Keeping "%20" in my calculation fields

[SteveGriff]

For some reason my calculation fields formats the character string %20 as 0 only. Is there a way to get around this problem or am I stuck?

Cheers

Steve Griff

[Keith M. Davie]

Is this in connection with a url string as in: "file:///Macintosh%20HD/Desktop%20Folder/"?

If so, and it is a string which is the result of (generated by) your solution, one answer is to change the names of your fields, etc (but not the data the fields contain) such that they are either one word "desktopfolder" or are treated as one word "desktop_folder".

[CobaltSky]

Hello Steve,

I was not able to replicate your problem here - various text manipulation calcs include '%20' and correctly return it as text. It might help to know a little more about:

1. The result type specified for your calc fields.

2. The result type of all the input fields for your calculations.

3. The functions your calcs are using.

4. The platform and version you're running.

I can't help but wonder if there is a mismatch of firld data types at the root of your problem...

[SteveGriff]

Hi there,

Thanxs for replying, here is the calculation field. What I'm doing is trying to use the OpenURL to open up the user's e-mail application to send an email.

"mailto:" & Client_Database::Email & "?subject=Your0Quote" & "&body=" & Substitute(gEMail_Body; " "; "0")

Version : Filemaker 5.5 for Mac OS classic

Client_Database:: EMail - Text field

gEMail_Body - Global Field.

I've got a feeling it's something to do with those ******* macs

I've cut this text exactly from my field, which is a calculation field (returns text). where there is a 0, there should be %20 ... The URL standard specifies for spaces you should have %20 instead... Cheers

Steve Griff

[CobaltSky]

Hi Steve,

Two comments:

1. I'm not sure that the approach you're using is the best one, since as well as the "Open URL" command, FielMaker provides a "Send Mail" command (immediately below the Open URL script step in the ScriptMaker window of v5.5 for MacOS) which is especially designed for the purpose of transferring email address, subject and message content to the user's email client application. You might be better off using it instead - in which case, since it isn't a URL, you won't have to worry about substitution of spaces.

2. Notwithstanding the above, I'm also not able to establish why you have been having the problem in the first place. Your formula has zeros instead of "%20", so it's not surprising that the results do also, but I find that if I enter an exact replica of your formula in FileMaker 5.5 on MacOS classic, but change the 0s in the formula to %20s, viz:

"mailto:" & Client_Database::Email & "?subject=Your%20Quote" & "&body=" & Substitute(gEMail_Body; " "; "%20")

---

that FMP accepts the formula without a problem and I get text output which includes "%20" in every appropriate location. Have you tried entering the %20 string into your formula? What happens when you do?

Cheers,

[SteveGriff]

Hi Ray,

Thanxs for helping me try and slove this problem. Here is my replies to your comments: -

1) The reason I have to use the mailto: instead of the send mail function is that the people in our company uses Quickmail pro as their default mail client (and they don't want to change... fools ) and the Send URL function does not support Quickmail.

2) Hmm... I don't understand why yours works and mine doesn't. Try closing the database and then opening it again... The code I put into my last post was what scriptmaker shows me after I put my code with the %20 into scriptmaker, closing the database and opening it again. That's where I find that scriptmaker has somehow changed all occurances of %20 to 0. I find if I put %20 into scriptmaker and press ok and then try the script, everything is ok. But when I close the database, open it again and then try the script, %20 has magically changed to 0. The database files are hosted off filemaker server.

Thanks for your help,

Steve Griff

[CobaltSky]

Hi Steve,

Quickmail Pro huh? - now I see why you're stuck messing 'round with Open URL - deepest commiserations!

However the problem is clearly not platform or version related per se, as I've just performed a number of further tests on v5.5 MacOS classic and have not been able to replicate it here.

Prior to my previous post, I'd entered the formula into an unstored calc, and it returned "%20" correctly when set as either text or number result type.

On receiving your last message, I tried entering the formula into a Set Field script step targetting a text field, with similar success. Closing the scriptMaker and re-opening it does not disturb the formula, and even shutting down FileMaker and then re-launching it and re-opening the file did not get rid of my "%20" strings either in the calc or script formulae or the results they produce.

For interest's sake I tried it on another Mac here (G3) plus under v 5.0 and v4.0 and also under v5.0 under Windows and it comes up ok there too at this end.

I'm now starting to wonder whether there might be a system setting (eg International character set) on your machine which is causing it to behave differently from mine? Are you using "Set Field" in your script, or another step?

[SteveGriff]

Okie dokie,

I'm going to do some filemaker work on a different machine than the one I'm using now... hopefully it will solve the problem, I will post my results on here later,

Steve Griff

Argh!

[CobaltSky]

Good luck - I'll look forward to hearing how you go

[Keith M. Davie]

Have you tried changing "Your Quote" (or "Your20%Quote") to "Your_Quote'?

The other thing you might try is using (Mac, option/space) to create "Your

[SteveGriff]

Just found out it's a machine problem, not a filemaker problem as first suspected.

I'm on a different Mac and I don't get any of the problems I have been describing on the other Mac computer. Therefore it's some kind of charset problem.... sucks.. life is so difficult

Steve Griff

[CobaltSky]

Sounds like you need to go over the settings in various control panels to try to zero in on the reason for the ideosyncratic behaviour of the machine you were programming on.

But the real money question is what the charset config of the machines your users will be using this db on is?!