Determining Picture Export Extension

[Rob D]

I am trying to export the pictures out of a FM 8.5 file, but I do not know how to determine if it is a .jpg or .pct file.

If I manually export the container, FM defaults to Untitled.xxx with the correct extension supplied. However, I cannot seem to get the default in my script.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Marianne B.]

If you right click on the field containing the image, then select export field contents, you can see the file extension.

I'm trying to export an entire file along with the container field, and can't get the pictures to export along with the rest of the file fields. I get the error message cannot export container fields. Are you encountering that message, too, or are you trying to export one image at a time?

[Fenton]

Try GetAsText(container field). Should have the file name. Set it into a script Variable, along with the first part of the file path (in FileMaker syntax), then export.

Marianne, you can't export a container field along with other fields, because most of those formats are text. You can export them in FileMaker format. But that's kind of redundant. You can import them from another FileMaker file also.

If you're expecting some kind of mixed export, like Word (or Excel, or AppleWorks, or "name your program that has text and graphics"); those are proprietary formats. It won't export them as HTML either; because HTML is a text file; there are no pictures "in" it, only relative file paths (you could calculation the paths and export that, and it would work as html, kind of).

So, the question is, "What exactly are you trying to get?"

[Marianne B.]

What I was trying to do was export a file to xml, xls or anything else. End result is we have to upload a file containing contact info and picture to our university's web site. We do not use FM web publishing for our university web site -- we use Common Spot. All pages have to conform to the institutional standard -- understand and agree with that philosophy. So, in looking for a simple method to accomplish that, I was hoping to export the file, along with the container field containing the picture, to xml or xls. You can put a picture in an xls file, so it would seem to me you can export it. I know I can attach the pictures to the .xls or .xml file one-by-one after exporting all the other text fields, but really wanted to avoid all that manual labor as I'll have to be uploading the file quarterly. I hope all that rambling makes sense.

[Fenton]

Well, the best I can think of is to get the pictures out as files (if they do not exist already), then upload the folder of files to the web site, using an ftp client; they generally have a way to synchronize folders. Pictures on a web site are always files, linked via a hyperlink to the web page itself; which is just text.

So, if you have the relative link to the picture file, using a known path and name (best no spaces) in whatever text export you do (xml with an xsl stylesheet can produce a nice web page), then upload the pictures also, you will see them on the web page.

I don't know what Common Spot is. I'm not that much of a "web-publishing" guy (yet -). But a web page is a web page, HTML with linked files. It would be nice if Common Spot (whatever it is) has an upload/synchronization feature, but that can be done with any ftp client. If you have access to the site.

Apparently Common Spot has some way to do this; though I'd have no idea what that was. A quick search of their web site finds this:

Easy Upload of Rich Media

Non-technical users can easily upload images, PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, video clips, Flash and other rich media directly to the Web site.

Document Management

CommonSpot provides a central repository for organizations to manage all of their documents and digital assets. Easily upload any asset type such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, and Audio/Video, ...

[Marianne B.]

Thanks. Using the pix as a file reference in FM was our second option. I profess no familiarity whatever with common spot. That's my co-worker's gig. I was just hoping to eliminate file redundancy by storing the pix in FM instead of our division's server, (which houses the "unfinished" image) as FM it sits on a separate server and is not subject to size restrictions, etc.

Maybe in the next FM upgrade they'll figure out a way to export contents of containers . . . .

I appreciate your help!

[drmac88]

Hi,

We do a lot of work with exporting large numbers of images out of FM solutions.

The best way we found was to get our hands on the CNSImage plugin from CNS. It lets you export in any format you want.

It won't export to an XML file, but we also use FTPit (from CNS as well) to automatically ftp the file to web servers where they can be refrenced to from an XML text file.

Hope this helps.

[Marianne B.]

Thanks. Appreciate the tip.