How to Use CDDB Lookup in Filemaker Database

Factual Questions
1

As a recent convert from PC to MAC, I am getting ready to move music and movie collection catalogs from Access on the PC to Filemaker Pro 9 on the MAC. I’d like to know how to use barcodes to lookup CD/DVD info for input to Filemaker to speed up data entry. There are numerous standalone record collector software programs that do this, so I have to think that it should be possible to do in Filemaker. All advice will be appreciated.

2

a) Export your Access table of tracks, along with related info for the album, the artist, etc, to a tab-delimited text field. Import that into FileMaker, run a looping script to create related records for album, artist, etc. (After which point you can ditch the redundant fields at the track level).

b) Presumably you are using a hierarchical folder organization? i.e., Dobie Gills’ “Drift Away” is at /<parent folders and subfolders> /Rock/Dobie Gray/Drift Away/<actual filename here.mp3> ? Then in your database, you want a calc field of result type text that obtains for you the file path, or else you’ve already got it in a text field, etc

c) Open Script Editor and find out the AppleScript commands understood by your MP3 player of choice. Being an iTunes-hater and an old-fashioned curmudgeon from another era, I’m an Audion user myself. Boss your MP3 player around with AppleScript and write the resultant CDDB track info to FileMaker fields, e.g.,


tell application "Audion 3"
	set TrackTtl to the track title of control window 1
        set TrackAlb to the track album of control window 1
       set TheArtist to the track artist of control window 1
end tell
tell me
       set cell "Track Title" of current record to TrackTtl
       set cell "Track Album" of current record to TrackAlb
       set cell "Track Artist" of current record to TheArtist
end tell

d) If you wish, you can create a calc field of result type “container” and use a formula to directly reference the track in conjunction with the path type “moviemac:”; that causes the calc field to reconcile the externally referenced binary object as a QuickTime movie. Once you’ve done that, your FileMaker db becomes your MP3 player (clicking on the container field causes it to play):

“moviemac:”&

Case(DriveName ≠ “startup disk”; DriveName; Get(SystemDrive) ) &

PathToMusic & “/” & Substitute(OriginalDiskName; “:”; “”) & “/” & Substitute(Substitute(AlbumName; “:”; “”); “/”; “%2F”) & “/” &Substitute(FileName; “/”; “%2F”)