Local / Server differences

[alangold]

Hi there

 

I finally bit the bullet and upgraded our databases from FM6 to FM 8.5. We run around 35 related databases that cover everything from CRM to invoicing to repair logs etc. for our computer dealership.

 

The conversion went well according to the log file and only 2 files had material changes made to them, with the Today function being replaced. I went through all of the file references and deleted all references with the exception of the file:/.fp7 references.

 

Now for my problem. On my local computer, all of the databases function perfectly, however when I installed them on the FM8 server and shared them, a number of the files which rely on lookups (yes, yes, these files go back to Filemaker 3 and could be updated, but this is what I've got at the moment OK?) the look up fails. But what really confuses me, is that every now and then, they work - one out of 10 attempts actually functions, but I can't narrow down why or diagnose what's common.

 

In a nutshell, I make a quote, which looks up the customer details and fills in the details perfectly every time, based on the customer ID. The products look up the item details from our product database which also works perfectly, but when I try to turn the quote into a purchase order by clicking the 'create order' button, which takes the quote number, creates a new order, inserts the quote number, which should trigger a lookup for all the customer details, all the items quoted - everything on the quote database, it only works some of the time - but if I run the database on a local computer - never a problem.

 

Can anyone give me a pointer about where to look for the problem? I know I should (and will) update our databases to be full relational portals etc, but with around 35 databases, all with over 10 layouts in them, it's a lot of work, and doing the databases is what I do after hours and weekends when I'm not running the store.

 

Grateful thanks in advance.

 

Alan

[Weetbicks]

A common issue when converting from old versions to FileMaker 8.5 is that previous versions of filemaker did not require a commit records script step after a series of set field steps. I guess this is due to the fact that being a single file, once the script ended it committed the record (I honestly don't know).

 

In any case, check your script for where it does any inserts/pastes/set fields of values into fields, and be sure to add a commit record script step after these, otherwise the record will stay uncomitted and thus lookups wont trigger.

 

Failing that, I'd check the lookups and file reference in question and make sure theyre still correctly linked. Also check field types of your primary and foreign keys and make sure they're the same type (which should be the case in any event).