Import using URL

[rudym88]

Good night, 

I think I am trying to reinvent the impossible, but it's worth the ask. If there any way I can pull data into FileMaker using a URL? For example, I need the item description and price, and photo. The main sites i work with are rockauto, amazing, Walmart, and eBay.

 

Please, if I am posting in the wrong group, my apologies. 

 

Thanks

RudyM

[comment]

5 hours ago, rudym88 said:

If there any way I can pull data into FileMaker using a URL?

It really depends on what's on the other side of the URL. If it is an API, then it will usually provide either an XML or a JSON response. An XML document can be imported directly (with the help of a suitable XSLT stylesheet) using the Import Records script step. A JSON response can be retrieved using the Insert from URL script step, then parsed using the JSON functions.

In the absence of an API, you can still use the Insert from URL script step to retrieve the URL's contents (such as a web page's HTML code) and try to parse out the required bits out of it. However, that's a tedious and error-prone task - and all your efforts may be wasted if the data provider changes their code. And sometimes the bits that you want will not be present in the retrieved data; this is particularly true for sites that defend themselves against data scraping. In such cases you need to resort to plain copy/paste (or possibly use a plugin - I haven't tried that).

In either case, you should consult the provider's terms of use before trying to get at their data.

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by comment