'Link' to Point to Files On Network Server

[arpeel]

Howdy y'all:

I'm trying to build a contact database in FM7 using the provided template that I have customized. It's going great except I want to be able to include links (like a shortcut or hyperlink type thing) to files on the server that relate to the contact currently displayed. For example, Joe's Donuts has a logo, a brochure, and a business card all produced by us and I'd like to have a link(s) or button(s) that the users can add to the contact that 'points' to those specific files or even just Joe's Donuts' folder on the server, or just shows the file(s) in a finder window.

Any ideas and or help is greatly appreciated.

All the client machines are running FM7 and I have FM7 Server - we are using os X 10.3

[Mif]

I have had some success with this. Hopefully this will work for you. I am using fm8 but I think fm7 works the same way.

Because you want to link many files to the one record, I would create a self relationship based on the key field for the file your layout is using and then display a portal on that layout where you can link as many files as you want to any customer.

1. Set up the self relationship. Make sure you select the checkbox in the edit relationship window labeled, "allow creation of records in this table, via this relationship", on the source file side. This will let you add more links right in the portal.

2. Create a container field called "filename" which will become the link to the actual file on the hard drive.

3. set up a portal with the container field in it.

2. In browse mode, Right mouse click on that field and select "insert file" from the menu.

3. In the next window, make sure you click the checkbox "Store only a reference to this file"(this makes it work as a link)

4. Navigate to the file on your drive, select and close window.

If you double click this file in the portal, it will open up the original program for you. (if it doesn't work, you may not have checked that "Store only..." checkbox.

[Steven H. Blackwell]

You could also just store the binary objects (the client's files) in a container fieldin the database. Since there is likely to be more than one, you'd want to put these into a related table.

Store by reference can cause some issues in a multi-user deployment.

Steven

[Genx]

... Store by reference will only cause issues in multi-user if the reference is a bit iffy... i.e. if it's not in a shared location on the network or if it is in a shared location but the reference path your using is a network drive and someone can't get access to it because they don't have the drive mapped or mounted in mac's.. i, think that's what its called. Anyway, point is, if you do store as a reference in multi-user:

a) Store in shared location

Use full network paths i.e. "serverimages" - this eliminates the no-existing mounted or mapped drive issue.

~Genx