Miscellaneous Fixits

Enable One Button Scanning From Brother MFC 7820n

2011-12-14T20:05:00.000-08:00

The solution can be found at the Brother website for Windows XP to 7. It involves changing the Windows Firewall settings to open a port for incoming 7820n scan saves to the designated computer.

http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/BSC/public/us/ca/en/faq/faq/000000/002500/000097/faq002597_000.html?reg=us&c=ca&lang=en&prod=mfc7820n_all#step2sp2

Reset Laptop Wireless Radio To 802.11n

2010-07-31T08:23:00.000-07:00

My 802.11n wireless laptop seemed sluggish when transferring files. I looked at the status of the connection and it was pegged at 54 Mbps which is the maximum throughput for 802.11g and no matter what I did with the laptop radio settings and the wireless router settings, it was stuck on 802.11g.

One note, since my cable internet connection gets up to 30 Mbps, having G does not affect my internet browsing, of course, unless there are several other wireless G connections browsing at the same time. So really, having N is only important when transferring files between computers on a home network, particularly during media streaming.

One other note, to achieve 802.11n maximum throughput of 300 Mbps, authentication settings have to be WPA or better. Specifically, WEP authentication limits throughput to 54 Mbps.

To reset the wireless N laptop connection stuck on 802,11g:

1. Start>Control Panel>Network and Sharing Center (Windows 7)
2. Click on Wireless Network Connection
3. Click on Wireless Properties
4. Click on the Security tab
5. Change Security Type to No Authentication (open). The authentication will reset and you will lose your connection.
6. Reconnect back to your wireless SSID and enter your password.

Checking the Status of your connection should reveal faster throughput to 802.11n.

Windows 7 Remote Desktop Reset To Full Screen

2010-06-17T15:01:00.000-07:00

I often have Windows Remote Desktop (RDP) open to another computer and minimize it in the background. Since playing Starcraft II where the screen resolution changes, the RDP session reverts down to a lower resolution and is then enclosed in a window with scroll bars. It loses the original fullscreen appearance. There are several ways to resolve this.

1. A tedious but logical solution would be to close the RDP session, open the RDP application, click on Options, click on the Display tab and drag the Display Configuration back to Fullscreen. Then Connect.

2. The more elegant nonexistent Windows manual solution: While in the RDP session that has been downgraded from fullscreen, type Ctrl+Alt+Break.

3. What if your computer is a laptop without the Break key? Try Ctrl+Alt+Fn+End or Ctrl+Alt+Fn+Pause, where Fn=Function key.

Clean Install a Windows 7 Upgrade

2010-05-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

You can clean install from Windows 7 Upgrade software. You don't need to pay for a full version, especially if you already paid for Windows XP.

My approach was to install into a faster and larger SATA hard drive, specifically a Seagate 1.0 T drive and leave my XP system in my old drive intact.

I went into BIOS and configured it to boot from my NEC DVD/CD drive first, after placing my Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade disk into the drive. The Windows 7 install loaded, and I chose my new drive as the destination for the new Operating System install.

I did not immediately put in my serial and activate the software during the install process to be safe, but I think it would have probably been OK since the Install Software did detect that my old drive had an OS System in it.

After installation has completed, update everything through Windows Update and then Activate it by right clicking on Computer and choosing Properties.

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

Disable Subtitles in MKV Files

2009-07-14T06:35:00.000-07:00

Certain MKV video files automatically display subtitles in Windows Media Player, VLC Media Player, and Media Player Classic. If you carefully notice, there are actually 2 subtitles being displayed, one large and behind it, another one very small. Procedures to disable the subtitles are below.

Windows Media Player and Media Player Classic: To remove or disable the unwanted subtitles, simply disabling it within the media player does nothing.

Go to the Codec folder Start>All Programs>eg CCCP or K-Lite>Filters

Select VSFilter Configuration

Click on the General tab

Select Do Not Load in the Loading section

Click OK

Go to the Codec folder Start>All Programs>eg CCCP or K-Lite>Filters

Select FFDShow Video Decoder Configuration

Click on the Subtitles box on the left sided menu to uncheck/deselect/disable Subtitles

Click OK

VLC Media Player: Do the 2 above procedures and within VLC Media Player, while playing each MKV video, right click on the video and select Subtitle Track>Disable

Filezilla FTP Client Drag and Drop a Download Gives an Error

2009-07-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

Windows XP OS.

After newly installing the freeware Filezilla FTP Client version 3.2.6.1, an error occurs stating, "Could not determine the target of the Drag&Drop operation. Either the shell extension is not installed properly or you didn't drop the files into an Explorer window." While in an FTP server, dragging a file for download directly to the desktop causes the error. The error does not occur if you dragged a file for download into the Filezilla directory on the left half of the application window. I read several solutions. One solution was to run cmd and register the shell extension, the other solution, reboot the computer. After fudging with the cmd lines, and not succeeding because Windows kept giving an error about my command syntax, I decided to reboot the computer and drag and drop worked without an error.

Working solution: Reboot.

Sources:
http://trac.filezilla-project.org/ticket/4385
http://forum.filezilla-project.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8607

Outlook Express Spell Check Language is French

2009-07-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

There is an oversight of Microsoft and no apparent reaction from them regarding Outlook Express' default language for spell checking apparently being French (France). This is a problem if Office 2007 is installed, particularly if you have a trial version on a new computer. Most users let it expire and use Outlook Express, but having pre-loaded crapware such as Outlook 2007, the updated 2007 dictionaries are incompatible with "outdated" and "neglected" Outlook Express. The fix is to install and older version of the dictionary from and older version of Office. If you never bought one, Microsoft gives you the finger and you are are SOL and better start learning French. Alternative to a Microsoft dictionary is to get a free dictionary for Outlook Express such as Snapfiles.

Procedure to fix the dictionary for Outlook Express are to do a custom install from an older version of Office with the languages needed. Link.

Sources:
http://www.outlook-tips.net/archives/2006/20061228.htm
http://blogs.chron.com/helpline/archives/2007/04/outlook_express_1.html
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932974
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/spelloe.html

Auto Login into Vista and Windows 7

2009-06-21T06:37:00.000-07:00

If you would like to skip the login process in Windows Vista and Windows 7, particularly if you are the only user or your have a Media Center PC that sits in your living room and getting out the keyboard is annoying, do the following:

Click Start
Type in netplwiz
Click on netplwiz
Click on the Account you would like to Auto Login
Uncheck the box above to not require login
Apply
Relogin

Remote Desktop Restart/Shutdown in Vista and Windows 7

2009-06-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

Within Windows Remote Desktop on Vista and Windows7, Microsoft has removed the restart and shutdown commands from the Task Manager Window. To shutdown or restart a computer remotely within Remote Desktop, press Alt + F4 and a window will give you choices for logging out, restarting or shutting down.

nVidia Boot Agent Hang Up

2009-06-20T10:24:00.000-07:00

After reconfiguring the hard drives on my computer and installing a new motherboard (nVidia nForce 730i/GeForce 9300) and booting up into Windows XP, the nVidia Boot Agent kicked in during the boot up process, showing its MAC ID and searching for a DHCP. After pushing ESC to exit, it gives an error of Insert Disk..... and then restarts itself looking for a DHCP in an endless loop.

Solution: Go into BIOS and reconfigure the Startup Device. Put the Start Up Hard Drive as # 1 in the boot order.

Play Matroska (.mkv) Videos on Windows Media Player 11

2009-06-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

To be able to play Matroska Encoded Movie Files (.mkv) you will need to download the codecs to decode the files. The codecs can be downloaded for free. The pack of codecs necessary for Windows Media Player 11 is all included in the K-Lite Codec Pack. CCCP (Combined Community Codec Pack) is missing several codecs in its pack that Windows Media Player will give error on: Windows Media Player cannot play the file.....

Download and install the K-Lite codec pack at:
http://www.codecguide.com/

Cannot Unshare a Folder in Windows XP

2009-04-10T22:39:00.000-07:00

I wanted to unshare a folder while using a hotel wireless network but after right clicking on the shared folder (the folder with a hand icon underneath it) and choosing Sharing and Security..., the box for sharing was checked but grayed out, so that it could not be unshared.

To correct this, reboot and press F8 to enter the menu to choose a boot up type. Choose Safe Mode with Networking. After Windows XP boots up in Safe Mode, go to your shared folder and right click it, choose Sharing and Security... and a whole new sharing menu appears that allows you to unshare the folder. Reboot back into normal Windows XP. Annoying Windows bullshit...

Lexus LS 460 Check Engine Error Reset

2009-03-31T10:47:00.000-07:00

The Lexus LS 460 ran out of gas, oops. Got if filled with gas but an error appeared on the driver console to check engine at Lexus maintenance. Called the service department and was told it was an unresolved issue with the car and to reset the error, all that was needed was to unscrew the gas cap, screw it back on, wait 1 hour. Well, did what was told and the error disappeared the next time the car was driven.

2 Finger Scrolling for the PC

2009-01-25T18:07:00.000-08:00

Have you always wanted to try the 2 finger scroll on a PC after trying it out on the Mac? If you have a laptop with a touchpad by Synaptics, you can try a little program that enables two finger scrolling on the PC.

Go to: http://code.google.com/p/two-finger-scroll/downloads/list

MSI Wind U100 Netbook Touchpad Driver Solution

2009-01-24T17:40:00.000-08:00

We recently got the MSI Wind U100 US/French/German/Polish edition and found out the touchpad is missing the side scrolling function and has the default control of clicking and double clicking on the touchpad which could not be disabled. The Wind uses the default Windows XP mouse driver with no special touchpad driver. Apparently, this is something that MSI had downgraded for whatever cost saving reason (I assume someone at MSI did not pay enough for lap dances to some name brand touchpad company official) but it is highly annoying because you end up accidentally clicking on links, especially personal ads on Yahoo, because you have shaky fingers from alcohol withdrawal or early onset Parkinson's. There are alot of forums incessantly discussing and howling at this atocity but I just went to Synaptics and downloaded their driver and application and avoided the drama.

Solutions:

Go to Synaptics and download the appropriate driver:
http://www.synaptics.com/support/drivers

This bundled driver and application that you install is accessed through an icon in the lower right corner of the XP menu bar or the XP mouse control panel and allows you to control every aspect of the touchpad from disabling touchpad clicking, turning on touchpad side scrolling, etc.

There are forums out there that point you to a German MSI website that allows you to download the Sentelic touchpad driver which I tried and did absolutely nothing for me. I tried installing the Sentelic touchpad driver before the Synaptics driver. If you want to waste 10 minutes of your life, here it is:

http://www.msi-technology.de/index.php?func=downloaddetail&type=driver&maincat_no=135&prod_no=1474

Virus/Trojan with Pop-Ads and Disabled Windows XP Automatic Updates with Error 1058

2008-12-29T10:22:00.000-08:00

A nasty virus/Trojan with pop up windows affecting both IE 6 and Firefox 3 started on one of my laptops. It initially started with Acrobat starting up a couple a times in previous days before the full onslaught of pop up windows trying to sell crap. Yeah, like I'm going to click on a Caribbean vacation and spend boat loads of money from a virus produced pop up ad, dumb.

It added Add On components into IE and Firefox, and probably into the system. The virus also turned off Automatic Updates for Windows XP and attempts at turning it on through the Control Panel failed. Running Windows Update gives an error, and the error page on the Windows Update web site gives you a list of items to turn on in services.msc through the Run... window. Trying to turn on Automatic Updates in services.msc to "Automatic" and "Start" gives an error 1058. This loser virus then starts asking if you want to install VirusRemover, A-holes. I tried the following measures:

1. Ran AVG 8 Scan, restarted: Fail. Pop ups continue.
2. Ran Ad-Aware 2008 Scan, restarted: Fail. Pop ups continue.
3. Ran Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Scan (via download.com), restarted: Success! No more pop ups. Approximately 15-20 infected files.

After successfully running Malwarebytes, I went into services.msc (throught the Run... window in the Start button) and opened the properties of Automatic Updates. I was able to change the Automatic Updates to "Automatic" and "Start" the service.

Source: http://help.wugnet.com/windows2/automatic-updates-disabled-error-1058-ftopict519669.html

Microsoft Word 2003 Crashes at Startup

2008-12-15T20:04:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Office 2003 Word was crashing several seconds after startup which also happened when a new Outlook email was created (Outlook opens Word for text editing). Crashes can be avoided if the mouse is moved around the menus, but after 2 seconds of idle time, Word crashes.

Solutions:

1. Go to Printer and Faxes, and select the correct default printer. Now try opening Word.

2. With Hidden Folder viewing on, Go to C:>Documents and Setting>User>Application Data>Microsoft>Templates. Change normal.dot to normal.old. Open Word and let Word create a new normal.dot file.

Source: http://www.officearticles.com/word/steps_to_troubleshooting_microsoft_word.htm

Filemaker Pro Database Instant Web Sharing (IWS)

2008-11-23T11:54:00.000-08:00

How to set Filemaker Pro 9 to share your database as a website on the internet.

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Open your database in Filemaker Pro 9 from the computer you wish to Host the database. I know at least FMP 6 - 9 can publish databases on the web. I will refer only to FMP 9.
Goto: File>Sharing>Instant Web Publishing...
Turn on Instant Web Publishing to publish all open and available databases on the web.
Change the port to 591. Click OK.
For now leave the Instant Web Publishing access to file, to All Users, you can change this at your own discretion.
Your Currtently open files should be listed. Click OK.
Goto: File>Manage>Accounts & Privileges...
Make sure Admin is turned on, select Admin, Click on Edit...
Set a Password. Click OK.
If you have a Router, you must:
Open the start/end/internal/external TCP port (AKA, gateway, pinhole, service) 591 and specify which computer IP is hosting the FMP database file in your LOCAL network (LAN). For example, 192.168.1.4, is the host computer IP with the FMP database open and running in the local office network. Find this number by logging into your router and identifying the database host computer and its LOCAL IP address. That is, inquiries from the outside world to your host computer that have FMP data, will be forwarded by your router to your specified local network host computer 192.168.1.4 through port 591.
Find out the IP address of your WAN (wide area network), that is, get the IP address that your broadband carrier assigns you (for example, 60.123.4.123), or know your domain name (for example, domain.name.com)
Close and restart FMP 9.
Your database web server setup is now complete.
From a remote location inside the office or outside of the local network, open a web browser and do the following:
In the address bar, type in the static IP address or domain name with the addition of :591 at the end, for example, http://60.123.4.123:591 or http://domain.name.com:591.
If you have a dynamic IP that changes when the router is restarted or if there is a power failure, you can obtain a static pseudo domain name from sites such as www.no-ip.com.
The Filemaker web page should appear with your file available as a link.
Click on the link and log in as admin with the password.
Certain dynamic functions from FMP are not available on a static web page. One thing that is missing is Preview mode. Functions requiring the preview mode such as displaying label sheets for printing are not possible through Instant Web Sharing and require Network Sharing with a remote FMP 9 client connection to the server.
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2008-11-19T16:08:00.000-08:00

Canon Pixma 1500 Error Reset of: Waste Ink Absorber is Almost Full or Full

There is no need for a Software download of General Tools for the Pixma 1500 in these methods. The software links for General Tools seem to be dead.

1st Method

1. Turn off the printer. And disconnect the printer cable.
2. Press and hold the POWER button, turn on the printer.
3. The indicator LED should be green.
4. Press and release the RESUME button , the indicator LED should be orange.
5. Press and release the RESUME button again, the indicator LED should be green.

2nd Method

1. Unplug the power & printer cables.
2. Press & hold the POWER button.
3. Plug POWER cable back in while still pressing power button.
4. The LED should be green.
5. Press & release the RESUME button 4 times to reset the "waste ink tank counter" while still holding the power button.
6. Release both the POWER & RESUME on the 4th push of RESUME.

Troubleshooting:
If indeed the waste absorbers are full, you will need to take them out, wash them, and place them back into the Pixma 1500.

1. Open the the front door, hopefully the tanks slide to the left out from under the plastic enclosure on the right. If not, reset the Pixma by unplugging, holding the power button down, and then plugging in the Pixma with the power button held down. Release and push the power button to turn on the Pixma, this time when opening the front door, the tanks should slide to the left out of the plastic enclosure on the right.
2. The absorbers are on the floor of the inside of the Pixma, on the right, below the plastic enclosure where the tanks usually rest when it is in idle. It consists of 2 plasticky pieces, each slightly smaller than a Trident gum piece, with one slightly bigger than the other. They are held in place by a rubber gasket. When you see them, they will be black, covered with wet ink. Pry them out by the edges from the rubber gasket, your fingers will be stained with ink.
3. Wash the 2 absorbers, you will discover that the original color of the absorbers is white. Dry them.
4. Take tissue and dab the area where the rubber gasket is, to absorb the remaining ink.
5. Replace the 2 white absorbers back into the rubber gaskets, minding to place the correct size absorber in the correct portion of the gasket.
6. Close the cover, and the green power light should be solid and ready to go.

Create a Button in Filemaker 9 that Saves a PDF and Emails it to an Email on the Record

2008-11-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

In Layout Mode:
Goto: Scripts>ScriptMaker...>Perform Script
Click: New
Name the Script Name: Create PDF and Email
Double Click: Save Records as PDF
Check off: Perform without dialog
Check off: Specify output file
Click: Add File..., Navigate to a folder that you will save a temporary PDF, Type a new File Name that is reasonable, such as in my case "Sales Contract", Save
Copy the Output File string to the Clipboard
Do Not Check the Boxes, Automatically open File nor Create email with file as attachment
Click: OK
Check off: Specify Options
Choose to Save: Current Record
Click: OK
Double Click: Send Mail, in the Actions List on the Left under Miscellaneous
Click: Specify...
Click the arrow head at the right end of the To: box and Specify Field Name of the Email Records
Click: OK
Click: Attach File and Specify..., Paste the string from the Clipboard (of the Folder you will store the temporary PDF file)
Click: OK
Click: OK
Close the Script and Save
Close ScriptMaker
Insert>Button...>Perform Script>Specify...>Create PDF and Email
Click: OK
Change the Current Script to: Resume
Click: OK
Change to Browse Mode and Click on the new button
A new Email composition window will pop up with the current record's email address
The PDF attachment should be attached.
Unfortunately, signature information in Outlook do not get added at the end of the email

Remove MFC 7820n Toner End of Life message

2008-11-12T17:40:00.001-08:00

If you want to reset your Brother MFC 7820N machine so you no longer have the error message: Toner End of Life,

Do the following:

1. Open the front cover of the 7820N, that is, the cover that allows you to pull out the toner and drum, but don't pull out the drum/toner.
2. Push the button: Options (located on the left of the control pad).
3. Type: *00 on the keypad.

The Brother MFC 7820N should be reset and the Toner End of Life message should disappear. Warning, this may void your warranty and ultimately damage your machine if you are reusing or refilling your cartridges, but you should already know that. Hope this helps.

Homelink (Johnson Controls) Remote Control Programming

2008-11-09T00:43:00.000-08:00

Your new car came with Homelink and you tried the instructions from the auto manufacturer and it does not work. There are several confounding variables that I have collected over Googling solutions which finally worked for me by trial and error. My equipment includes 2 Genie Promax garage door openers, 2 Genie keychain remote controls, 1 Overhead Door remote control, and a Lexus automobile with Homelink.

In your car, you should have Homelink buttons 1,2, and 3. You will need a functioning hand held remote control (transmitter, clicker) with you.

Step 1.

You must first reset Homelink. You can also reset Homelink when you need to start over in programming. Do this by pushing buttons 1 and 3 down at the same time for at least 20 second, or until the solid red light starts blinking. Let go of the buttons.

Push the number you wish to program (in this example, button 1) and hold it down nonstop. While continuously holding down button 1, push the button on your hand held remote control. Vary the distance of the hand held remote control starting from really close to the Homelink buttons and gradually to arm lengths away. Also, vary the button pushing of the hand held remote control from continuously holding down the button to intermittent button pushing. The red light should initially blink slowly and then start blinking very fast when it is programmed.

If you have an old garage door opener, you are done at this point and pushing button 1 again should open the garage door with a solid red light. You can repeat Step 1 for other door openers that use a hand held remote, such as a front gate. If pushing button 1 causes the red light to blink quickly, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2.

If you have a new garage door opener, most likely it has a technology called rolling codes. In this scenario, for the programming of Homelink, there is one more step. This will involve positioning your car close to or underneath the garage door opener motor (the device hanging from the ceiling chained to the garage door) so that you have immediate access from the garage door opener to inside your car. Remember not to position you car directly underneath an open garage door.

Open up a panel on your garage door opener motor (you many need a ladder) and push the Learn Code button, a light should start blinking. Within 30 seconds you must get into your car, or someone else can help you, and push button 1, a total of 3 times. Each push must be at least 3 seconds or until the red light becomes solid red each time. If everything goes well, it should be programmed and the garage door should activate.

Troubleshooting:

If it did not work, there are several confounding variables that you need to figure out.

From reading the several posts out there, one variable is the battery in your hand held remote control. Some batteries are too weak to program Homelink in Step 1, even though the battery can power the remote control to open your garage door without a problem. In this case, replace the battery in your hand held remote control.

Another variable is the hand held remote control itself. Specifically, the frequency output of the hand held remote control. I had 2 duplicate Genie keychain-type remote controls that seemed to program Homelink in Step 1 (the red light changed from a slow blink to a fast blink), but later found out by luck that they were not doing the job correctly. I found this out because I had another hand held remote control manufactured by Overhead Door which ultimately programmed Step 1 correctly, so that Homelink was able to Learn Code from the garage door opener motor in Step 2. Homelink states in their documentation that certain hand held remote control frequencies are not compatible with programming Homelink. Someone in a forum posted that changing the frequency on their hand held remote solved the set up problem. Some remote controls have a small switch on the side of the remote control that allow you to change the frequency. Someone else in a forum posted that they had contacted Homelink and the support representative was not successful with troubleshooting and so the representative sent him a hand held remote control from Homelink to try.

Resource:

http://www.homelink.com/programming/programming.taf

Filemaker Pro Database Remote Internet Sharing

2008-11-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

How to set Filemaker Pro 9 to share your database to other Filemaker clients out of the office running the Filemaker Pro application.

This is not the Instant Web Sharing (IWS) solution which is limited in FMP functionality and will be covered elsewhere. This is not FMP Server.

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Open your database in Filemaker Pro 9 from the computer you wish to Host the database. I know at least FMP 6 - 9 can host remote databases. I will refer only to FMP 9.
Goto: File>Sharing>Filemaker Network...
Turn on Network Sharing to share your open files using TCP/IP.
For now leave the Network Access to File, to All Users, you can change this at your own discretion. Click OK.
Goto: File>Manage>Accounts & Privileges...
Make sure Admin is turned on, select Admin, Click on Edit...
Set a Password. Click OK.
If you have a Router, you must:
Open the start/end/internal/external TCP port (AKA, gateway, pinhole, service) 5003 (this is the universal FMP Database port) and specify which computer IP is hosting the FMP database file in your local network (LAN). For example, 192.168.1.4, is the host computer IP with the FMP database open and running in the local office network. Find this number by logging into your router and identifying the database host computer and its LOCAL IP address. That is, inquiries from the outside world to your host computer that have FMP data, will be forwarded by your router to your specified local network host computer 192.168.1.4 through port 5003.
Find out the IP address of your WAN (wide area network), that is, get the IP address that your broadband carrier assigns you (for example, 60.123.4.123), or know your domain name (for example, domain.name.com)
Your database host/server setup is now complete.
From a remote location outside of the office or outside of the local network where the database computer is running, log in through the internet to the database with FMP 9 running on your host computer by doing the following:
Open Filemaker Pro 9 on a remote computer.
Goto: File>Open Remote.
From, View: Favorite Hosts,
Click Add...
Type in the static IP address or domain name, for example, 60.123.4.123 or domain.name.com.
If you have a dynamic IP that changes when the router is restarted or if there is a power failure, you can obtain a static pseudo domain name from sites such as www.no-ip.com.
Click Save.
Your Host and Available File(s) should show up, after a brief pause.
Click Open.
In the future, for faster reference, you can:
Goto: File>Open Recent>DatabaseFile(host computer)

Resources:
http://www.filemaker.com/help/13-Sharing%20data6.html
http://www.filemaker.com/help/Non-TOC%20Topics51.html
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