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Using data in container fields

A container field can store pictures, multimedia files, or any other type of file that you want to keep in a database. The way you insert the data determines how you see and interact with the data in the container field.

For a list of files that FileMaker Pro supports, see the table below.

 

To insert	Do this
A picture	Choose Insert menu > Picture, then choose the picture to insert. FileMaker Pro displays the picture in the field.
An audio or video file	For an interactive container, choose Insert menu > Audio/Video, then choose the file to insert. You can then play the audio or video file in the field. See Working with audio and video in interactive containers.
A PDF file	For an interactive container, choose Insert menu > PDF, then choose the PDF file to insert. See Working with PDF files in interactive containers.
Any file	Choose Insert menu > File, then choose the file to insert (such as a spreadsheet file, word processing file, or any other file type that you want to track). FileMaker Pro displays the file’s icon and name in the container field, but not the actual content.

Note  To insert packaged files such as Keynote files into a container field, archive or zip the packaged files.

 

Container field with an inserted picture	Container field with an inserted file

FileMaker Pro supports the following picture and audio/video formats.

 

Picture formats	Audio/video formats
Encapsulated Postscript (.eps)	AIFF Audio file (.aif, .aiff)
FlashPix (.fpx) (OS X)	AVI movie (.avi)
GIF (.gif)	MP3 Audio File (.mp3)
JPEG/JFIF (.jpg)	MPEG-4 Audio File (.m4a)
JPEG 2000 (.jp2) (OS X)	MPEG-4 movie (.mp4)
MacPaint (.mac) (OS X)	MPEG movie (.mpg, .mpeg)
PDF (.pdf) (OS X)	MPEG-4 video file (.m4v)
Photoshop (.psd) (OS X)	QuickTime Movie (.mov, .qt) (see notes below)
PNG (.png)	Sun Audio file (.au)
QuickTime Image File (.qif) (OS X)	WAVE Audio File (.wav)
SGI (.sgi) (OS X)	Windows Media Audio (.wma)
Targa (.tga) (OS X)	Windows Media Videos (.wmv) (see notes below)
TIFF (.tif)
Windows bitmap (.bmp)
Windows Metafile/Enhanced Metafile (.wmf/.emf) (Windows)

Notes

•	For QuickTime Movie (.mov, .qt) formats inserted as audio or video, some formats, such as QuickTime VR, aren’t supported.

•	OS X: For the Windows Media Videos (.wmv) format, Flip4Mac must be installed. FlashPix and QuickTime Image File formats are supported only for the 32-bit version of FileMaker Pro.

•	You can export the content of a container field to a file. You can also choose to automatically open or email the exported file. See Exporting the contents of a field.

•	When you insert a very large file into a container field, a dialog box appears showing you the progress.