I'm not sure where to start with this problem, so if you have any advice where to go, it is appreciated.

I am running filemaker 5.5, with Filemaker Server 5, in a Windows 2000 Environment.

I am creating a Database for Purchase Orders. THe database minimizes the data entry. 2 required fields are the Customer and PO Number. I am going to concatinate them to make a file name, ie: Customer Cisco, PO# 1234 would have a filename: Cisco1234.pdf

We would like to be able to scan the actual purchase order into a file.

1) Can I have Filemaker open the scanning program?

or

2) can I have filemaker Tell the scanner to scan the document (that's in the tray) and save it as a PDF with the filename?

Any other suggestions are welcome.

Thanks in advance

You can have Filemaker start the scanner by using the Send Message script step. As to whether you can save the scan doc as a PDF depends upon whether the scanning software accepts command line parameters. If it does, you'll need to save the .exe statement and the command line in a field (global text) and use it in the Send Message step.

Steve