

Allowing a variable to be defined and within a single “Insert From URL” script will reduce overhead while improving efficiency, readability, and interoperability. Previously, “Insert From URL” only allowed a field to be set which so often required defining unnecessary schema and user interface manipulation for something that really should just happen in a script.

It now possible to set the response of a URL request to variable. There are two big changes in version 16 that really increase its capabilities:ġ. Additionally, rudimentary cURL has been possible natively with Insert From URL script step since it was introduced in FileMaker 12. It has been possible to use cURL in versions of FileMaker prior to 16 with the help of plugins like MBS and BaseElements, and you may still need to look to these plugins in 16 for advanced use cases requiring options that aren’t supported natively. FileMaker 16 gets rid of the somewhat unconventional httppost/httpspost protocol that exists in earlier versions and now supports http, https, ftp, ftps, and file protocols. cURL provides everything you need to configure requests of almost all imaginable types.įileMaker 16 supports only a fraction of the protocols and options included with cURL. Additionally, when scripting in FileMaker, you won’t have a browser to elegantly handle 500 Internal Server or other errors, doing so will be your responsibility. For example, many APIs require custom headers to be sent such as API key(s), language preference, or content type. In fact as you start to interact with a variety of web services in FileMaker scripts, doing so becomes a necessity. Now as programmer you can see that a lot more can be gained by understanding and exploiting components of HTTP requests above and beyond just the URL itself. When you’re simply typing a URL into a web browser, the browser handles everything else for you behind the scenes.
#BASEELEMENTS EXECUTESYSTEMCOMMAND PORTABLE#
We’re talking about cURL the free and open source project consisting of two products, a command line utility called curl and a portable library called libcurl, designed for transferring data with URLs. And no, we’re not talking about curling the sport, though it is very popular here in Minnesota and we recommend you try it too if you never have. Photo: Jon Oropeza – Wikimedia CommonsĪt LuminFire, we’re very excited about enhanced support for cURL added in FileMaker 16. Team USA curling at the Vancouver Olympics.
