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In this movie we will look at how FileMaker Server and Server Advanced are updated whenever FileMaker Inc. releases a patch. FileMaker Server can automatically check for new versions but it will not automatically install updates nor would you really want that, in my opinion. If you have registered our product with FileMaker Inc., you will also get notices from email whenever a new update is available. Let's find out if we can check what version of FileMaker we have. In the Admin Console on the Overview Page it shows the status of all the components. In the Server Information Panel at the bottom we'll see the version number. Another method is to look for the About Page. On Windows you'll find it under Help in the Menu. So right here it reports the current version as well. Now while we have the Admin Console open, we'll go check if FileMaker Server is configured to automatically check for updates and we'll find that in the General Settings under Admin Console right here at the bottom. One thing to note about checking for version is that if you navigate to where FileMaker Server is physically installed, which in our case is on Windows, and you want to check the version of the FileMaker Server Executables, you may not get the correct version number. The FileMaker Executables are installed right here under Database Server and you have say FileMaker Server Executables, right click to choose Properties and if we check the Version Tab we'll see that the version that it reports here is different than the version that we see in the Admin Console. The only valid check then is to use the Admin Console. If you have FileMaker Server configured to automatically check for updates, then you can also find the most current version on the FileMaker Start Page. The second section here where it says Software Update also reports the current version of your FileMaker Server. If you want to manually check for updates, you can go to your Admin Console and from the Help force an update check. One thing you will not have to worry about is updating the Admin Console on all the workstations that you have it installed on. The Admin Console is downloaded automatically from the server every time you run it. So it will always be up to date. If you don't way to rely on FileMaker Server automatically checking for updates, you can also check on the FileMaker website in the Support Section. All the most recent updates are listed here. Apart from updates and patches for FileMaker Server the operating system itself also has periodic updates. To make sure that these do not get installed automatically so that you'll have time to evaluate or find out if the latest operating system update interferes with FileMaker Server. Also some of these updates require a server restart and that's definitely something you want to be in control of so that you can first make sure that your files are backed up and then closed properly. Since FileMaker Server relies heavily on Java, you need to make sure that the automatic updates for Java do not get installed automatically either. There have been known issues with Java updates in FileMaker Server. If a Java update did get installed, you can always revert back to an earlier version. On Windows, you'll find all the Java information in the Control Panel under Java. And this is where you make sure that Java does not automatically download or install its latest updates. This is also where you can see what versions are installed and if you have multiple versions installed, you can drag them, drop them around to make sure that the version that you specify is the one that is being used on the machine. On OS X, Java is installed as part of the operating system. And updates to Java are then handled by the normal update channel, but here too you want to make sure that all the updates on OS X do not get installed automatically and be extra cautious about manually installing Java updates. Monitor users groups like FMForums.com for reports by other users. If you did install a new version and it breaks FileMaker Server functionality, then you can go to Applications, Utilities, Java and launch the Java Preferences from here. Here you can drag and drop and change the order in which Java versions are being used. So you can always make sure that even if you have a new version installed, you use the version that is certified to work with FileMaker Server. To conclude this section on updating FileMaker Server, two footnotes. All FileMaker products on Windows require access to the original install files when you update them. This means that if you install from a CD, then that same CD needs to be in the computer CD drive when you run the updater. If you installed from a network location, then the original installation files need to be available at the same location. If they are not then the update will fail. On OS X, the updater searches the hard disk for FileMaker Server or the FileMaker Server Admin Tool. But if you have mounted drives, it will typically also search those. So avoid having mounted drives when you run the updater, otherwise it may take a very long time for the updater to finish.