Web Surveys with FMP 7

[Chirriras]

Ok, after spending six harrowing months tearing my hair out, biting my nails, walking the floor, and talking to myself incessantly, I finally managed (with a tremendous amount of assistance from this forum) to learn how to publish my web surveys using FileMaker 6 along with HTML and CDML. Now that I am comfortable with that, we have decided to upgrade to FMP 7. I realize that one can move up, but not down. What must I now learn in order to publish my surveys using 7? Also, do the surveys already created with 6 need to be re-done to function in 7?

Jeez, and I thought my life would get back to normal now.

[Garry Claridge]

FMP 7 does not do CDML It only does Instant Web Publishing (IWP).

The FM 7 Advanced Server will publish XML. Which is OK, however it is very expensive

I guess we need some tools for using CDML with PHP/XML!

Good Luck.

Garry

[Steve T.]

Howdy, Tucker! I remember your posts... Garry was your best friend for a while, eh? If I were you, I would leave the surveys in FMP6 for web processing since FMP7 has dropped CDML (which shocked and devasted many of us). Use FMP6 to gather the data and then open a copy of the file in 7 when you need to or you can create scripts to EXPORT/IMPORT data for you.

I do not have 7 but I imagine updating your db to 7 from 6 is the same simple, painless process as previous version updates. You should be able to just manually open the db in 7 and it will say it's in an old version and ask if you'd like to update A COPY to the new version... just be careful not to lose/replace the old copy because you can never go back to an old version.

Life back to normal? Ha! It seems FileMaker is my normal life, now... or was... I'm learning PHP/MySQL now and I can tell you that CDML is 10 steps down from PHP/MySQL in both power but at the cost of complexity. I feel like FileMaker, Inc. decided to push out the amateur/semi-pro/unversity-type of folks like us and turn web database technology back into a "leave it to the professionals" kinda thing. I wasn't planning on being a full-fledged web developer/programmer, but now I have to be unless we somehow get funding for one.

--ST

[Garry Claridge]

I've just visited the FM site to find what I could about going from CDML to XML. Looks like the easiest route maybe to convert Format files to XSLT!

I going the other way from IT professional to Hippie and Artist

All the best.

Garry

[Vaughan]

I spoke to Mark Banks of FMI Australia yesterday, as well as doing some research myself in the FMP 7 tech brief docs.

CDML is indeed dead. FM 7 Advanced Server will ship with a tool to convert *simple* CDML format files to XSLT stylesheet to work with FMAS7. This tool does not allow editing of the resulting XSLT, just the conversion.

Having said that, IWP is pretty cool in FM7 and may do for straightforward things like a web survey.

[Chirriras]

Sorry for the delay, I've been out of town training for other crises! So, what I'm hearing is my choice is FMP 6 to do my surveys, or FMP7 Server? That tells me all I need to know. There is no way our budget will allow for the purchase of Server or Developer.

As always, thanks guys.