I can’t say too much about how I intend to use this because I don’t want to divulge too much about the details of how I build my product. You’re just going to have to take my word for it that it makes sense to automate this aspect of the database creation. I realize there will be some fine tuning once all the elements are in place but the goal of automation is not to eleminate all of the work. It is to do the 80% that either does not require a subjective decision or can be defined with pre-set parameters.
I just need to know if this is going to be possible. I also need to know, if it is possible, how much it will cost to make it happen. It doesn’t really matter if anyone other than me has any use for this utility. If the price is not too high, it would be incredibly valuable to my business (tremendous return on investment). Keep in mind, I work exclusively for the Graphics and Printing industries, NOT data management. I am not a FileMaker Pro or Database specialist. I am a graphics and printing workflow automation specialist.
FYI, there have been rumors of a pending upgrade to FileMaker which may make some of the plugin functions you’re looking for unnecessary. Wild-ass guesses about the possible release date are rampant, but there seem to be people who have already been quietly shown demos of the software (at least, this appears to be the case based on the way some within the Filemaker community are tap-dancing around the issue when asked), so how far off can it be? With this in mind, your dream plugin might not be as relevant, or Troi might be holding off because a new plugin architecture is coming.
Thanks, Panicboy. A friend of mine was recently at a FileMaker conference in Arizona (I think it was Arizona) and they gave a demo of FileMaker 7. My friend says it is pretty amazing but a completely different architecture from previous versions. I didn’t ask about this issue because she (my friend) is not an AppleScript developer. I have a DVD from her of the demoes at the conference and will post some comments here when I have time to watch it.
This is a substantial and direct violation of the conference licensing agreement for which you and your friend can be prosecuted. They are very clear about this.