FM Pro Advanced - new computer, lost external file links

[ak123]

I have been maintaining an Image Database for my company. This Database entails Image references to a folder on the computer. It only stores a reference to the image as the database would otherwise not be able to hold all the external files.

Now I have a new computer and installed the Filemaker software on it and placed the file containing all the images back in it's place on the desktop but Filemaker can't find the images (error message: 'the file cannot be found'). I was afraid that this problem would occur and am wondering if there is a way to fix it? Strangely, Filemaker is able to retrieve some of the images since being installed on the new computer (maybe 8 out of 500) which makes me hope there is a way of 're-linking' all the images? It would be great to get some advice on this.

Many thanks,

Anja Knospe

[Fenton]

It is peculiar that it kept the link to some of the images, but not others.

It is quite possible to "re-link" them. It's rather odd that the links would be broken, if the path is exactly the same. But I don't really know how FileMaker stores those links internally. You can see what it says they are by creating a calculation, unstored, result text, GetAsText ( container field with image ).

You should see 3 lines, the size, the relative path, and the absolute path. If you don't, if you only see the name, then that image was NOT stored as reference, it was embedded; you'll have to go find the original image and insert it again.

For the ones with 3 lines, you can get the last line, with:

Let (

info = GetAsText (container);

GetValue ( info; ValueCount (info ))

)

Set that into a script Variable (script step), named something like: $image_path

Then type $image_path, with no quotes or anything else, into a Insert script step, as the path. Try it on one record, then do a Loop through the records, with Go To Record/Request [Next; exit after last]

Of course that will only work if the images actually is still at that location.

Edited September 17, 2007 by Guest