Need Help Creating an Image Browser

[RWX]

I'm working on a project for a film production company. We're creating a system to manage many aspects of their production, from wardrobe and location approvals to continuity to creating a shooting schedule. As you can imagine, we'll be storing and organizing A LOT of images.

From what I can tell, however, FileMaker's ability to display images is rather weak. For example, I have created a file to track locations. Each record contains all the relevant location info. Photos are stored in a separate file and related to the location. Some locations have 500+ photos (we're working with the location mananger to get him to organize his photos better...), yet the best I'm able to do is a single column portal that seems to go on forever.

Is there anyway to create a "matrix" view, ie: 5 images across in a portal? What about a matrix view as a layout? Has anyone found a way to get around around this limitation? Basically I need to create something like iPhoto or Portfolio. Nothing fancy. A standard image browser view.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Rob

[jfmcel]

The trick is to setup a layout with a very small area, and then under layout setup, view in several columns. You then view the layout in preview mode. You'll need to create a script for this.

If you have FM 6.0, look for the template included called Image Catalog.fp5. There you will find an elegant, if somewhat more complicated implementation of this.

For a kick-ass image browser template, checkout the Troi-File-Plug-in version of the Image Catalog.fp5

[Leb i Sol]

u answered your own question:

"5 images across in a portal"

slef related file.....there is a sample by Ugo Di Luca on Horizontal Portal Scrolling

I hope it helps

[Ugo DI LUCA]

Zilla !

Don't believe me if you wish. You just answered one of my questions....

[MacMogul]

OK, what I would like to know about the "Image catalog" template db is this:

How does the container field on the "Thumbnails" layout get configured to behave like a matrix of buttons, and how does it get connected to the scripts that switch you to the "Form" layout to display the image and its details?

I understand that the layout is being copied from the "List 3 x 4" layout in preview mode into the "Thumbnail placeholder" container field. I just don't understand how the "Thumbnail placeholder" field is functioning the way it does. That is: like a matrix of 15 buttons connected to 15 different scripts.

I've examined all the options/settings I can think of for all the fields and layouts in that db, but I can't figure out how that thumbnail view is functioning the way it is.

Thanks!

[Fenton]

If you're talking about the FileMaker's Photo Catalog template, there are invisible squares on the layout, each of which is an button. In their template each runs a different script. Which is really obsolete (obviously only converted from 6 and not optimized). Each should send a different number parameter, all running the same script.

The Thumbnail Placeholder is a global container field holding 1 page of pictures. As you say, copied from another layout with columns in Preview mode, then pasted into in Browse mode.

I modified the 3x4 layout to 4x4 to get 16 pictures (128 pixel thumbs, with some text under). By the way, I tossed FileMaker's fancy text calculation and just put the text on the layout. I can see why they did it the way they did, but it's just not necessary.

You can also modify the forward 1 page script to get a back 1 page script; which I think is handy.