Filemaker Pro and the World Wide Web

This book gives you everything you need to know about FileMaker Pro and the Web. For both Windows and Mac OS users, this book can help readers convert their computer into a database server available for browsing the Internet, an Intranet, or a LAN. Wherther you are publishing databases, creating a shopping cart, generating electronic commerce with an on-line store, or developing interactive FileMaker Pro solutions for the Web, this book can help you access the wealth of opportunities that come with the exciting convergence of databases and the Internet.

FileMaker Pro 4 and the World Wide Web provides an explanation of the techiques necessary for transforming your database into a dynamic, interactive information desk, warehouse, or storefront using FileMaker Pro 4.0's Web publishing capabilities. FileMaker Pro 4.0 and the World Wide Web provides FileMaker Pro developers with a detailed guide of the tools and methods used for advice on how to handle issues that may arise from database publishing on the Web, such as security, maintenance, troubleshooting, and interface design.

Key Features

• Instant Web Publishing, the fastest and easiest way to publish databases on the Web without using HTML.
• Home Page, FileMaker Pro's graphically-oriented companion product that includes the FileMaker Pro Connection assistant to help you develop complex and sophisticated sites.
• The complete syntax of CDML, the core of FileMaker Pro's Web interface that lets you create and customize a database driven Web site.
• Copious annotated excerpts from FileMaker Pro examples.
  

Table of contents :

Foreword ..... xix
Preface ..... 21
Introduction ..... 1
Part I: Overview ..... 11

Chapter 1: Databases on the Web: What and Why ..... 13
Chapter 2: Overview of FileMaker Pro ..... 51
Chapter 3: Home Page Overview ..... 81

Part II: Instant Web Publishing ..... 97

Chapter 4: Instant Web Publishing ..... 99
Chapter 5: Preparing FileMaker Pro ..... 123
Chapter 6: Using FileMaker Pro Web Companion ..... 141
Chapter 7: Testing and Troubleshooting Instant Web Publishing ..... 155

Part III: Custom Web Publishing with CDML ..... 167

Chapter 8: Custom Web Publishing ..... 169
Chapter 9: HTML ..... 183
Chapter 10: controlling Your Database with HTML ..... 207
Chapter 11: Using CDML ..... 233
Chapter 12: CDML Tool ..... 277
Chapter 13: Using Forms ..... 289
Chapter 14: Using Scripts ..... 311
Chapter 15: Testing and Troubleshooting Custom Web Publishing ..... 341

Part IV: Custom Web Publishing with Home Page ..... 351

Chapter 16: Working with Home Page ..... 353
Chapter 17: Using the FileMaker Connections Assistant ..... 363
Chapter 18: Editing CDML Pages with Home Page ..... 393

Part V: Setting Up and Maintaining Your Databases on the Web ..... 407

Chapter 19: Security ..... 409
Chapter 20: File Structures for Your Web Site ..... 435
Chapter 21: Special Issues for Intranets ..... 447
Chapter 22: Transaction Processing ..... 457
Chapter 23: Maintaining Your Site and Your Databases ..... 465

Part VI: Interface and Usability Design Concerns ..... 475

Chapter 24: The Public World of the Web ..... 477
Chapter 25: Dealing with CGI Scripts, Other Applications, and FileMaker Pro 3.0 Databases ..... 491

Appendix: FileMaker Pro Web Publishing Checklist ..... 501
Glossary ..... 505
Index ..... 513