Linking images in an external folder on the server

[Ziphius]

I have a database that references images in a separate folder. I uploaded the image folder to the root directory on a filemaker server. Now I have to redirect my database to this folder on the server. I know the URL to the images folder in the root directory, and each record has a field with the image name that it is suppose to reference, so is there a way to direct my container field to the URL:filename in order to display the photo?

[agutleben]

When using a path, you need to ensure that the files are in a hosted directory. The path then needs to be:

http://FileMakerOrWebIP_orHostname/ServedDirectory/filename

A great product which is IWP friendly (and recommended) is SuperContainer:

http://360works.com/supercontainer/

This takes advantage of the WebViewer and gets around many limitations that are imposed by using regular container fields.

Edited October 27, 2009 by Guest
Did not see that this was for IWP initially

[Ziphius]

Thanks. I don't have a problem with the reference link on a local computer, it's when I upload to a server that I am at a loss.

So if I simply want to upload my filemaker database to a filemaker server (e.g. fmgateway), I should embed the images directly into the container field and avoid image references all together. Otherwise, if I want to create a separate folder for the images on the server and reference them via a URL path, I will need to purchase something like Supercontainer. Does that sound right?

Ok, I just read your edited post. So you are saying that I can reference the image container through a URL? My images folder is hosted at "http://mantacatalog.fmgateway.com/images/" so how would I direct the reference here and add the image filename to pull in the proper image? The image filename is listed in a text field for each record.

Edited October 28, 2009 by Guest
did not see edited response

[agutleben]

Why not use a web viewer if the documents are already hosted? There is no need for a container, then.

I have created a webviewer example. Just enter a filename (that you currently have hosted)into the FileName field. I am not certain about xls or doc files, but txt and pdf will show (and be downloadable) fine.

Document names should not contain spaces. If that is a problem, then you should be able to manage that since you are trapping the files name in FileMaker.

SimpleWebViewer.fp7.zip

Edited October 28, 2009 by Guest

[agutleben]

okay, so there are a couple things you are trying to accomplish as I understand it.

The first, is that you want to host your FileMaker database at fmgateway.

The second is that you are not understanding what needs to occur to have images resolve once the database file is hosted.

If you are going to host the file at fmgateway, then you need to be cautious about storing binary files directly in a container field. The primary reason for this is that depending on the number of files you store (or that will be stored over time), application performance can be affected. The second is that the file itself will get larger. This has the potential of affecting backup and recovery efforts. Storing a reference is really the ideal way to go.

That being said, it sounds like you successfully stored referenced paths to the files and everything works as you expect on your local network. Then, as you point out, when you host the file all the paths are then broken and container fields no longer resolve correctly.

I honestly think the best bet is to use SuperContainer. SuperContainer does several things. First, it provides you with a very quick and easy way to host your binary files. In fact, since all your documents are stored on your local network (on a fileserver I presume), you could install SuperContainer on your FileServer. The remainder of the setup has to do with configuring the webviewer(s) to point to the path you established when installing the SuperContainer server component and adding any additional parameters to the path (to control access to files, image size, etc..). You will also need to make sure that the necessary ports are open through the firewall to the SuperContainer file server.

There are also ways of converting your existing paths to the URL paths that SuperContainer requires. The support docs explain this in a little more detail.

Lastly, 360Works is a fantastic development shop. Aside from the fact that SuperContainer is easy to implement, they are there if you have any questions. Once you had your solution setup with SuperContainer, and have your webviewers setup, it would not matter whether or not the file was hosted online or at your company.

There are some videos that demonstrate SuperContainer. If you have not checked them out, please do. If you have, I suggest taking a second look.

Edited October 28, 2009 by Guest

[Ziphius]

Ok, got the Web Viewer to work, thank you for that. The problem now is that the image files are different sizes and they don't automatically fit the Web Viewer window.

I will take a look at SuperContainer and maybe try out the demo.

Thanks.