Store and retrieve images

Classic Servoy
21

drookwood:
…It would be nice now to get it work with a temp file rather than creating a file on the server…

Agreed. The only other approach that I am aware of is to use the blobloader to return a link to the contents of the media field as described by pbakker at:

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=7537

I do not know how to do this from a media field or temp file with a showURL. I did ask about this twice at the above link, but there was no response, so I assume it is not possible. It is interesting that the contents of a media field can be accessed via a url within a link but not directly using the same url within a showURL. Maybe there is a browser security issue that imposes this limitation.

Dean Westover
Choices Software, Inc.

22

Bill,

I want to save an un-editable copy of each invoice for later retrieval to view or reprint, either to resend an invoice, do research or for collection purposes. I will attach a method to Invoice Summary and Payment History forms that will allow the user to view any invoice by clicking on its invoice number and then view or print.

I had a similar function in a Filemaker Solution and it was very helpful for users. When invoices were posted, the solution would transfer data into an InvoiceArchive database. Data included the invoice date, invoice number, clientid, etc. as well as a jpeg of each invoice. (On the Mac using Filemaker, you can take a snapshot of any form in Preview Mode and save the image as a jpeg within the database.) The user could then research any invoice or group of invoices using the fields and reprint the invoice(s) if needed. It was helpful for users to see an exact copy of the invoice sent including the specific dates of service. Servoy is worlds beyond Filemaker and I am still learning how to recreate some functionality to get the best of both worlds.

While I love the power and consistency of pdf’s, one nice feature of storing the invoices as jpegs was that you could find a number of invoices and then flip from invoice to invoice without having to load/open a new document (ie pdf’s). Also, since they were jpegs, you could print a group of archived invoices with one print command (ie. print found records). I believe that you can perform similar tasks in Servoy using JPedal but I have not used this plug-in yet.

23

Carmen,
It’s interesting that I’m reading your post while in the the other tab of my browser, I’m reading ServoyAdvProgGuideFMP.pdf. I’m just coming to Servoy after many years of Filemaker myself. So I guess it’s the blind leading the blind this Sunday evening.

My question is, can’t you just give your client the permission to “view only” the actual invoice(s)? It was quite simple in FMP, I don’t know how to do it yet in Servoy, but I’m sure it’s quite reasonable. Is your client using a smart client?

PS, I think it would be nice to have a forum for Filemaker people. That way, when we ask questions, it would be understood that it comes from a Filemaker mindset. My guess is that my mind will make the switch in about 6 months, hopefully much sooner. How long have you been with Servoy? Looks like we’ll have to learn Javascript, but it looks easier than Alpha’s language.

Bill Belanger

24 
//Get/Set the form readOnly
var en = controller.readOnly;
controller.readOnly = true;

Dean Westover
Choices Software

25

CarmenScoma:
While I love the power and consistency of pdf’s, one nice feature of storing the invoices as jpegs was that you could find a number of invoices and then flip from invoice to invoice without having to load/open a new document (ie pdf’s). Also, since they were jpegs, you could print a group of archived invoices with one print command (ie. print found records). I believe that you can perform similar tasks in Servoy using JPedal but I have not used this plug-in yet.

We do something similar to this using only PDFs without using JPedal (webclient). User is presented with a list of PDFs. The left side of the list contains a sort column. User enters sort number beside each PDF that is to be combined into one PDF file. When user clicks “Combine” button: (1) all records with a number in the sort column are found, (2) records are sorted by sort number, and (3) method loops through records placing PDFs into one PDF file for easy viewing, printing and/or emailing.

Dean Westover
Choices Software, Inc.

26

Thanks Dean

That is a really interesting option that I had not thought of at all. I will definitely consider that approach for our users. Servoy is amazing - there is always another way to accomplish anything.

Carmen

27

It is also possible to include jpg, gif and other graphic images in the combined PDF file by using the free Servoy PDF Pro plugin. Create a blank PDF file to use as a template (ie. print a blank Wordpad document to PDF) and then use the “watermark” option of the Servoy PDF Pro plugin to embed a image within the PDF file before you combine the PDF file with the other PDF files. You can automatically resize and rotate the image before embeding it in the PDF file (using the free Servoy Images plugin). For information on the Servoy PDF Pro plugin see Scott Butler’s ServoyGuy website at:

http://servoyguy.com/servoy_components/pdf_pro_plugin

I created a little sample Servoy webclient solution that demonstrates some of the features of Scott’s plugin that can be viewed at:

http://pdfPro.hopto.org

Welcome to the wonderful world of Servoy!

Dean Westover
Choices Software, Inc.

28

Dean,

Awesome! Thanks for the links!

Carmen