Convert XML to URL

[PBHolt]

Is there a way to convert XML to URL in a FM database? We generate an XML from a custom XSL in FM and then we want to convert that XML into URL. Is that possible? Is there a way to convert directly to URL without going through the XML steps? I'm new to this so any help would be great, thanks.

[Fenton]

Say what?? Could you give an example, in detail. Because the question, though it sounds like it might make sense in specific circumstances, is incomprehensible to me. If you want to construct a (GET) URL from data in FileMaker, why not just create it in a calculation in FM? Why is xml/xsl involved?

[PBHolt]

Exactly!!

Maybe I can clarify a little, since you've been there since the beginning. All of the XML generation was apparently fornot because when it came down to transmitting the XML to the customer, they gave us a URL to send it to and their version of the query string. Needless to say we were blindsided when this cane out.

Now we are in the process of generating what you said, a calculation field to simply gerenate the URL from the FM database.

[Fenton]

So, you are submitting a URL request in order to get the XML? This is pretty normal. It comes to much the same thing. You use the same XSL stylesheet to convert the returned XML to FM XML. You never see the xml, but it's there (somewhere).

You put your URL together in a FM calc, then specify it in the XML Import dialog as the path, via the "calculation" option. One difference is that FM wants the xsl to be on the web, or on a remote server, if the xml path is a URL. A local xsl file will give you an error; at least that's my experience.

[PBHolt]

The oppposite, we are generating XML to be submitted via URL. Once the XML is gerenated, we convert it to URL to send out.

[stefanshotton]

I do a similar thing where the xml links to a .asp database at a particular url and parses its contents to the .asp database, if this is what you need export as xml but set the save file type to .html/.htm then have filemaker open the file, information is then parsed, job done.

Is this what you mean?

[PBHolt]

Not exactly...

We had created XML from data gathered in an FM database, that we would then try to convert and send to a URL. That was all for not because, like Fenton suggested, you don't need to create XML to do that, just create the URL directly in a calculation field.

[stefanshotton]

What exactly are you trying to send via the web?

An xml file it self?

or

Information contained within the xml?

If you could explain the scenario better it would be easier to help.