Testing the database in your site

As you develop your site, it's a good idea to look at your pages from the point of view of your Web audience, using a browser. Using the same computer, you can edit your pages in Claris Home Page, and then run FileMaker Pro and your browser software to view the results. Ideally, you would run all three applications at once and make modifications as you go.

To test your site on the same computer or on a computer on your network:

1. Copy the contents of your site folder to the Web folder in the FileMaker Pro application folder on your computer or on a computer on your network.
   
2. Start FileMaker Pro, and then open your database file.
   
3. If necessary, set options to enable the FileMaker Pro Web Companion and to share the database file.
   
   Select the Web Companion plug-in in Application Preferences and choose Sharing from the File menu. Configure the Web Companion User Interface to the home page of your site, or the default.htm page.
   
4. Start your browser.
   
5. Type the following URL as the location, where "IP_address" is the IP address of the computer that is running FileMaker Pro.
   
   http://IP_address/
   
6. Press Enter.

Your home page or index page (default.htm) appears in the browser. You can test the links to go to a search or add records page, submit a request, and then view the results both in the browser and in the FileMaker file.

As you edit files in Claris Home Page, you can save them to the Web folder, and then click Reload in the browser. It is recommended that you set the options for clearing the disk cache in your browser, so that only the most recent versions of your files are displayed in the browser as you save and re-save your pages.