Web links

[Ndesaint]

Here it goes :

I'd like to write my own home page, but I don't know how to link it with FMPro databases.

I also would like to have a script (Open URL) ran directly as a web link and not with a button.

Are both these things possible? Since I still only have the evaluation product, I can't access the Help file where all this should be explained.

Thanx a lot!

Nico

[wayne]

I'm fairly new to FMPro myself but the best way to link to an FM dB from the web is through the web companion (the only way). This will allow web users to access dB info from their browser. You would go to edit-prefs and select web companion. Once configured for TCP/IP or IPX then go to sharing from the fiole menu and enable the web companion.

Of course there's more to it than this when it comes to sharing. For example is this for intranet or internet use?

If you are using internet you will need to have your hosting service provide FM hosting services. If intranet all you need is FMPro 5 but have a limit of 10 users simultaneously (there's an unlimited version for unlimited connections).

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by your question so I think I only answered half of it.

Reply again to clarify please.

Thanks

[Ndesaint]

Yes, thanx. I actually have to different problems, even if I already can see my databases on the web.

The first one is that I'd like to have my own home page (with my design, that I already can see), and suggest different databases and layouts to refer to on this page, through web links. I'd even like to know if it is possible to create "web styles"... but may be this is a FM Developer feature...:

The second one would be to have an url, that is in my database (refering to a company's web site), directly linked with the web site it refers to (thanks to a script for example, but without having to put a button to activate the script). But I don't know if it's possible even if it doesn't seem so complicated.

Thanx again, and happy new year!

Nico

[sfsmith]

I'll be interested to see if you ever figure out how to publish URLs without attaching them to buttons; I've never tried to do that.

Here's what I know about publishing databases to the web...(I hope other members will correct any of this if it's not exactly right)

There are two ways to publish your database to the web with FMP - instant web publishing and custom web publishing.

Instant Web Publishing is done through Web Companion and you can select how your data will be displayed from a list of pre-defined web styles that FileMaker gives you in the "Configure Views" section of the Web Companion setup. If you do not choose a style from the list, you will get the default style. You cannot modify or add to these pre-defined styles.

Custom Web Pulishing is done by adding special tags to the source code of your web pages. You take the web site that you've already designed, and you add instructions in code about which database to pull information from and which fields you want displayed, etc. All of your stylistic formatting is still done in HTML. To do this, you need to learn the FileMaker Pro specific tags that send instructions to the database. These tags are very simliar to HTML, so if you code in HTML it will be fairly easy to pick up. You can use CDML, which stands for Claris Dynamic Markup Language, and is the set of tags that FileMaker put out for this purpose, or you can use LDML, which is Lasso Dynamic Markup Language. LDML belongs to the Blue World product called Lasso, and it is more powerful and able to do more than CDML. CDML is free. LDML comes with a purchase of Lasso. Everything I've needed to do to get my database info on the web, I've been able to do with CDML. When I learned CDML, I found the documentation to be pretty poor. I think there have been books published on it now, so it should be easier.

[Keith M. Davie]

"... I'd like to have my own home page (with my design, that I already can see), and suggest different databases and layouts to refer to on this page, through web links."

OK. a home page is a basic html document and standard anchor links will allow a client to navigate to the anchor's url. (e.g. <a href="http://www.fileville.com/>FileVille</a> )

If you want your homepage to also connect to your database(s) through Custom Web Publishing, then your homepage is titled "default.htm" or "default.html". You will use -cdml tags to interact with your FMPro db(s).

Peace

Keith M. Davie

[Keith M. Davie]

Ooops. I often leave this off and catch it when it doesn't work. In the example I gave of an anchor there should be a quote mark closing the statement as ... .com/">

Apologies

Peace

Keith M. Davie