Script to open QuickTime Video

[Videotom]

Greetings,

 

I'm a long-time Filemaker Pro user (15 years now), but still a novice in terms of how to script things.

 

I've created this database to help me manage a TV series that we're editing from existing episodes (it's called a "Clip Series").

 

I have a container field that we've pasted into, references to the 78 QuickTime episodes we are working with (they're small versions of the episodes). They show-up and play just fine within the layout in Filemaker Pro. All of the actual movie files are in the same folder on the same hard drive. I also have a field that lists the name of the quicktime file. For Example: "Episode E203.mov"

 

However, I need to be able to quickly open the movies IN Quick Time 7. My thought was to have a button next to the movie that : 1. pulled or figured out the pathname, and 2. launched and opened the movie in QuickTime 7. I've found this applescript online:

 

-----------------------

 

set filePath to (the clipboard)

 

tell application "Microsoft Word"

activate

open (file filePath)

end tell

 

------------------------

 

The issue is that I don't really know how best to determine, then integrate the filePath. Ideally, the script would pull the filepath from the Container field containing the link to the QuickTime file. But I have no ideas how to do this, and how also to integrate FilePath with Applescript.

 

Any suggestions or advice would be well appreciated,

 

Tom

[AHunter3]

GetAsText (containerfield) will return the path of a movie that has been inserted into a container field using "Insert QuickTime".

 

(also works with files or images if they are stored as a reference).

 

GetAsText (container field) should give you multiple separate lines of text when the file (movie, picture, whatever) is stored as a reference. (And movies always are when inserted using "Insert QuickTime").

 

You want the last of those values, so

 

Let (ctrtext = GetAsText (YourContainerfield); RightValues (ctrtext; 1) )

 

gives you the stored path, which in the case of an inserted QuickTime movie will be something like

 

 

moviemac:/YourFileServer/Movies/Project One/Example.mov

 

To tell QuickTime 7 to open that, you can create a calculation field of result type "container" defined as the substitution in that string of "moviemac" with "filemac". This results in a FILE stored as a reference and if QuickTime 7 Player is your default application for opening files of that file type, double-clicking the calculation field will open the file in QuickTime 7 the same as double-clicking the actual movie file on the hard drive would do.

 

 

Hence:

 

Let (

[ctrtext = GetAsText (YourContainerfield);

pathtext = RightValues (ctrtext; 1) ];

 

Substitute (pathtext; "moviemac"; "filemac")

)

 

 

... is the formula for your calculation field.

 

Define that field, put it on your layout, and double-click it. (Obviously use your real container field name, not "YourContainerField").

[Scott_S]

GetAsText (containerfield) will return the path of a movie that has been inserted into a container field using "Insert QuickTime".

 

(also works with files or images if they are stored as a reference).

 

GetAsText (container field) should give you multiple separate lines of text when the file (movie, picture, whatever) is stored as a reference. (And movies always are when inserted using "Insert QuickTime").

 

You want the last of those values, so

 

Let (ctrtext = GetAsText (YourContainerfield); RightValues (ctrtext; 1) )

 

gives you the stored path, which in the case of an inserted QuickTime movie will be something like

 

 

moviemac:/YourFileServer/Movies/Project One/Example.mov

 

To tell QuickTime 7 to open that, you can create a calculation field of result type "container" defined as the substitution in that string of "moviemac" with "filemac". This results in a FILE stored as a reference and if QuickTime 7 Player is your default application for opening files of that file type, double-clicking the calculation field will open the file in QuickTime 7 the same as double-clicking the actual movie file on the hard drive would do.

 

 

Hence:

 

Let (

[ctrtext = GetAsText (YourContainerfield);

pathtext = RightValues (ctrtext; 1) ];

 

Substitute (pathtext; "moviemac"; "filemac")

)

 

 

... is the formula for your calculation field.

 

Define that field, put it on your layout, and double-click it. (Obviously use your real container field name, not "YourContainerField").

 

Hello,

Not sure why, but your script is creating an additional ":" after the Volumes name in the path so it looks like file:///Volumes/:/PROJ/Jobs/ ...

There shouldn't bee the ":" between Volumes/ and PROJ/ in my path. Please advise ASAP. Thanks for your help!