I'm publishing a Filemaker Pro database Using instant web publishing. Filemaker says you can authenticate users with an external mySQL database. Has anyone done this using their website database, or can you point me in the right direction? Thanks, Steve

Do you want to authenticate your DotNetNuke site's users against data in the Filemaker Pro database?

No, the other way around. I want them to be able to buy a subscription on my site that then gives them access to the filemaker dtabase.

Thanks, Steve

If you would like to see them, my site is www.actone.com The filemaker database is: www.actone.com/actonereports Thanks, Steve

I need to know more about how you plan to give subscribers access.  Or perhaps that is the question?

Hi Lee

Sorry I didn't get back sooner, I was out of town.

So yes, that is the question. My original plan was to have people subscribe on my site using a simple paypal subscription module that would take care of the paper work and assign them a role. Then ( and I thought this would be easy – two databases talking to each other – who new it would turn out to be the hardest problem to fix) I thought the DNN database would be able to send the info to the filemaker database, username, password & role, and people could then sign in to the filemaker database.

Thoughts since the original plan:

1. Filemaker says it can use an external mySQL database to authenticate users. That would be great, but nobody seems to be able to tell me how to make it work.

2. Filemaker can restrict access by IP address. That would be a simple solution if it was my website address, but I'm told it's the computer address, not the referring site address.

3. Have DNN export a user list into an excel spreadsheet at a regular interval, say every 5 minutes. Have Filemaker import that spreadsheet every five minutes. Not very elegant, but I'm running out of options.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts, Steve

If the access to the external database involves fixed reports, then the Reports or Form and List module could be helpful. You might also want to take a look at SGSV from Tressleworks.ca if you want to provide some interactive report access.