I am attempting to set up a form on my website that will allow vistors to enter name, address, etc. and then be able to import this info into filemaker or have it automatically transferred to my database. I would rather not attempt to host a filemaker database so that it is available on the web. Is there a way for me to do this?

Thanks

"I would rather not attempt to host a filemaker database so that it is available on the web."

Well these are the Internet forums. Why ask that question here? Don't you think you'd liklier find an answer in the AppleScript forum or other forums in which FileMaker is not "available on the web"?

But don't let me tell you how to research.

Good luck.

I really had no idea where to start for this. How would the Applescript forum help? I say I would rather not host because I know of only two options - pay for someone to host on their server, or host on mine, but would need static address and filemaker unlimited, neither of which I have.

A few options which come to mind are:

- You could email the form to your database. Check the "POPit" plug-in for Filemaker. You may be able to do some processing from there.

- If your hosting offers PHP/mySQL you may be able to store the information in that database and have FM check it at intervals for updates.

- If you are using a Mac, the use of Applescript may offer a variety of solutions (as Unable has suggested).

I may have to find a similar solution for one of my clients soon

Good Luck.

Garry

Thanks for the help Garry. I am looking into POP3it and will research the other options.

Mike

Mike,

I'm glad that my response helped stimulate a much broader answer for you of some options.

Best of luck.

mikemccloskey said:

I really had no idea where to start for this. How would the Applescript forum help? I say I would rather not host because I know of only two options - pay for someone to host on their server, or host on mine, but would need static address and filemaker unlimited, neither of which I have.

Hmm, such thing I can host for US$10 monthly. Then you can get notification via email and connect FM to FM and get new records.

Here is a really low-tech solution to the original problem--how to get data from a web form to your data base. I used to do this when I worked for a non-profit that was usually running in the red. You have to be good at scripting FileMaker to work it, though.

First set the form to "mailto:(your email address)"

As the emails arrive save them as text in a folder reserved for this purpose.

Write an AppleScript to copy each message into its own FMP record in a field called <<RawText>>

Write a looped FMP script to go through each record and extract the data, inserting it into the appropriate fields (<<Name>>, <<Address>>, etc.). The data on the text will not be nicely separated by tabs, so you will have to be able to script some nesting text calculations involving [color:"green"]Position(text, search string, start, number), Middle(text, start, length), Right(text, number) , and [color:"green"]Left(text, lenth) commands.

As I said, this is a very Mickey Mouse solution, but, if you aren't expecting huge numbers of responses and you aren't too worried about security, it is quick, it's cheap, and it works.

Good luck

Jake

Since I originally suggested the AppleScript forum to Mike for an offline solution, and then Mike wondered, "How would the Applescript forum help?" I appreciate your response Jake, "Write an AppleScript to copy each message into its own FMP record...".

As one who has never written an AppleScript I knew that an AppleScript could be useful in a Using FileMaker Offline solution. Of course, a Mac is required for such an AppleScript solution.