The team of custom FileMaker app experts will tell you the best way to move your offline FileMaker database from your computer to another device.
FMDBSolutions is now going to give you instructions on how to transfer a database from a computer to a handheld. The best part is that it doesn’t even matter if you’re connected to the internet or not. These steps work perfectly fine if the database is offline as well.
If you have a phone or tablet, you can use it to access FileMaker. It has to be an iPhone or iPad though as only Apple handheld devices can access it. Android just won’t work. The computer, however, can be either an Apple Macintosh or a Windows Personal Computer. FileMaker runs on both these devices.
Our experienced team has put together the actions you need to perform, complete with pictures. Now, join us as we walk you through the process of FileMaker offline transfer step by step.
Transferring an Offline FileMaker Database in 7 Steps
Here are the seven steps you need to follow to transfer an offline database from your computer to your iPhone or iPad.
Step 1: Connection
The first step is to connect your device to your computer. Some phone or tablet chargers can be detached from the plug, allowing you to connect it with a computer. This will allow a smooth transfer to occur.
The file transfer is impossible to perform without this. The FileMaker database cannot be transferred without a proper connection between the systems. This computer and handheld should remain connected for the entirety of the file transfer process. Now, for the second step.
Step 2: iTunes
The next step is to open the iTunes app on your computer. Obviously this is easy if you own a Mac. If you have a Windows OS, don’t despair as there is also iTunes for Windows. Open up iTunes (download it if you have to) and carry on to the third step.
Step 3: Device
It’s time to push some buttons. Now that you have opened iTunes, you have to click on the button that says ‘Device’ on it. Be sure it shows the appropriate device. Take a look at the images for reference and move on to step four.
Step 4: Apps
Then, you need to go to the menu and choose the ‘Apps’ option. A list of apps should appear as shown below. Once this has happened, proceed to the next step.
5. FM GO
You now need to go to ‘file sharing’ and then click on ‘FileMaker Go’. FileMaker Go, also known as FM GO, is the key to all this. FM GO is an app for iPhone and iPad that lets you view FileMaker on handheld Apple devices. The latest version (as of 3rd July, 2018) is FM GO 17.
If you don’t have FM GO, you can download it from the Apple app store for free. If you need help with FileMaker Go, check out our FileMaker Go Development services. You may now go to step six.
6. Transfer
After that, you need to click on ‘Add’. Now, select the file or files from the FileMaker database that you want to transfer.
Beware of duplicate copies or filenames as these may be overwritten and replaced by the files from your computer to your iPhone / iPad. You can check beforehand just to be safe. When you are sure, click on ‘Add’ again to confirm and add the files.
7. Completion
Finally, the FileMaker database will be transferred to your device. Double check and be sure that you have transferred the necessary and relevant files before unplugging the connection between the system and device.
The file transfer is complete. Congratulations! You did it!
Those were the seven simple steps to transfer an offline FileMaker database from a computer to iPhone or iPad.
We tried to make it as simple as possible and we hope this helped. Be sure to check your iPhone or iPad afterwards and make sure the FileMaker database has been transferred and that it works as intended.
If it is not working properly or there have been mistakes, try repeating the steps again. As a side note, please follow the best practices for FileMaker development.
FileMaker Database Services from FMDBSolutions
FMDBSolutions offers high quality services for FileMaker. Our very name can be expanded to ‘FileMaker DataBase Solutions’. Our FileMaker custom app experts are very experienced in FileMaker.
FMDBSolutions comes up with the solutions to your issues and have performed a variety of projects for many companies. We are experts in this database software and you can seek our advice to solve any number of problems through our FileMaker consulting. You can also get a free FileMaker consultation with us by just filling out the inquiry form.
FMDBSolutions is here to work with you to define your project’s objectives, determine requirements, and develop an absolute solution which meets your needs. Contact us for more information on FileMaker and to avail our services.
Lynwood Freerksen
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Will Tory
I am using FileMaker Pro V4.0 (Yes, I know it’s an old version, but it does what I need it to do) and would like to copy some of the files to my iPad and iPhone with FM GO. What do I need to convert the FileMaker file format (*.FP3) to a format compatible with FM GO?