Insert with Preview

[rogermax]

I am supposing that this is a documented limitation in windows, but I am hoping someone has an idea to get around it... I can drag and drop a pdf to container and have a preview of the first page. But I can find no way to script it and end up with the "preview". Am I wasting my time or does someone have a way?

BTW: Why can we not import a folder of pdf files at all?

[John Mark Osborne]

Try inserting the PDF as a QuickTime movie which has a corresponding script step. Inserting a PDF a s a QuickTime movie is the same as dragging it into a container field.

You should be able to import a folder of PDF documents since the feature supports QuickTime movies. I just did it on my Macintosh.

With both of these suggestions, PDF documents will not work the way they would if you imported them as files. In other words, you won't be able to double-click on them to open them up.

[rogermax]

Thanks for the suggestion, but it throws up an error in WindowsXP stating the QuickTime movie could not be inserted.

[John Mark Osborne]

Should have tried it on my Windows machine. Works fine on a Macintosh. I went to my Windows machine and drag/dropped a PDF into a Container field and it inserted it as a file with no preview. Maybe I don't know enough about PDF documents but what you stated doesn't seem to work. I looked on some other lists and only confirmed what I tested. You can insert PDF files as pictures or QuickTime movies on the Macintosh but not Windows.

[rogermax]

Quite unfortunate. Blows away my intended design. Back to the drawing board.

[John Mark Osborne]

How did you get the preview to display on Windows? I'd like to know and possibly some other lurkers.

[rogermax]

The only feasable way on Windows that I found was to to drag and drop. ie. drag the pdf document from a folder to the container field. This nicely shows the first page. It does have some drawbacks, such as not being able to use the GetAsText() function for the file name after the fact. You can also do an insert object (right click then navigate to file). This does not work in a script because you cannot use a variable for the file/path in the Insert Object script step.

My goal was to not have the user needing to navigate to the files. This will be part of, among other things, an email solution receiving pdf's as attachments.

[John Mark Osborne]

Interesting?!? Dragging and dropping on my Windows XP machine didn't support a Preview. Maybe there is some setting to toggle.

[rogermax]

Yes, it is interesting. I went back and tried again to make sure. It works when I drag from a folder and drop to the container... the "preview is limited to the first page only. Double click the container to open the document is still available. Using 8.0v3 Advanced

[millbrookp]

In speaking with FileMaker support when using version 7, we were trying to get previews of EPS files to show in a field. It worked on a mac, not on windows. Support told me that the OS generates the preview, not FM Pro, thats why it didn't generate preview on windows. Bummer!