Help! Online membership database needed!

[cicottrell]

Hi

I need a very simple and cheap way to create an online database to keep track of all the members in my Scout Group (around 225). I have PHP and MySQL enabled on my server. It needs to be easy to use and only accessible to authorised users.

I currently have a basic filemaker database on my Mac but I want an online version so any leader can access it from their homes, rather than ringing me up to find a kids date of birth or whatever.

Does anyone know of a system I could use/buy? I've drawn a blank so far and it would cost at least £300 for someone to make me a custom database! Cheers.

 

[fuzzwud]

It is possible to access the filemaker database online. I think the regular client version has this feature too. I think you may just need a static IP address. I'm not sure ... here's some info from Filemaker:

http://www.filemaker.com/products/fmp/connect.html

 

[jng]

Free Solution:
Use Movable Type and Custom Fields, then use a simple htpasswd file so that only troop leaders can see the database.

 

[cicottrell]

Free Solution:
Use Movable Type and Custom Fields, then use a simple htpasswd file so that only troop leaders can see the database.

cheers, I'll give that a go!

 

[wjbombo]

I think you may just need a static IP address. I'm not sure ...

Hey there,

You DON'T need a static IP address to do this. You can set up a free Dynamic DNS addresses at dyndns.com and have it redirect to whatever your current IP address is. Then all you need is a free program called DNSUpdate to keep your dyndns account current. I use this exact setup to host my clients FileMaker files on my server at my home office and it works great.
Feel free to email me if you get stuck or have any questions. Good luck on your project!

Peace,
Will

 

[jakeOSX]

three ideas (other than getting a php/mysql book ;-) )

1. phpmyadmin - software to manage mysql. you could set up and populate the database easily. it would be ugly (no fancy reports) but it would be usable and accessable if you later wanted to learn php. you will need an htacess file to limit viewing.

2. phpbb - while the forum itself is not really a database, you could use it as such, giving each memeber their own thread in one of the forums. also has great user permissions (read, write, etc). would not be good to transfer this to another version.

3. phpbb w/members - make the scouts sign up to the forum and have them fill out the profiles with all of the required information. you could then also have a place for announcments/etc.