FileMaker Pro 4.1 Mac User's Guide

Opening files as the host
To host a file, you must be the first user to open it.
1. Choose Open from the File menu.
Networking and access privileges 7-3
2. In the Open File dialog box, select a file, and then click Open.
3. Choose Sharing from the File menu.
In the File Sharing dialog box, select Multi-User.
Note If Multi-User is dimmed in the File Sharing dialog box,
FileMaker Pro is unable to access the network. An explanation
appears below the Multi-User button. You can also get an explanation
by choosing Open from the File menu, then clicking Hosts.
To open the File Sharing dialog box, you must open the file using a
password that provides the Export records access privilege.
4. If the file uses information from other FileMaker Pro files (like
related databases, external scripts, or value lists), repeat steps 1
through 3 to open the files and set them to Multi-User.
Tip Group the files in a single folder to make it easy to locate them.
Adding an underscore character _ to the end of a database filename
(before the .FP3 extension, if any) prevents that database from being
listed in the Hosts dialog box. It also prevents the database from being
listed on the default home page if you are using FileMaker Pro Web
Companion Instant Web Publishing.
You can broadcast messages to guests who are using your database. In
the File Sharing dialog box, click Send Message. Type the message, then
click OK. Your guest(s) see the message in a dialog box. They can
dismiss the dialog box by clicking Cancel—or the dialog box dismisses
itself 30 seconds after appearing.
Keep the file open to make it available to guests. For the best
performance:
1 When you host a file, open it first on the computer that is directly
connected to the hard disk on which the file is stored, rather than on
another computer using Mac OS personal file sharing.
1 If you use a file sharing system (like AppleShare or the Mac OS
personal file sharing), host the file from your hard disk instead of
hosting it from a file server.