The FileMaker Server Control Panel, which we offer our FileMaker Hosting customers and demo customers free of charge (from FileMaker 7), allows you to close, download, modify, upload and reopen your database files anytime on the server.

Furthermore, you can download a backup copy of your database anytime - Langhofer.net also makes daily backups, of course, but you can also do this on your own at any time.

While most maintenance work can be performed online with FileMaker (from version 7), larger development work might require a local modification of the database. Up to now, it was necessary to contact us, so one of our staff members could close the data, send it via FTP/e-mail and and reopen it. Now you can do this whenever you want without the aid of our staff members - you are completely independent from our office hours. (If you prefer the old way of contacting our staff members, it is also no problem.)

All you need is a web browser, an FTP program and a program for extracting ZIP-files.

Here is a brief operating manual

As a customer or demo customer you have received the user name and password for the FileMaker Control Panel, or you can request it.
Visit this website using your web browser.
You will now see the introduction screen:

Please log in with your user name and password:

This is an overview of you databases. Apart from the number of currently active clients you have the option of closing the database or making a backup.

Closing the databases

In order to close the database for a local modification click Close database.
You will be asked whether you wish to close the database. Please confirm this dialogue.

The database is being closed now. All active clients will be disconnected.

Now you can download you database via FTP program. Just log in at ftp://fm8.langhofer.net using you FTP program as well as the currently used user name and password. You will find your database in the "download" directory, and you can now download the database on your computer.

Now you can extract the zipped file and edit the database as long as you wish.
Note: The database will no longer be available for other clients as soon as you close it.

Opening the database

When you have modified the database locally, upload the unzipped database to the Upload directory and click Open database in the FileMaker Control Panel. You will get a proper message as soon as the database has been successfully opened.

In case of an error you will get the following error message:

There might be several reasons:

• The file hasn't been uploaded completely. Please upload the complete file to the server via FTP again.
• You have zipped the database. Please upload the unzipped file (without compression) to the server again.
• the file was uploaded to the wrong directory. Please upload the database into the "upload" directory.
• The database hasn't got the right name. Please rename the database to its original name. The correct name is displayed in the error message.
• For further questions we are gladly at your disposal!

Note: Due to security reasons ZIP-files can not be accepted for uploads.

Making backups

Click Make backup if you wish to create a backup. All active clients will be disconnected. The database will now be closed, copied, zipped & reopened. It will be available for download within a few seconds.

For download please log in at ftp://fm8.langhofer.net using your FTP program as well as the currently used user name and password.
Now you can download the zipped FileMaker database from the "backup" directory. The file name includes a time stamp, so you can see how old the backup is.