SuperContainer is the easiest way to upload, view, and download files to and from any FileMaker database, plus it offers numerous advantages over FileMaker's built-in container field.
VersionWhat's New?
Own a license?
Download
current version.
Learn more about our
Portfolio License bundle!
SuperContainer automatically creates dynamically resized thumbnails from high resolution images, which load much faster than regular containers. It is also multi-threaded, which means no more waiting for your container fields to display before you can start typing and clicking. Remote users will see an especially significant speed boost with SuperContainer.
SuperContainer stores files in folders on your server, not within your FileMaker database. You can add all the Microsoft Word documents, PDFs, and photos you could ever want to your FileMaker database, and the size of the database will never increase. This means faster backups, less database corruption, and better performance.
SuperContainer allows you to easily set a base directory where your files will be stored. This can be located anywhere on the computer where SuperContainer is running, or even on a network storage volume.
With SuperContainer 2.75 and later versions, FileMaker Go and mobile devices are fully supported and optimized. Now iPad and iPhone users with FileMaker Go will be able to view documents stored in SuperContainer with no programming changes required.
Receive an Enterprise license, which allows for server-side use and unlimited number of users, along with all products from 360Works when you purchase the Portfolio Bundle.
SuperContainer allows users to easily upload files from their web browser, either by clicking an 'upload' button or by dragging and dropping files into their web browser.
SuperContainer lets you do document management and digital asset management using FileMaker Web Viewers instead of container fields. You can upload, download, view, and resize images and documents using FileMaker Pro client software or with your web browser and Instant Web Publishing. It is the perfect solution for storing scanned images, digital photos, PDF documents, and any other document or file without the the problems associated with embedded or referenced container fields: slow speed, large files and cumbersome backups, cross-platform path issues, lack of browser uploads, and share drive IT issues.
SuperContainer can do everything a regular container field can do and more. It automatically creates dynamically resized thumbnails from high resolution images which load much faster than regular containers; provides better folder organization for where to store the files; is cross-platform compatible; and stores the files in regular folders on your server instead of embedding them into your FileMaker database. It is also compatible with Instant Web Publishing (IWP) or WebDirect, and even allows you to do web uploads straight from your web browser into FileMaker. It is good for any solution that needs document and image storage in a FileMaker database, but it is particularly well-suited to document management and digital asset management with large images or many files with high disk space and file size requirements in a multi-user environment.
SuperContainer is a Java servlet which allows you to upload, view, and download images and files from a web server. By using the Web Viewer layout object in FileMaker, it can be embedded directly into your FileMaker layouts and the Web Publishing Engine (WPE), giving the appearance and behavior of a container field. Installation couldn't be easier - just download and double-click, and your SuperContainer server is running.
SuperContainer is a customized container, built for web. Both SuperContainer and FileMaker 12 and higher offer storage outside of FileMaker solutions, thumbnails, and smaller file sizes, but SuperContainer allows for customized and complete flexibility of the file location and structure. SuperContainer can also be deployed on any computer for users who desire dedicated storage resources. SuperContainer also offers easy file uploads from the web, simple browser access to files, compatibility for legacy solutions, PHP, and Java and more. Please note that FileMaker 12+ containers do support uploads from FileMaker Go, which are not currently supported in SuperContainer. FileMaker 12+ containers also work well in a single user environment, where SuperContainer requires the application to be installed on a server.
| Container Fields | SuperContainer | |
|---|---|---|
| Doesn't require a plugin on the users computers |  |
|
| Works cross-platform | |
|
| Doesn't require users to mount a shared volume | |
|
| FileMaker just stores a reference to the files, which keeps your databases small | |
|
| Reference contents in the scripting and calculation engine | |
|
| Drag and drop (SuperContainer version 2 and higher) | |
|
| Multithreaded viewing means your users can work while images load in the background | |
|
| Files are stored in neatly organized folders which you control | |
|
| Dynamic thumbnail generation feature means much faster viewing and network efficiency for large files | |
|
| It is very easy and efficient to display stored documents on FileMaker-powered web sites | |
|
| Easy ability to directly open files for editing | |
|
| API for PHP and Java (SuperContainer version 2 and higher) | |
|
| Upload folders, multiple items, and OS X packages (SuperContainer version 2 and higher) | |
|
| Standalone SuperContainer server running on OS X uses CoreImage for rendering PDFs, EPS, etc. (SuperContainer version 2 and higher) | |
All of our plugins are designed to run on Mac and on Windows.
Works on Mac (10.6+) and Windows (XP+ or Server 2003+). FileMaker Server not required.
All system requirements are the same as those of FileMaker.
As long as you meet FileMaker's minimum requirements, you can run our plugins in your Mac or
Windows environments.
SuperContainer is an absolute mission-critical tool for just about every FileMaker project my company completes for a client. Deploying document management capabilities within a FileMaker database is difficult to implement and generally results in the users refusing to use the database because it is slow. Painfully slow. SuperContainer solves these problems, and now I have happy customers.
— Richard Carlton, CEO of RC consulting Inc.
The best answer to all this is a third party product called SuperContainer which will store your assets on a server of your choice, but present them in FileMaker as if they were IN your FileMaker database. This is something I can heartily recommend. And the guys at 360Works who make SuperContainer are great with their support. (Excerpt from his newsletter article about managing files associated with records in FileMaker).
— John Sindelar, SeedCode
SuperContainer is an excellent solution for allowing our clients to centrally locate their externally stored files, while retaining the ability to share their solution over the internet. We have had nothing but great experiences with 360Works' support of their product as well.
— John May, Point In Space
Yes! SuperContainer can be run independently of FileMaker Server by either deploying it with the standalone .jar file included in the download or deployed in a separate instance on TomCat. You must have a Java Runtime Environment installed in order to use the .jar file.
Yes, you can configure where SuperContainer stores files by modifying the web.xml. Instructions to do so can be found here: SuperContainer - Configure a Custom Location
Yes, using URL parameters you can change the way SuperContainer displays a file in a browser/web viewer. Please see the documentation here for instructions on how to hide the delete button amongst other appearance customizations.
No, SuperContainer includes a companion plug-in that can be used in FileMaker scripts to interact with SuperContainer Server directly. Please see the documentation for the companion plugin here for further explanation of its functions.
Basically, you will need to transfer the files that SuperContainer hosts to the new machine. It will be easiest to copy the entire 'Files' folder from the old server and transfer it to the new machine and place it where you want SuperContainer to look for files. If you are using a non-default location, you will want to also transfer over the web.xml file to replace the new one that gets created when you run the installer. If you are using the standalone, you can either transfer over the .jar file to the new server or required changes in the options menu.
Yes! Both the server application and the companion plugin support Web Direct.
While SuperContainer can create thumbnails of common image formats, not all deployment options support file types outside of this. In order to get thumbnail previews of PDFs and other file types, you must deploy SuperContainer with the Standalone .jar file on a Mac. This is because this deployment can leverage the Core Image library that is native to the Mac OS.
