Remote File Upload and Download

[Jason H]

I'm trying to find out if its possible to create a web based FileMaker 13 solution (WebDirect) where I can remotely upload files to the db and someone else can remotely download those files.

All the reading that I have been doing with regards to WebDirect doesn't touch on containers at all.

Is this scenario possible and what would be the basics of making it happen (how to initiate an upload or downlaod, contain setup, etc)

 

Jason

[James Gill]

I don't see why not.  Containers in WebDirect function almost exactly as they do in Filemaker.

Edited April 29, 2015 by James Gill

[Claus Lavendt]

Containers works great in WebDirect. You can drag&drop files onto a container field.

you can script insert files and export field content, but the user can also use native controls in WebDirect. Just as if they had the solution open in a FileMaker Pro.

[Jason H]

If I was uploading a file from an iPad, where would FIleMaker Go or WebDirect be able to find it?

In other words, if I recorded an audio file in say iTalk, could I get at that file to upload it?

[James Gill]

You're asking two different questions (or perhaps wording the question poorly)...
 

If I was uploading a file from an iPad, where would FIleMaker Go or WebDirect be able to find it?

If you want to upload an audio file to a Hosted Filemaker file from Go, you can actually just tap on the Container field and then record the audio file directly on the FMGO device.  Once the recording is complete it will automatically upload into the container field.  Once that's done, the file resides in the hosted Container field so any Filemaker/WebDirect/Go client can access it by going to the associated FileMaker record.

In other words, if I recorded an audio file in say iTalk, could I get at that file to upload it?

If you're recording the file in a 3rd party app and want to upload the file from your Go device into the Container field, I'm not 100% how that would word.  In a perfect world you would have access to your devices file directory where you would just navigate to wherever the file is saved, but since it's iOS and they lock down the browsing of directories pretty well, I'm not sure how you'd find it.

Edited April 30, 2015 by James Gill

[Jason H]

If I was recording directly to a container in FMGO, does FMGO store the data until recording is finished then upload it to the server? OR is it streaming it to the server as it is recorded?

The recordings I do could be 2 to 2.5 hours in length. The device would have plenty of storage for that but if it was streaming the data, intermittent bandwidth fluctuations could be a problem. The audio is client data. It can't be lost.

[James Gill]

Unfortunately I don't have enough experience in FMGO to answer that question.  I know that in FMP and WebDirect you would need to record the file outside of Filemaker and then upload the resulting file into the container field.