Did FM10, 11 or 12 expand the range of standard importable objects?

[Bob_Niland]

Possible task: generate an order-guide / price-list that pulls all the prices from a master external source, so that prices are always current on re-render.

The source might be a database or just a spreadsheet, or perhaps some rendering from same, such as an XML file generated from the source. Obviously, one could import text insets from a multitude of individual files generated from the source; that seems excessive.

FM9 has only File > Import > File, and File > Import > Object; and > Object is using OLE . OLE is not an answer (for any question, any time, ever).

Writing an FDK extension is probably not an answer.

The Adobe marketing pages seem to have some videos that may or may not address the question, but these are disrespectful of the buyer's time, and don't even run on my usual work platform. There are also some whitepapers with titles that hint of perhaps being on topic, but they are all hidden behind equally disrespectful registration dialogs (I'm logged in already, ADBE, you already have all that info). I wonder if Adobe will ever figure out this marketing and merchandising stuff.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Sounds like a case for that Mirano? database that Arnis was talking about in other posts maybe…

[Arnis_Gubins · Accepted solution]

To pull the content dynamically into FM, you could use either PatternStream ($$$) or FrameScript($)  - both would create a query link to a database or a spreadsheet. I'm not certain if Extendscript the same capabilities to link with a database or spreadsheet as FrameScript does (you could ask Rick Quatro, if he doesn't jump in here).

Alternatively, in catalog projects that I've done, the prices have always been inserted as variables (FM can support thousands in a single file) linked to the item SKU. Using Datazone's Miramo tool, the FM files are always dynamically generated from the database whenever a new version is required (usually only takes just a few minutes), so the FM files are always "current". There is a freebie "personal" edition of Miramo (runs on unix boxes too!) available at: http://www.miramo.com/english/overview/dp_download.html

You could also manually maintain a set of FM files with the prices as variables, and use an event script (in either FrameScript or ExtendScript) on file open to automatically import the "current" pricelist variables file.

[Bob_Niland]

> ... event script (in either FrameScript or ExtendScript) on file open to automatically import ...

If the data source periodically emits an XML or MIF document containing the updated information, I'm wondering if the Import step could be skipped entirely by using Xrefs. Can FM Xref from a file.xml or file.mif directly? (I know it can from a file.fm).

[Arnis_Gubins]

Interesting idea, but I think that this will be a lot more work. FM can x-ref a MIF file. However, the target is a just a paratag, so building the original x-ref set seems to be quite onerous (unless you plan on having a unique paratag for every item's price in the MIF).

Using the variable approach is quite simple and you can easily build a simple MIF file that has just the variable definitions. Automating the import of this MIF on file open won't take much code either (it might even be feasible using the FM unix macro capability?).

[Bob_Niland]

> FM can x-ref a MIF file.

Yeah, right after I wrote that, I thought: hey, that's trivial to test, which I just did over lunch. Works great.

> However, the target is a just a paratag, ...

Actually, I tested using Xref Markers. I'm familiar with auto-generating blizzards of unique Xref Markers in MIF, so that's a possible route (for this project that I doubt I'll get enrolled in, which is fine with me). I was just curious about the state of the art doing for this sort of thing ...

... which, to circle around to the basenote, I deduce does not include any substantial new Import features since FM9.

Thanks for the input, Arnis.