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By Hayden Hobbs 
Posted on 
June 15th, 2022 
in 
FileMaker, Free Downloads, Mobile

FileMaker CopyLiveText & ReadQRCode

Functions
With the release of Claris FileMaker 19.5,
there are some new functions related to containers that offer new ways to
increase efficiency,
accessibility, and utility in app development. These new
functions, CopyLiveText and ReadQRCode, offer the ability to parse out text and
read the
contents of QR codes. Using these functions, users can implement image
captions and image tagging for searching images, removing the need for
complex
integration solutions for the same text parsing purpose.

Let's take a look at some quick

examples of what you can do with these new functions. Feel free to follow along with the sample file provided at the
end of this article. 

CopyLiveText
Function
Upon start-up, you should see the intro page with a
tab for each new function. Stay on the CopyLiveText tab for now. Insert a photo
of your choice
that contains text in it. Please be aware that as of FileMaker
19.5, CopyLiveText only works on image files, not PDFs or other file types
allowed
within containers.
Your screen should look similar to this. Clicking the ‘Copy Container Text’ button will active a short snippet of code containing the new function in
question, shown below. Once activated, it will scrape the text off of the image and paste it into a text field below, with remarkable accuracy.

As of FileMaker 19.5, the function returns a text value, in a language code of your choice between the following options: 

"en-US"
"fr-FR"
"it-IT"
"de-DE"
"es-ES"
"pt-BR"
"zh-Hans"
As you
can see from this example, CopyLiveText transcribes the text from the container
file and converts it into a text value that you can now
manipulate as you wish.
A word of caution: Although the script is quite accurate, the harder it is for
you, the user, to read the image text, the harder
it will be for the function
to read it. Choose images with acceptable quality, and make sure your text
fonts are legible to the human eye, and you will
have no problem using this function to your advantange.

ReadQRCode
Once you are satisfied
with the CopyLiveText function, choose the second tab in the demo file. The ‘ReadQRCode’ tab should look similar, but it is
quite different in function. Insert a QR image of your choice
into the container. For the purposes of this demo, we have opted to showcase
the
potential for QR codes that lead to website URLs, but in practice, you could
utilize any variation of QR codes that you so choose.
Once you have a QR image inserted, click the
button as before. The code, for the purposes of this demo, will send you to a
web viewer layout, with
the URL destination filled in by the contents of the QR
code.
Our sample QR Code takes you to our very own
homepage, dbservices.com. As previously mentioned, you do not have to merely
use the
ReadQRCode function to access URLs; in fact, it could be used in a similar fashion to CopyLiveText by storing plain text in the QR code instead of
a
URL. In short, anything you could typically use a QR code for, you can now
use inside of FileMaker without the need to read it with a QR code
reader.

Conclusion
As your
FileMaker application evolves, so too will your needs and the use cases for the
application. With these new features added in FileMaker
19.5, Claris opens
the proverbial door for new ways to utilize containers in a way that best suits
your application. Whether it’s to appeal to users
with new accessibility
features, to add new value to your search engine with image tagging, or to streamline the process of using QR codes by now
using them directly in the
application, these new features have the potential for endless value for any FileMaker
application. 

If you are interested in implementing the new CopyLiveText and ReadQRCode functions into your Claris FileMaker solution, contact DB Services
and we'd be happy to help.

“
Did you know we are an authorized reseller for Claris FileMaker Licensing?

Contact us to discuss upgrading your Claris FileMaker software.

”
D l d th D l d th Fil M k C Li T t&R dQRC d F ti S l
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Hayden Hobbs
Hayden is a reliable, patient, and consistent application developer who takes pride in creating systems that help clients reach their
goals. She will go above and beyond to help a client or coworker when they are in need and enjoys collaborating with and supporting
others.