Has anyone had success hooking up FileMaker 6.0v4 as a datasource on XP Professional? I’m using the FileMaker ODBC driver and creating a user DSN per normal. Servoy will create the ODBC dataprovider but it doesn’t display any table information so apparently the connection is not being made.
david:
Has anyone had success hooking up FileMaker 6.0v4 as a datasource on XP Professional? I’m using the FileMaker ODBC driver and creating a user DSN per normal. Servoy will create the ODBC dataprovider but it doesn’t display any table information so apparently the connection is not being made.
- david
Hi David,
Did you:
Enable the RDAC (Remote Data Access Companion) from the plug-in tab of the application preferences? (or the LDAC [Local Data Access Companion] - if you’re running FMP and Servoy on the same machine);
In “Sharing” check the checkbox for “RDAC” and “LDAC”?
Failing all else - I would suggest you install the JDBC driver and try it with that. I’m using Win 2K, so I can’t give you a “for sure” answer.
Hope this helps,
Bob Cusick
Yes, FileMaker sharing is set up correctly.
As far as I can tell, FileMaker doesn’t ship with a JDBC driver. Are you using a 3rd party driver?
Here’s my setup, maybe I’m doing something wrong here. Note everything is being run on the same machine:
FileMaker file called “servoy_fm” with a layout called “servoy_table”.
In ODBC data source administrator, I created a User DSN called “servoy_fm” using the “FileMaker Pro” driver from the list.
In Servoy Developer, I created a DB Server with these settings:
Server name: servoy_fm
User name:
Password:
Database Server URL: jdbc:odbc:servoy_fm
Driver: sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver
Note that the FileMaker file is on the desktop – should the Database Server URL be something different? I’m not quite sure how to specify paths with windows.
Thanks for the help - david
David,
The database must be OPEN - it’s physical location doesn’t matter. FileMaker can only “see” databases that are open.
The FileMaker JDBC driver comes with FileMaker Developer. From the FileMaker website in the FSA members only section:
"The new JDBC driver is a very welcome addition to FileMaker Developer 5. The previous release of FileMaker Pro 4.0 Developer Edition, with support for Java classes, enabled Java programmers to build Java applications and applets that communicate with a FileMaker Pro 5 database. The JDBC driver, however, significantly lowers the bar M-^W now anyone can create Java applications and applets with their favorite Java Development tool.
Simply use the JDBC driver with your favorite Rapid Application Development (RAD) tool to create a FileMaker Pro database-aware Java application in a visual environment. Documentation and examples of the JDBC driver are included in FileMaker Developer 5."
Hope this helps,
Bob Cusick
I have FM developer 5.5 and the JDBC driver install directions are anything but easy or correct (the directories in the instructions simply do not exist). But I will keep trying.
Back to the ODBC driver: are you sure the “sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver” is installed correctly in Servoy? I don’t see the file in the servoy drivers directory (XP or OS X) and in fact when trying to use the driver on OS X to create a data source I get the following error:
“JDBC Driver ‘sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbcDriver’ not found in classpath or drivers directory”
Alright, to the best of my abilities, I think I’ve configured the FileMaker JDBC driver correctly. Here’s the process:
I copied that latest (July, 2001) FileMaker JDBC driver (mfpjdbc12.jar) to /Servoy/drivers/ directory.
I have FileMaker file up and running with LDC, RDC and web companion (port 591) turned on in sharing. (Apparently ODBC runs through LDC or RDC and JDBC runs through web companion.) I can access the file via browser pointed to http://localhost:591/.
I created a DB source in Servoy with the following parameters:
Database Server URL: jdbc:fmpro:http://localhost:591/
Driver: com.fmi.jdbc.JdbcDriver
The server is accepted and I close out of the window.
PROBLEM: I go to data providers, I see the my new DB server but NO TABLES are listed.
With these same setting Squirrel SQL Client (http://squirrel-sql.sourceforge.net/ - thank you Jan for that tip) sees table, field and content information! So I’m guessing I’ve set everything up right and that there is a problem with Servoy.
Can someone confirm the problem or tell me what I’m doing wrong?
Filemaker’s JDBC driver is not JDBC compliant, Servoy needs a JDBC compliant driver to function. Although some tools that have less functionality (like a query tool) might work Servoy might not because of certain JDBC functions it relies on.
Why would you like to use Filemaker as a backend? Because of its reliability, speed or scalability?
All of the above
Seriously, I’m trying to bring our business applications full circle and get connected. I have a plethora of FileMaker business apps representing 1000s of hours of development time. I recently switched our web backend to MySQL from FileMaker. In the process I now have a Servoy administration app running the web Mysql backend (my users love it BTW).
Two things are starting to happen: first, I’m starting to blur the lines of functionality between installed FileMaker apps and the new Servoy app; secondly, I need to transfer data back and forth between the two systems.
My primary need in this transition process (converting functionality over to Servoy from FileMaker) is an easy way to control and automate transfer of data from FileMaker to Servoy and back. The export/import process is necessitates a lot of steps that are hard to automate and the results are clunky anyway (one problem: blank fields from a FileMaker export do not result in blank fields in Servoy). It seems to me that if I can see FileMaker as a data source all problems are solved.
Eventually – and certainly as Servoy matures – I see most of our business functionality being rewritten in Servoy. In the meantime, I have to live with both worlds and I need an easy way for them to talk to each other.
Is there an ODBC or JDBC driver out there that will get this to work?
david:
All of the aboveIs there an ODBC or JDBC driver out there that will get this to work?
- david
You could use excellent Profdata SQL-Plugin to directly access MySQL data from FileMaker and vice versa.
The only limitation, due to filemaker’s architecture, is that you don’t work with “live” data, but they are copied into filemaker, so you have to build a procedure that ships modified records back to MySQL…
I’ve used that SQL plugin in the past – it works great. Troi also has a plugin allowing http get and post. My preference in this case is a simple FileMaker “Open URL” script which is really fast since I’m running a Lasso server.
However, there is a problem if Servoy doesn’t manage the key field incrementation accessing MySQL on a remote server (possibly other configurations as well). Specifically, data sometimes is not saved to the backend when you exit a field. My only choice at the moment then is to add the data through a Servoy form via an import or otherwise. Importing isn’t my first choice due to the number of steps involved.
Still working on it…
After much banging of head on nearby walls, I’ve come up with a way to get FileMaker data into Servoy (using MySQL as a backend) with minimal fuss to the user. It uses the clipboard as the transfer mechanism and parsing strings on the Servoy side of things to populate fields. Fully documented file at the following URL.
http://www.bossstaffing.com/public/prog … y_tip1.txt
Hope this helps some others. Comments appreciated (especially if I missed some obvious technique that would have saved me a half-day of work). Tested on Mac OS 10.2.5.
Cheers,
david:
After much banging of head on nearby walls, I’ve come up with a way to get FileMaker data into Servoy (using MySQL as a backend) with minimal fuss to the user. It uses the clipboard as the transfer mechanism and parsing strings on the Servoy side of things to populate fields. Fully documented file at the following URL.http://www.bossstaffing.com/public/prog … y_tip1.txt
Hope this helps some others. Comments appreciated (especially if I missed some obvious technique that would have saved me a half-day of work). Tested on Mac OS 10.2.5.
Cheers,
- david
Pardon my French - but HOLY CRAP, BATMAN!
NICE JOB, David!
Bob Cusick
very cool, David!
btw: enumaration stuff should work properly in next build.
http://www.bossstaffing.com/public/prog … y_tip1.txt
David - yearning to read it - where is it?
Peter
sellsy:
http://www.bossstaffing.com/public/programs/downloads/topics/servoy_tip1.txtDavid - yearning to read it - where is it?
Peter
http://www.dataparadox.com/index.lasso? … rces&tab=2
EDIT 9-3-2003: Now updated for Servoy 1.1. Changes:
Tested with Mac and PC clients, plus Mac developer. Well documented in the code.
Has the above link moved again? I just spent all day struggling with trying to get FileMaker on the Mac to talk to MySQL through ODBC. No dice. Works on Windows just fine, but our data migration server is most likely going to be a Mac. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Jake_L:
Has the above link moved again? I just spent all day struggling with trying to get FileMaker on the Mac to talk to MySQL through ODBC. No dice. Works on Windows just fine, but our data migration server is most likely going to be a Mac. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Jake,
I don’t use this copy to the clipboard method anymore even though it is quite effective in controlled situations. I use FileMaker’s web companion and pass CDML strings back and forth to transfer data. You can even run FileMaker scripts from Servoy this way and open and close FileMaker databases. Lot’s of flexibility! I did a comprehensive Servoy Magazine article on this technique a while back. There is also a demo file (including a 2.0 version) that you can download with the article.
http://www.servoymagazine.com/modules.p … cle&sid=13
I feel your pain with regards to getting ODBC working on the Mac with FileMaker. The situation does not improve with FileMaker 7. Even if FM7 did have it working on the Mac at release it would cost you $2,500 for Server Advanced. Ouch.
Speaking of FM7 and Servoy talking to each other, anyone interested in a solution that will enable this easily? We have figured it out for potential in-house use here at Data Mosaic (xplat). It would take some significant work to build for general use. Basically, we can transfer data to and from any SQL database to any FM7 database (and FM6 with this method, it uses XML to transfer data) using Servoy as the intermediary. The data transfer can be controlled by Servoy methods so it’s a pretty seamless two-way transfer.
The bad part about this technique is that it is an iterative process transferring one record at a time and then moving on to the next record. So if you got it in your head to move 10 million records from Oracle to FM7 to test out theoretical FM7 dataset size claims, you would need to start the process and then take a vacation to an island in the South Pacific.
This is a project we would like to do but haven’t been able to schedule yet. If there is enough interest, it will give me an incentive to move it towards the top of the to-do list. Everyone is welcome to email me off list in regards to this subject (and if you want to talk about the Audi S4 but no other topics allowed…).
David,
Thank you very much for your reply and for the link to the article. This looks very promising!
Yours,
Jake
Hello David,
The above mentioned link doesnt work anymore can you fixed it? I want to use data in a FMP file. I couldt find it on the magazine as wel.
Thanks in advance
Rene
for those finding this old thread, JDBC info is here
http://forum.servoy.com/viewtopic.php?t … c&start=45
FileMaker’s Local & Remote Data Access Companions do work. You must enable the File’s “Sharing”, enable the FM Client Plugin, and setup an ODBC DSN. In Sybase, you can then setup FileMaker as a Proxy Table (setup thru SQL. The Proxy “Wizard” may not work), query thru Servoy, and display in an HTML text field
Both JDBC & ODBC FM6 drivers allow only the most basic SQL queries
If FileMaker 5, 6 appears to freeze, it’s probably summarizing all your summary fields, a nasty bug
Spaces in Field names won’t work for ODBC
greg