Attaching other documents

[Daniel Shanahan]

I'm not sure into what category this question fits, so I thought I'd post it here in the General discussion. I was talking with a friend who develops databases and uses a program called ACT (window-based). He said he is able to attach other documents (e.g. Word documents, Excel documents, etc.) to a database record. Is this possible in FM Pro? I have a Contact.db in which I keep track of all the times I've contacted people in my database. It would be great if I could attach all pertinent documents to that record.

Anyone know if that's possible?

Thanks.

Dan

[kenneth2k1]

Hello:

Yes, you can do this. You will need to define a container field. Go to File/Define Fields. Type a name for the field and click Container for the type.

If more than one object may be associated with a record, you may want to create a file just for holding these docs and relate it to your main database.

If you have any more questions, let us know.

Ken

[Anatoli]

Plan your databases carefully, so you do not fill your document database quickly over the 2GB-file limit.

[kenneth2k1]

Good point.

For example, I have a Word document that is 22MB. If I had a db of 1500 records and each had a doc this big, it would be like 33 gigs. That's way over the limit.

Ken

[LaRetta]

Hi Ken,

Can't you just store the link to it? I haven't implemented this process yet, but that is what I was planning to do. I really don't want to store the entire document - why would I want to double my storage requirements on my PC? Particularly if the document changes, storing in container wouldn't update (or so I thought). A link would always open the updated document.

I guess I'm misunderstanding what the link is for (?) Then double-clicking opens the doc, right? I'm Windoz. Any clarification would be appreciated!!

LaRetta

[SteveB]

LaRetta, you have it right...just store the link

Steve

[LaRetta]

Whew!! Thanks Steve! That stopped my heart. I'm creating a Documents db which can be referenced (and cross-referenced) to several other dbs on IDs for pulling my docs from a folder. This would have meant a serious problem for me. But I've found I can't move or rename the folder once it's in place, or I have to re-do the link.

Now, I'm a happy camper again!

LaRetta

[kenneth2k1]

Yeah, that's right. I should have said that in the beginning. Sorry, didn't mean to give you a heart attack. I was just throwing out an example and what not.

There are, however, instances when storing a link is not an option. Further, in MacOS, there is no OLE, so there is no insert object command. Sucks.

Ken

[LaRetta]

Oh Ken! That does suck! Thanks for pointing that out, as I always want my solutions to always be x-plat.

LaRetta

[Anatoli]

The link is OK, but it is also nice to click on Excel object in FM and edit that directly in FM

And some people like to take the FM database with them, so link to other computer is not useful.

[SteveB]

What, no OLE on a Mac? This can't be...behind Gates? (no pun intended)

Steve

[Ugo DI LUCA]

Steve......

[_ian]

The most common method of dealing with this issue is to use the Troi file plug-in to capture and store the path to the document. this does require storing documents on a shared volume in a multi-user environment. You generally script it so clicking on the document in a list will open the file.

For a couple of clients I've taken the approach of adding the records directly from MS Office. Those clients were running Windows and it was pretty straightforward to write the VB code to add a record into the FileMaker database from Word or Excel. This approach is really nice because you can add all kinds of document attributes at the same time to allow better searching and filtering. On a Mac, Applescript can do the same thing.

Inserting documents via OLE is not an approach i like very much. You've got too much exposure to file size limitations and no good way of dealing with them if you reach 2GB. You also are somewhat stuck at that point because you will not find a good way of extracting those documents from the database if you decide to migrate to another database system. FileMaker's Active-X support is very weak compared to its Applescript support so you will find there's no nice way of automating the process.

Ian

[LaRetta]

Thanks Ian,

I've been hearing (and reading) about Troi file plug-in for several months now. I guess it's time I took the plunge!

LaRetta

[SteveB]

Until the jokers at FM bring Filemaker into the late 20th century, I couldn't be without Troi Dialog and File plugins. There are others, such as 24U Simple Dialog which Anatoli likes, but you do need a file plugin and a dialog plugin.

Steve