Keywords, Custom Fields Portfolio 8

[ginger]

I am building an image database in Portfolio 8 to serve to a remote office. Although, Portfolio brings in the keywords, I want to have 10 separate drop down menus on the web for building searches. It seems I can create the custom fields and populate them with keywords manually, but then must assign them back to the image as custom field data.  Am I missing an easy step that would save me double work?

Perhaps assigning everything in Portfolio and not bringing any info in with the image is the best solution. Any other ideas?

Thank you,
Ginger

[johnbeardy]

I don't quite understand what you are asking especially "I can create the custom fields and populate them with keywords manually". So each of these 10 fields will show the same data from keywords (ie using the word strictly as Portfolio's keywords field). You can script Portfolio on Mac or PC if that helps. Are you using Portfolio's NetPublish? Say more and I might be more help.

John

[ginger]

Ok, let me try to be more clear. It is confusing me, so I will try again. I am using Portfolio 8 and NetPublish, I am on a mac, os 10.4.
I will be serving the database with Portflio 8 server when I get it up and running.

On the web I will have 10 drop down menus, each with a different category or attribute, under the drop down will be words directly related to that attribute. i.e. Location; Los Angeles, Chicago, etc...  These Pull down lists are created with custom Fields.  I have too many keywords to effectively use one pull down list with keywords. 

The issue is that I also want my marketing department to be able to search by keywords in a open field, where they can type whatever words they want. So the words have to be assigned as keywords and then again assigned from the custom field palettes. I had originally assigned the keywords partly in Bridge when viewing the images and then by adding to folders in portfolio.

I cannot have a pull down menu for different groups of keywords, as far as I can tell, that will find keywords yet look like different drop downs.

I am fairly new with Portfolio, and have only used Filemaker before as a database and did not have to publish it.

I am wondering if I can have my web person build a custom webpage that would have 10 different pull down menus to refine a search, but all still searching with keywords...hmmm, just assigned to different pull downs on the page.

Thanks for your time.

Ginger

[johnbeardy]

Since you're working with NP, I'd point you to Portfolio FAQ forum where there's at least one active user who really knows it.

John

[MarkAnderson]

My ears are burning. I sorted Ginger out over at PortfolioFAQ. As it was by email, I'll summarise here. The basis of the technique is that you use some 'dummy' custom fields to hold the desired lists as their predefined list - one such field for each list (so not too many lists!). These fields hold no record data (unless you want them to) - their sole purpose is to serve specific dynamic lists to an NP template. The template code then points a query, using the custom list's values, at a different field, usually Keywords. Very effective, once you get the counter-intuitive nature of it.

Regards

Mark Anderson (POrtfolioFAQ)