Automating HTML Forms Using MBS Plugin
This video provides a nice look into the inside of a plug-in which can interact with web viewers like no other plug-in before it.
If you've ever needed to interact with html based forms within a web viewer, then this plug-in has EXACTLY what you need. Taking full advantage of the Javascript capabilities found within the embedded web engine, you can now push data from FileMaker into a web form and pull it right back out.
This plug-in makes it possible to interact with any form presented within a web viewer. Think about UPS, FedEx, your credit card processing site or your own web site. The plug-in can issue any kind of javascript you can throw at it. You can even make FileMaker look and act in a completely un-FileMaker like way!
Comments
MBS PLUG-IN
I was trying to find the calendar/tasks template at the geistinteractive.com web site without much luck. Is it available with the purchase of the plug-in? If so, where do I find it?
I'll email Todd Geist
About providing more information.
-- Matt Petrowsky - ISO FileMaker Magazine Editor
MBS Plug-in
Cool techniques indeed! You mention a Firefox plugin for inspecting the form, in order to get the forms names ...which?
--sd
Find Web Developer for Firefox here...
http://chrispederick.com/work/web-developer/
-- Matt Petrowsky - ISO FileMaker Magazine Editor
Flash Calendar
Wow! what a response! We are getting tons of requests for the Flash Calendar on the video. I guess this kind of struck a nerve!
So the good news is that we plan to make the calendar available to FileMaker Developers as soon as we can. The bad news it isn't ready yet, and sorry it won't be free. It will be a separate product with price to be determined later.
I will be sure to post more as soon as I can. Thanks for all the feedback
Todd
RE : MBS PLUG IN
IS THIS REALLY WORKING AS THEY SAY ? I CHECKED OUT SETTING THE FMP FIELD VALUES INTO WEB AND IT USED A HTM; FILE IN A C:/HTML/MY_FORM.HTML. I DON'T THINK THIS WILL INTERACT WITH ACTUAL WEB. SINCE THEY DIDN'T MAKE A SAMPLE FILE WITH ACTUAL WEBSITE,
I'M SURE THAT WILL CHANGE ALL THE SETTINGS AND NOT SURE HOW MUCH IT WILL BE USEFUL.
CAN THEY MAKE ANOTHER SAMPLE FILE WITH ACTUAL WEBSITE ?
JOAJOA
Yes, it does work..
With the real Web. The plug-in interacts with a webviewer and does not care where the HTML comes from. If Todd is reading these comments then he may create more examples.
-- Matt Petrowsky - ISO FileMaker Magazine Editor
MBS
That was actually my intention of writing this post. i feel that he need to include more various samples in the mbs plug in if he want to sell it like troi-plug in. i am real newbie in web stuff and i need to study the web stuff after we buy mbs plug in is kind of being foolish. the sample he has in his example covers real basic ones. in actual website , it is a lot more complecated than what he show in his demo.
most website which is up for business trying to protect their web and kind of hard to get into. and the web site, i or even many people need to work with will be mostly these kind of websites. so i guess todd need to work more on this kind of web samples if he want to sell mbs as a real product.
and also i hope he makes a demo file like troi file plug in which master example file includes all rest so that user can access easyly.
Is kind of being foolish.
...or is it?? Is there only one single valid way to do things; to spoonfeed the demanding masses, as an eager shopkeeper would?
Two of Piet Heins groog's says it:
To many people artists seem
undisciplined and lawless.
Such laziness, with such great gifts,
seems little short of crime.
One mystery is how they make
the things they make so flawless;
another, what they're doing with
their energy and time
There is
one art,
no more,
no less:
to do
all things
with art-
lessness.
--sd
re : mbs
well i think joajoa is not complaining or criticising the mbs plug in but encourging todd to make more examples for his own good and all others who will benefit from it even by paying for the product.
SmartPill vs MBS Plugin
Matt,
Would you explain the differences between these two plugins? They seem very much alike from what I can tell. I'd like to get one or the other.
Thanks,
Ted
The differences
Really, the two plugins are quite different. With PHP you can do pretty much anything. When I had shot the video the MBS plugin did not have PHP included. Now that they have, it seems there are some minor, but possibly important differences.
One of the most important features that I use with SmartPill are the PHP based functions which access FileMaker stuff. fm_evaluate() is invaluable if you're going to use PHP embedded within FileMaker. SmartPill offers this. Unless MBS does now too.
-- Matt Petrowsky - ISO FileMaker Magazine Editor
Credit Cards
Very interesting video. You mentioned that you set MPS up to process credits cards using Authorize.net. Do have a template or video that illustrates this?
I actually use the API
Shortly after shooting the video with Todd I did set up a file that would post to Authorize.net. The problem with how their site is set up is because of the use of frames.
Ultimately, I ended up using the Authorize.net API with the SmartPill PHP plugin. This makes it much easier. Although for sites without a backend API the MBS is a great option!
-- Matt Petrowsky - ISO FileMaker Magazine Editor
AuthNet PHP Code
Matt,
Will you be posting the PHP code that you use with the SmartPill to connect to Authorize.net? That would be a big timesaver for the rest of us if you did!
Thanks,
Ted