Building a URL from the Web

[Plebuch]

I have a little FMP 5.5 application where the goal to send an e-mail message to notify people at the time a status field is updated. The field will be updated on the web. Essentially, the message consists of a URL that points to the record which was updated.

We have used Smtpit and oAzium Events to send out the e-mail and that portion works beautifully.

The problem is calculating the URL, which works perfectly when the record is updated on the host machine. When it the record is updated on the web the URL calculation inserts the record number for the first record in the database.

We watched the host machine as we updated the web record and this is what we saw:

Search for a record on the web - host machine displays the desired record.

Enter Edit mode on the web - host machine displays the first record in the file.

Update the record on the web - host machine displays the first record in the file and uses the record number from that record.

How can we keep the record "active" until the URL is built? Is this mission impossible? This app is only used by a relatively small number of people and there is little chance that more that one person will need to use the application at the same time.

[Jeff Spall]

Would this help as a work-around??

We do email alerts when records change, but approach it in a different way:

When the web record is created or updated, the "reply" page shows the info the user has just input with two buttons - amend and OK. Amend takes them back to a record detail page, but OK posts the email using a mail cgi. You can use hidden FMP fields for your mail data and recipient addresses etc, so I guess you could build your URL with a record number (or whatever) embedded in it.

It does need another click from the user, though.

Jeff

[Plebuch]

Can this be done within Web Companion or would we have to write our own code. One of our prime objectives is to use Web Companion.

[dspires]

It should work fine.

How are you identifying the record? You should use a unique record ID field. The FMP generated -recid field may not be the same after a restart of the database.

[Jeff Spall]

Hi, here's the kind of form action that I use:

using a propriatary cgi:

</FORM><FORM ACTION="http://mydomain.com/email.cgi" METHOD=POST>

<P><INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME="to_address" VALUE="[FMP-Field:Circulation_email], [FMP-Field: DTP_email],[FMP-Field:Production_email]">

<INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=mailer VALUE="mymailserver.com">

<INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=Note VALUE="This record has been amended in the Marketing design/print database">

<INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME="Job number " VALUE="[FMP-FIELD: Job_Number]">

<INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME="Job title " VALUE="[FMP-FIELD: Job_title]">

<INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME="Comments " VALUE="[FMP-FIELD: Comments]">

<INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME="Date needed" VALUE="[FMP-FIELD: whole_date]">

<INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME="from_address" VALUE="[email protected]">

<INPUT TYPE=hidden NAME=subject VALUE="Marketing design/print - amended_record">

<INPUT TYPE=submit NAME=Mail VALUE="OK"></FONT>

</FORM>

...as you can see, this one picks up the recipient(s) from FMP-fields.

You can simply use the built-in "forms acgi" if you have a webstar server, or you could run just Filemaker and a mail cgi on the server without any other web server software. Please mail me if you need stuff to try this out.

regards, Jeff