Today's Problem - Templates for FileMaker Export

Thursday 11th November, 2004

The client has a database which they want exported as InDesign-tagged text. Not too difficult, but a bit fiddly. Is there a more efficient way than using nested

substitute( text, search_string, replace_string)

calculations? Is it time to write an external function for FileMaker that works like the PHP? To quote the PHP manual,

<?php
// Provides: You should eat pizza, beer, and ice cream every day
$phrase  = "You should eat fruits, vegetables, and fiber every day.";
$healthy = array("fruits", "vegetables", "fiber");
$yummy  = array("pizza", "beer", "ice cream");
?>

would be a far better solution. But how difficult is it? Time to investigate methinks.

At first I thought - no problem. I’ll look out some C++ code, open up my copy of X-Code, load up the FileMaker Pro header files form the Developer 7 disk and hack together an external plugin. It’ll be fun!

Ha.

Turns out after some investigation that since FileMaker Pro 7 still isn’t a Mach-O based application, you can’t write plug-ins from X-Code… you need to buy a copy of CodeWarrior Studio 9. Cost: six hundred of your earth dollars. If I was sneaky, and a Windows user, I could download a 30-limited trial and do it that way. But I’m neither. (Well, pick one.) So back to the drawingboard on there.