Hi there – I am a new user for Tap Forms Pro, and am creating a music database where I can embed audio files (mp3, wav files etc) into the database along with lyrics, song sheets etc.
In relation to audio files, from what I understand, this would be just a “file attachment” field where I could simply attach the audio file, as the “audio recording” field doesn’t seem to accommodate this kind of attachment.
My question relates to therefore being able to preview or listen to the attached file from within the database. Is that somehow possible? In other words, I could simply select the attachment within the database field, and then “space bar” to preview the file, similar to standard mac preview protocols.
Secondly, is there a field type where video files can be stored / uploaded and similarly be previewed from within the database?
Would be interested in your thoughts?
Hi Matt,
If you double-click on an attachment in a File Attachment field, Tap Forms will launch the app associated with the selected filetype. Because files are actually stored within binary blobs within the database, Tap Forms will read the file from the database, save the file to a temporary folder and then have the Finder launch the app that owns that file type, whether it’s an audio file or a Word file or a PDF or whatever.
As for Movie files, it’s best to use the Alias function for that. That’s the +-> button (plus with arrow). It will create a small bookmark file and store it in the file system. It points to the original file. So it doesn’t actually copy it to the database. Consequently, it won’t sync to other devices either because the original file does not live in the database.
Thanks,
Brendan
Thanks Brendan.
Might be a future enhancement to look at? The sort of database I need is one where I can collate and store musical (mp3 or similar) files as well as video content for promotional videos I have created related to those same musical files stored in the database. I am sure I am not the only one that would need these to be able to be previewed within the database rather than the rather clunky process of having to open the file in another application to be able to quickly preview the content.
The other option I would find extremely useful is being able to embed content from either music or youtube type streaming services?
Be interested in your thoughts?
Kind regards,
Matt
Hi Matt,
Apple does have a QuickLook framework that can detect content and display (or play it) that doesn’t require you to leave the app. However, it does require a URL for a file on disk, so I’d still have to export the file to the temporary folder somewhere and then play it from there.
I’ll see what I can do.
Thanks,
Brendan
Ok, the next update will include a spacebar function on the. File Attachment field which will use Apple’s QuickLook framework to preview the selected file. I tested it with PDFs and MP3 files. Works great.
Thanks Brendan,
That is awesome! I think a lot of people will love this functionality!
:)
Matt
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