Comments on: FileMaker 9 Tip#9: Web Viewers without the Web http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/ smart business solutions Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:37:44 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Tjebbe van Tijen http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/comment-page-2/#comment-1897 Tjebbe van Tijen Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:28:43 +0000 http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/#comment-1897 landed here because I am looking for a method to grab blocked text inside a webpage displayed in a webviewer and pass it by using some kind of script (AppleScript or Javascript) I use for a long time such a routine with an external webbrowser active window (Safari) whereby I slect an image (classic way right click and copy) and next block some partys of the text in that window; next I enter that data in sets of repeating text and container fields... The image is copied directly from the clipboard and the text is called by a simple Javascript.... Now I want to do the same/similar thing with webpages inside the webviewer and I fail ti find a proper way... It is fro Filemaker pro 10 platform OSX. If needed I can post in this blog my original working script ... landed here because I am looking for a method to grab blocked text inside a webpage displayed in a webviewer and pass it by using some kind of script (AppleScript or Javascript) I use for a long time such a routine with an external webbrowser active window (Safari) whereby I slect an image (classic way right click and copy) and next block some partys of the text in that window; next I enter that data in sets of repeating text and container fields… The image is copied directly from the clipboard and the text is called by a simple Javascript…. Now I want to do the same/similar thing with webpages inside the webviewer and I fail ti find a proper way… It is fro Filemaker pro 10 platform OSX. If needed I can post in this blog my original working script …

]]> By: Geoff Coffey http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/comment-page-2/#comment-1334 Geoff Coffey Mon, 10 Nov 2008 01:20:07 +0000 http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/#comment-1334 @Chris: I'm not sure. I really never use IWP, so I didn't know about this limitation. Have you tried asking on TechNet? If it can be done, I bet someone out there has done it... Geoff @Chris: I’m not sure. I really never use IWP, so I didn’t know about this limitation. Have you tried asking on TechNet? If it can be done, I bet someone out there has done it…

Geoff

]]> By: Chris Jones http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/comment-page-2/#comment-1332 Chris Jones Sun, 09 Nov 2008 06:59:04 +0000 http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/#comment-1332 Geoff This is great and I've done some neat things using a "data:text/html." & $$ message url. All works great on FMP Pro 9, but if I try and web publish using IWP, I just get a great big blank frame where the web viewer should be. Tried it with your Notes.fp7 too - same problem. Any idea why none of this seems to work over IWP? If I put a simple http:// url in the Web Viewer no problem - so the IWP is working fine. Using Safari on a Mac but same problem with FF, IE etc Thanks! Geoff

This is great and I’ve done some neat things using a “data:text/html.” & $$ message url. All works great on FMP Pro 9, but if I try and web publish using IWP, I just get a great big blank frame where the web viewer should be. Tried it with your Notes.fp7 too – same problem. Any idea why none of this seems to work over IWP? If I put a simple http:// url in the Web Viewer no problem – so the IWP is working fine. Using Safari on a Mac but same problem with FF, IE etc
Thanks!

]]> By: Geoff Coffey http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/comment-page-2/#comment-1318 Geoff Coffey Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:53:25 +0000 http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/#comment-1318 @Mike: Sorry I missed your comment. I wonder if the problem is that your PDFs are stored <strong>in</strong> the container field. The technique described in the comment thread will only work if the container holds a <strong>reference</strong> to the PDF, which is found on an accessible drive. If you want to do something similar with stored container content, you may need to use a script that does an <code>Export Field Contents</code> to a path (using <code>Get(TemporaryPath)</code> ideally) and then loads the PDF from there. There may be ways, using plug-ins or something, to get at the raw data, Base-64 encode it, and turn it into a data url . I have not tried that technique but I've heard people talk about it. Sorry I couldn't be more help. Geoff @Mike:

Sorry I missed your comment. I wonder if the problem is that your PDFs are stored in the container field. The technique described in the comment thread will only work if the container holds a reference to the PDF, which is found on an accessible drive.

If you want to do something similar with stored container content, you may need to use a script that does an Export Field Contents to a path (using Get(TemporaryPath) ideally) and then loads the PDF from there.

There may be ways, using plug-ins or something, to get at the raw data, Base-64 encode it, and turn it into a data url . I have not tried that technique but I’ve heard people talk about it.

Sorry I couldn’t be more help.

Geoff

]]> By: Geoff Coffey http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/comment-page-2/#comment-1317 Geoff Coffey Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:22:22 +0000 http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/#comment-1317 @Bart: There are two answers to this question, so far as I know. If you just want to trigger a scripted process of some kind, and it is OK for the script to run on the <i>server</i> then you can use a Custom Web Publishing URL in a link tag in the web viewer to trigger the script. But I suspect you really want the script to run <i>on the client</i>, ie for navigation, etc... I do not think this is possible without a plug-in. Two plug-ins that I think may work (I haven't used them myself) are: <a href="http://www.fusionplugins.com/reactor/" rel="nofollow">Fusion Reactor</a><br> <a href="http://mbs.geistinteractive.com/" rel="nofollow">The MBS Plugin</a> I don't have direct experience with either, but I believe both can help you do what you want. Geoff @Bart:

There are two answers to this question, so far as I know. If you just want to trigger a scripted process of some kind, and it is OK for the script to run on the server then you can use a Custom Web Publishing URL in a link tag in the web viewer to trigger the script.

But I suspect you really want the script to run on the client, ie for navigation, etc…

I do not think this is possible without a plug-in. Two plug-ins that I think may work (I haven’t used them myself) are:

Fusion Reactor
The MBS Plugin

I don’t have direct experience with either, but I believe both can help you do what you want.

Geoff

]]> By: Bart Bartholomay http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/comment-page-1/#comment-1316 Bart Bartholomay Sun, 12 Oct 2008 02:17:24 +0000 http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/#comment-1316 Geoff - A little off topic, but I've been searching all over the place for html that should be included in the Web Viewer such that an update in the Web Viewer will cause a script to run, a la switching layouts with the WV on each layout. Any ideas? Bart Geoff -

A little off topic, but I’ve been searching all over the place for html that should be included in the Web Viewer such that an update in the Web Viewer will cause a script to run, a la switching layouts with the WV on each layout. Any ideas?

Bart

]]> By: Mike Williamson http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/comment-page-1/#comment-1312 Mike Williamson Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:31:32 +0000 http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/#comment-1312 Geoff- I am puzzled with the View PDF examples. I can not get any of them to work. We have a table called documents where our users insert pdf docs into a container field. Each record contains one doc. I'm trying to create a script that 'opens' that pdf in a web viewer on the same record. Could you point us in the right direction? I understand that I have to somehow set a path. But I am at a loss as to how to do this. TIA Geoff- I am puzzled with the View PDF examples. I can not get any of them to work. We have a table called documents where our users insert pdf docs into a container field. Each record contains one doc. I’m trying to create a script that ‘opens’ that pdf in a web viewer on the same record. Could you point us in the right direction? I understand that I have to somehow set a path. But I am at a loss as to how to do this. TIA

]]> By: Geoff Coffey http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/comment-page-1/#comment-1298 Geoff Coffey Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:11:58 +0000 http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/#comment-1298 zabouth: You're right that the data url format is a standard, but there rest of your comment is incorrect. IE doesn't support the data url standard. (To be fair, IE8 does support it, but it is unsupported through IE7). To get it to work in the Web Viewer, FileMaker pre-processes the URL on windows, and if it is a data url, it creates a temp file with the content, then instructs the IE component to show that file. On the Mac, the WebKit engine (from Safari) is used for web viewers. This component does support data URLs, which is why they worked on the Mac in FileMaker 8. But at that time, the data URL support was spotty. I'm not sure if FileMaker uses temp files in 9 on the mac as well, or if the updated webkit just works better, but either way, in 9, it works reliably even for large amounts of data. So I would argue that this *is* a FileMaker feature. Geoff zabouth:

You’re right that the data url format is a standard, but there rest of your comment is incorrect. IE doesn’t support the data url standard. (To be fair, IE8 does support it, but it is unsupported through IE7). To get it to work in the Web Viewer, FileMaker pre-processes the URL on windows, and if it is a data url, it creates a temp file with the content, then instructs the IE component to show that file.

On the Mac, the WebKit engine (from Safari) is used for web viewers. This component does support data URLs, which is why they worked on the Mac in FileMaker 8. But at that time, the data URL support was spotty. I’m not sure if FileMaker uses temp files in 9 on the mac as well, or if the updated webkit just works better, but either way, in 9, it works reliably even for large amounts of data.

So I would argue that this *is* a FileMaker feature.

Geoff

]]> By: zabouth http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/comment-page-1/#comment-1297 zabouth Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:31:10 +0000 http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/#comment-1297 I don't think that it is a filemaker feature. The option to use data url is in RFC 2397 so is part of IE and as all that filemaker dose is use the windows built-in IE viewer control the feature is part of windows/ie not part of filemaker if anything its more of a side effect of using the IE component of Windows(I cant say how this works on the mac but I would guess its the same with safari) In not nitpicking. I use data url's all the time but still credit where credits due. I don’t think that it is a filemaker feature.
The option to use data url is in RFC 2397 so is part of IE and as all that filemaker dose is use the windows built-in IE viewer control the feature is part of windows/ie not part of filemaker if anything its more of a side effect of using the IE component of Windows(I cant say how this works on the mac but I would guess its the same with safari)

In not nitpicking. I use data url’s all the time but still credit where credits due.

]]> By: Geoff Coffey http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/comment-page-1/#comment-1292 Geoff Coffey Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:13:44 +0000 http://sixfriedrice.com/wp/filemaker-9-tip9-web-viewers-without-the-web/#comment-1292 @Ashwin: Send me a sample URL and I'll see if I have the same problem. Geoff @Ashwin: Send me a sample URL and I’ll see if I have the same problem.

Geoff

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