Newbie getting buried under project

[dolphy]

Hi

[Garry Claridge]

I guess the first question is where will the site be hosted and what application/database tools are offered.

If the computer hosting Filemaker is online then that could be used as the database server.

In general, Forms in Web-Pages collect data and are sent to an application/database for further processing. Filemaker can receive Web-Page Forms and perform various actions.

All the best.

Garry

[dolphy]

Garry

[Garry Claridge]

The best method is to use Custom Web Publishing (CWP). This method uses Forms and URLs to query FM Databases and web-pages (Format files) containing CDML/HTML tags to display data.

Check the CDML Forum to get an idea on how this works. There are also sample files available.

All the best.

Garry

[Jeff Spall]

Hi, I think Filemaker is a very good way to go here, as I've found that custom web publishing is the easiest and quickest way to get started in dynamic/database web publishing. Compared to ASP, php, Cold Fusion or WebObjects (and we've done sites in all of 'em at one time or another!!) it's far easier for someone with a basic knowledge of HTML to create a site that works and looks good.

For your requests:

1 You can capture form inputs into a database

2 You can use that info for mailings (the Pop3It and SmtpIt extensions are really good for this)

3 As a real bonus, use dynamic CDML pages to deliver content like news items and pictures to your site so administrators can change and update the content instantly without having to mess around with html pages.

As far as the hosting is concerned, you'll really need a service provider who's sympathetic to FileMaker or host it yourself. How you do that depends upon the load and also how complicated the site is. For a basic site, it's possible to serve it all with just a copy of FMP unlimited, next stage is to run a webserver (Apache, IIS, Webstar) on the same box as Unlimited and the third stage is a Webserver box with the Web server connector on it and a separate database server. It all depends on your load and how much you can spend.

Looking at this from a completely different angle, if your only need is to capture a form input and then to use that data to send targeted mailing, you don't need to have a direct connection between the website and FileMaker at all.

Given the SmtpIt and Pop3It extensions, all you need to do is make your web forms as cgi mailer forms which mail to an email account that a copy of FileMaker (located anywhere with at least a dialup internet connection) will watch and import from. You can then schedule mass mail shots from the same database, and you don't even need unlimited.

If you need specific help, search these forums (forae?) or post a question - there's a huge amount of expertise lurking around here.

regards, jeff

[dolphy]

Jeff & Garry