With everything you’ve got to do today, the last thing you need to see is the dreaded warning from your FileMaker Pro database:

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Great!  Keena (Developer) probably isn’t even at her desk!  She’s gone to lunch!   No — she probably left for the rest of the day, which means you can’t update this client total to $1234.00, which means you can’t send the invoice!  Which you have to send today because she’s waiting for it, and you have GOT to leave on time today because Brian has football practice!

For the love of God, WHY??

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So let’s alter this scenario just slightly.  Let’s say that, for the sake of convenience, FileMaker Pro will allow multiple users to edit a record at the same time.  And, let’s say that Keena (Developer) hasn’t gone to lunch.  She is, in fact, working diligently at her desk even though it’s right before the holiday.  She’s modifying, again, the very record that you’re working on.  Based on the information she just got, she’s changing the invoice total to $6789.

In this alternate universe where Keena (Developer) has a legitimate reason to modify a total amount, you and Keena (Developer) both enter your data into the same field in the same record.

The invoice now has a total amount of $16273849.00.   If you and Keena (Developer) have both been updating a lot of records, you’d better call Grandma, because there’s no way you’ll be leaving in time to get Brian to practice.

In a word processing document or other collaborative creation, it can be beneficial for multiple users to access a single record at the same time.  However, your database is only as true and reliable as its data.  As annoying as it is for Keena (Developer) to have left you in this predicament, your data is safe and uncorrupted.

Her screen saver lock probably already activated, so try pulling the plug so her computer powers down.

She deserves it.[image error]