Find and show record from URL

[Joel S]

I would like to link the CAD application VectorWorks with FM so that I can find a specific record (by a unique ID).

VectorWorks can open a URL in the form file:///pathname or http://pathname with the unique ID embedded within it.

The ideal solution would be that opening the URL in VW would display the referenced record in FM.

I am completely new to the Windows environment so what mechanism should I be looking at to perform a function like this?

Many thanks,

Joel.

[Wim Decorte]

I don't see how this would work with a URL...

Does Vectorworks support VBA (visual basic for applications)? Or can it export itself and run an external application directly?

[Joel S]

Wim,

Unfortunately, VW does not support VBA. Its internal programming environment is a Pascal-based system and it can be used to save files and possibly an executable with the necessary variables embedded within it.

Would VBA be the mechanism by which I can externally script a find within FM as I might with AppleScript?

[Joel S]

From within VW I could save a text file containing the necessary variables then open a VBA executable with the URL function which would read the file and cause FM to perform a Find with the data in the file - would that work?

Joel.

[Wim Decorte]

No, VBA is a version of VB embedded in another application (hence the name: Visual Basic for Applications). All of the MS OFfice apps support VBA and quite a few other apps.

You can trigger a FM script through FM's ActiveX model (do a search for ActiveX in the FM help file). ActiveX can be used from a wide variety of programming environments, not sure about the one in VW.

Worst case you can write a small VBscript (think of it as applescript for windows) and have VW output the text file then have vw trigger the vbscript. The vbscript will then trigger the FM script

[Joel S]

Thanks Wim,

It works with AppleScript so I have to work out how to do the same thing with VB and ActiveX.

Joel.