[FX.php List] Container fields: Uploading to, and protecting

[Edward L. Ford]

Well, I've never used containers before this project, so I don't know  
if that solution will work or not.

In a nutshell, this is a job posting database.  Our office receives  
lots of job announcements through snail mail, so the info from the  
paper announcements gets entered as text into the database, and a  
scanned PDF of the paper flyer is added to the database as well.  End  
users looking for jobs should be able to go to the website we have  
established to view the text of the job announcements, and if they  
would like, they can download the PDF.

So, is the solution below a good way of doing this?
If it is, how do I set up the FileMaker Database to store the file  
references?  And what methods/parameters do I need to specify in PHP  
to upload the files from the website into the database in this way?

Or, would my original proposal of using containers be more  
appropriate?  Again, I need info on getting the uploaded file from  
the website into the database.

--E.F.

On Oct 29, 2006, at 10:41 AM, Dale Bengston wrote:

> Hi Ed,
>
> Unless you need access to the PDFs in container fields from FMP  
> client-server, I would not put the PDFs in container fields. It's  
> simpler and faster to store them in directories on your server  
> drive and use your FMP tables to store a reference to where they  
> are. When you retrieve data from FMP, FX writes out the link to the  
> proper PDF stored in the server's file system.
>
> Hope this helps,
> Dale
>
> On Oct 28, 2006, at 5:31 PM, Edward L. Ford wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>> My database has a container field that is meant to hold a PDF file  
>> (and only PDF files).  I have severa concerns and questions about  
>> this, which I'm hoping this list can help me with.
>>
>> 1) Adding new PDF to the database
>> When making a new record with the PHP interface to the database,  
>> users should be able to upload a PDF file from their machine so  
>> its added to the container field.  How do I handle an uploaded  
>> file with PHP and FX so it gets added to the container field?
>>
>> 2) (not really FX related) How do I ensure the file added is  
>> actually a PDF (and not a DOC, or JPG file)?  I know this should  
>> be at the server level, but I'm not sure how.
>>
>> 3) Protecting the database and the database server
>> Looking at the XML output for a test record I have, the value for  
>> the container field's data looks like:
>> /fmi/xml/cnt/data.cnt?-db=GigBoard.fp7&-lay=WebGigDetails&- 
>> recid=29&-field=FilePDF(1)
>>
>> When browsing records through the PHP interface, users should be  
>> able to download the PDF file.  As I see it, I'd have to give a  
>> direct link to the file on the database server, i.e.
>> http://<server>/fmi/xml/cnt/data.cnt?-db=GigBoard.fp7&- 
>> lay=WebGigDetails&-recid=29&-field=FilePDF(1)
>>
>> I have a security concern: about this: Since my PHP and FM servers  
>> are different machines, the end user really has no idea what the  
>> address of the FM server is.  With the PDF file as a basic link,  
>> they get to see the server's address.
>>
>> In the FX example, there's a file called image_proxy.php that  
>> appears to be used to hide the server URL, as well as the user and  
>> password needed to get the image file.  I'd like to implement a  
>> similar file to protect access to my PDF files, but I'm unsure how  
>> to modify the example to match my situation.
>>
>> Thoughts and suggestions are appreciated,
>> --Ed Ford
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