Display Container field's image dimensions?

[Grend]

In Form View, I understand that you can have a text label show the contents of a field like so: <>

I'm looking to have a similar text label that shows the dimensions of whatever graphic/image has been pasted into a container field named, let's say, "image."

Is there a function that returns a string containing this information? Ideally, I'd like the text field to display something like "320 x 240," but being able to see anything at all would be helpful.

Is this even possible?

[Fenton]

GetAsText ( container field ), result text, will return info. If you've used Insert [ [x] Reference only, then it will have 3 lines. The 1st line will have the dimensions:

size:439,476

However, if you did not check [x] Reference only, the only info returned will be the file name. In that case you would have to Export Field Contents, to create as a file again.

[Grend]

Thanks so much for the reply!

All of the graphics in the container field have been pasted in from the clipboard, so there wouldn't even be a filename.

I'm guessing this function works only if you use "Insert" --> "Picture..." is that right?

[Lee Smith]

I'm guessing this function works only if you use "Insert" --> "Picture..." is that right?

That would be a good guess.

Lee

[Fenton]

Yes, Copy/Paste is generally not a good idea; use Insert. You do not get a name when you copy/paste, and the data size increases.

When I Copy/paste what was an 82K JPEG picture file into FileMaker, the size becomes 183K. [ Use Length ( container field ) to see this.]

If I Export Field Contents, it becomes a 115K file. But it DOES have the same dimensions (640x480 in this case). So, even if you copy/pasted the picture in, you could Export Field Contents, to a known location, and read the dimensions.

But we have no way of know what you want the final image to be, an embedded picture or just a reference to an image file. There are pros and cons (several). It depends on what environment it is going to be viewed, whether you have a "file server," or whether you just want to embed some little pictures.

In the case of "embed some little pictures",* if you still want the size, the best way is likely to use AppleScript to get this info from the file directly.

There's a couple ways to do that, either the background graphics app "Image Events", or its command line counterpart "sips." This AppleScript will return the Height and Width of the chosen file:

set x to quoted form of POSIX path of (choose file)

set H to last word of (do shell script "sips -g pixelHeight " & x)

set W to last word of (do shell script "sips -g pixelWidth " & x)

-- kind of inefficient, calling it twice, but easy to read

Rather than setting x to a chosen file, you'd set it to a Unix syntax path from FileMaker; which would then need to be quoted.

H & W could then be set into FileMaker fields, within the AppleScript. Let me know if you want to do this, and I'll tell you more specifics.

* If you do not want embedded pictures, then you'd re-Insert the file as a Reference, which would also bring in the dimensions (see my earlier post).

Edited September 3, 2010 by Guest

[Grend]

Thanks so much for the information!

It's eye-opening to learn that pasting clipboarded graphics will actually take up more space; I've encountered the same thing in Windows with Microsoft Word.

Sounds like the lesson to be learned is to always insert graphics from the menu and not the clipboard!

[Wickerman]

TBHis thread is reminding me of a question I've been meaning to ask -- Let's say I have a container image for pictures. Is there a way to do a Find that will return records whose container field is *empty*?

I'm thinking not directly -- but I could make a separate calc field: Use Length ( container field ) and then just search for records where this field = 0 and those would work?

I'm thinking this is probably a fairly commonneed - is there a standard approach?

Thanks.