Pretty up the HTML
code to match your website and then upload your pages to your web server.
If your FileMaker Server machine is hosting your website, move the pages the root folder of
the web server:
▪ Windows:
[drive]:\Program Files\FileMaker\FileMaker Server\HTTPServer\Conf
▪ OS X:
/Library/FileMaker Server/HTTPServer/htdocs
