PDFs in Web Viewer in IWP

[Sunnylew]

I have a database that contains thousands of letters which have been scanned and put into individual PDF files.

On my own computer I have set them up as referenced files in containers and am using a webviewer to view them.

What I'd like to do is have this work on iwp as well - but at least when testing on my own computer (using Safari 5) I get just a blank screen in the web viewer - no "URL is not there" or otherwise.

At present my paths in the web viewer are

file://etc/etc/etc

Do I need to make a relative path using ip address etc or is this a known problem with iwp and local files?

I'd really appreciate any help/ideas on this one.

Even if it means the whole web - viewer approach has to go out the window.

The only caveat I have to work under is that the files stay on my computer - there's close to 500Gig and I can't afford to host that much anywhere.

Edited October 4, 2010 by Guest

[Matthew F]

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question. But I'm wondering why you don't view the PDFs within the container itself? I think that would work with IWP.

[IdealData]

The webviewer uses the http: protocol and must therefore be hosted by a web server - you cannot use "file" protocol.

[Sunnylew]

Hi MFero,

I don't use the container because it seems to show only the first page of my pdfs.

IdealData,

Are you saying that the "file" protocol in web viewer does not work in iwp, or in web viewer?

I already have it working in webviewer when used on the machine which has the original files.

My problem is when it is viewed from elsewhere via iwp.

In Explorer on windows I get an error message saying

"Can't find etcetc. Have you got the right address?"

Via Safari on Mac I just get a blank box.

Could a solution be along the lines of replacing "file &c" with "http://myip/somethingorother"?

[Reid]

Could a solution be along the lines of replacing "file &c" with "http://myip/somethingorother"?

As stated earlier, there's no way for you to post it on IWP and have it find your files because they are saved on your computer. When accessing it from the internet, people don't have direct access to your computer files (thank goodness).

I'm not sure, however, if it is a possibility to have a static IP together with ftp to find the file on your computer which would be acting as a server. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can answer to that.

Good luck!

[Sunnylew]

The ftp route seems just the ticket. I have a dynamic IP but it is linked to a domain with DYNDNS and seems to hold up very well.

I've read elsewhere, though, that if the files are in the "Web" folder in the Filemaker folder they can be seen with web viewers via iwp.

I can't move all of the files across to my computer, but would a path that employed an alias work? I've had a go with no success, but I've found that's often o indication as I've left a backslash where I shouldn't, or a colon, or something else.

Can anyone confirm whether the alias idea simply won't work, or may if I knew a lot more than I do?