Anyone interested in working on a Filemaker integration plugin?

Yordan Mladenov

A question to all Plugin developers.
From personal experience and from what I have seen in these forums, there are a lot of RapidWeaver web developers that want to add a database to run behind their websites. And I know this can be done with MySQL and PHP, but lets face it, most of the RW developers can't write code and that is why they use and like RW so much. And looking at the databases that require no Apache, MySQL, PHP, etc, and still work on a Mac and Win, only Filemaker stands out.

So as a Filemaker and Rapidweaver developer myself (that has an English Degree and knows no code), it is frustrating not to have any plugins that offer any integration. I know there was RapidScript, but that is just using Applescript from FM, not really a plugin.

So if anyone is interested in working on a Filemaker plugin, I am offering my services for any work required on the Filemaker side so we can get something working.

The way it should work is something like the Filemaker module for Drupal that is out there:


Please let me know.

Thank you.

Jody

Yordan,

Very interesting. I too would like to develop something for a website I have in mind that could use FileMaker in the background to collect data, display data, etc.

Did anybody every contact you about this? I think it would be an excellent idea.

Jody

DeFliGra

I asked same question in my early days in this forum. That's 4-5 years ago... soooo it's not gonna happen - for several reasons.

Filemaker is kind of an alien - when it comes to web-integration. It has a nice Instant Web Publishing feature... only problem is - you'll have to have someone to host the solution... and that ain't cheap. Or host it yourself and have a computer online 24/7.

24/7 - I did that with a 'webshop' solution I created. 30 fitness center could log-on with their own passwords and order goods. Payment by invoice at the end of the month. The best part of this solution was - I was able to create invoices from a homemade order-database and export all the whole thing to my accounting system.

Pretty easy to set-up.

The negative side... it was slooow and max - think it was 5 (?) simoultanious connections at a time.

I gave up on the solution... and created the page in RapidCart + Loghounds Lockdown plugin. Much faster, much more user friendly but... I had to do a little more work, once orders were e-mailed via RapidCart.

But I think... with FileMakers nice scripting options - it should be possible to create a solution within filemaker - that exports both data and css making it easy to export your data to the web looking good too. You won't have the on-the-web database power like searching the data in the FileMaker database though...

FileMaker is an old beast... everything on the web relating to datases are MySomethingSQL.
Don't think there'd be many users for a FM&RW;-plugin... limiting the benefits for the developer.
Wasn't then - hasn't changed since.

FileMaker is for oldtimers... like me

manofdogz

Have to agree with DeFliGra - Filemaker is great for small to medium businesses in house but not good as a web DB. I built all the database for my previous business in FM Pro and wanted to make some aspects web enabled but it just doesn't cut it - as mentioned the connectivity issue was a show stopper. Great shame tho - better get up to speed with SQL

Phloque

Maybe you've seen this. Not a plugin but a very useful functionality for easily getting data into and out of mysql via FMP.
http://www.filemaker.com/support/technologies/sql.html

Bailin

That's a bummer about the plug-in status.

My studio database is on Filemaker Pro 11. I have a laptop running 24/7 running the IWP so that I can access it and bring up specific information on each art work when I need. I tried using iframe to at least bring the database into the shell of my RW site (basically so that everything remains visually consistent and doesn't alarm the visitor by moving them onto another site). But I found that the i-Frame didn't work. The first page of the IWP shows up but the controls don't work (ie, press on the search button or even the exit button and nothing happens). Any thoughts on why i-Frame doesn't work nicely with IWP?

My solution now is to link the IWP URL from my site and then to add a script to the exit command that brings the viewer back to my original site [http://bailinstudio.com/page8/ and click on the link WEB CATALOG in the sentence 'To access the studio's database of drawings and paintings, click the Web Catalog to view.'). Its clumsy but works and for the viewer (except for seeing the change in the address - from bailinstudio.com to 99.168......) its painless.