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[scott_r]

Hello!

MC XML Export version 1.0.1 has been released and will be available for download from the Media Center Accessories pages shortly.

Download MC XML Export 1.0.1 Runs on Media Center versions 9.1 and 10 betas. 9.0 is not supported.
Screenshot
Website with Instructions


New since beta 4b:
- Changed: Re-worked preset configuration save and delete interface
- NEW: Support for EXSLT stylesheet extensions (test stage)
- NEW: Includes the XAlbum and MPL2Access XSLT presets
- Changed: All paths are relative to the install dir in the config files (except IncludeXSLProcInstr) unless they are specified as absolute.
- NEW: About dialog which contains a link to the Help and Support site which has a "Beginner's guide to MC XML Export"

Notice for beta testers:
If you've been beta testing early versions of MC XML Export please uninstall and remove the install dir so you get a clean install of this release version. Any presets you created need to be in the install dir now, instead of configs/ and must end with a ".config.xml" extension.

Notice for new users:
This plugin requires the Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.1 or above to be installed. Check your Add/Remove Programs list to see if it's installed. If not you can get it from the Windows Update site.

Known issues:
- Large library bug still exists. The only work-around at present is to create a smaller library of the files you want to export and use the plugin with that library. I'm working on getting this addressed. UPDATE: "Hard Disk Location" view schemes are what's slowing it down when there are heaps of  folders. Remove these and you'll be fine.

As always, Have fun!

Scott.

[sraymond]

Looks great, Scott.!

The preset configurations will take very little space (like on the order of kilobytes).  I can host them, or perhaps it'd be better "one-stop-shopping" if you host them.

I'll play with the EXSLT entenstions and let you know how it works for me.

Thank you *very* much for your work on the plugin.  I really do appreciate it.  Perhaps you've done too well, because now I'm anxiously awaiting for MCXMLImport!

Scott-

[scott_r]

now I'm anxiously awaiting for MCXMLImport!

It's on the drawing board. I don't think Media Sync is going to take off without more SDK support which I'm not sure we're going to get, but an MPL importer is definitley on the cards.

Scott.

[scott_r]

Update on large libraries
I've kindly been given copies of libraries that take a long time to load in MC XML Export. As I suspected, the Hard Disk Location item in view schemes is what's slowing things down.

For now, please remove any Hard Disk Location view schemes you are running in order to use MC XML Export.

With a library of just over 18,000 files, MC XML Export took forever to populate the view scheme tree when just one (as opposed to the four that come standard) Hard Disk Location view scheme was enabled. When the library contained no Hard Disk Location view schemes, MC XML Export started just as fast as with my own 1,600 file library.

I'll keep looking into ways to fix the slowdown so that you can get back to using Hard Disk Location view schemes.

Scott.

[BadDog]

OK, I downloaded the plugin and installed it as well as the .Net stuff.  How do launch the plugin?  Just having a little trouble getting started as I do not even know wher to begin.  I can say DUH if given the right answer!

[sraymond]

OK, I downloaded the plugin and installed it as well as the .Net stuff.  How do launch the plugin?  Just having a little trouble getting started as I do not even know wher to begin.  I can say DUH if given the right answer!

It's in the Tree view under "Plug-ins" (which as at the bottom).

Scott-

[mooseman]

If it is not visible there, go to Tools > Plugin Manager

Oh, and Scott, after using the newest xsl, and how it's by default collapsed view, the need for multiple pages really isn't that big of a deal.

[sraymond]

Oh, and Scott, after using the newest xsl, and how it's by default collapsed view, the need for multiple pages really isn't that big of a deal.

Yeah...  that's why I collapsed them by default.  The only *really* good way to deal with this problem is to use dynamic server-side XSLT.  If you get the urge, download and install Apache Tomcat and I can hook you up with a servlet that will work with an XAlbum version for Tomcat.  If your interested, I can provide more details.

Or if I can figure out EXSLT with the plugin I can try to create static pages...  but I haven't had any luck so far.

Scott-

[Mastiff]

I think my library (close to 40 000 tracks) is a bit more than exepected... It takes more than 12 minutes to populate views when I click the plugin.  

[scott_r]

Did you read through the thread? The answer lies within....

Scott.

[nila]

Scott - U still having problems with MJViewItemAutomation??

It still not working for u?

[Mastiff]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that this is without all location schemes.

[Nolonemo]

I'm having trouble with the plugin.  I've installed the .NEt framework, and the MCXMLExport plugin (which shows up under plugins in the tree view) but when I try to start it by clicking on the start button (after I open the plugin by clicking on the icon in the tree) I get the following error message in a .NET Framework dialog box:  "An unhandled exception has occurred in a component in your application.  Click continue and application will ignore this error and attempt to continue.  Path cannot be the empty string or all whitespace."  If I click continue the dialog goes away, but nothing else happens.  The "preset configurations" pulldown never becomes active.  (Same thing happens if I set if for autostartup with MC9)  Any ideas?

Thanks

[scott_r]

I'm having trouble with the plugin....

Where do you have MC XML Export installed? Can you please copy and paste the first ten or so lines of the error message? This will give me an idea of where the problem lies.
Thanks,

Scott.

[scott_r]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that this is without all location schemes...

Check that all the location view schemes are gone, from schemes like images, video, etc.
Otherwise would it be possible to send me an email with a library backup attached? This would help immensley. I was given a library of 18,000 songs and got MC XML Export to work fine with that, so it would be interesting to see what I could do with 40,000.

Thanks,

Scott.

edit. Forgot to mention, my email address is scottraynel@NO_SPAM_PLEASEparadise.net.nz
Just remove the obvious part.

[scott_r]

Scott - U still having problems with MJViewItemAutomation??
It still not working for u?

Nila - I use the MJSchemeAutomation interface to populate the View Schemes, and the MJViewItemAutomation interface to populate the playlists. This is because the MJViewItemAutomation interface doesn't honour the "Populate tree" setting in the view schemes, which means that it takes even longer to populate.
The current problem is that when a user has a huge amount of files, they usually have a complex folder heirarchy to store them. This means that the Hard Disk Location view scheme is very complex and makes the tree nodes very large. The larger the tree node gets, the longer it takes to add a node to it, so the problem escalates.
I'm working on "dynamic population", which is, i assume, what MC uses to populate it's own tree - that is, only populate the tree level that you can see, instead of populating the entire tree on startup. This should fix the problem - as well as introduce a whole lot more (problems).

Scott.

[nila]

Cool, tell me how it goes

The ViewItem interface was ALOT faster just a pity it doesn't work

anyway - nvm.

[Nolonemo]

I'm having trouble with the plugin....

Where do you have MC XML Export installed? Can you please copy and paste the first ten or so lines of the error message? This will give me an idea of where the problem lies.
Thanks,

Scott.

I wasn't sure if program location was an issue, so I uninstalled everything, reinstalled MC9 in the default program location and tried reinstalling MC XML Export, but now I get a .NET Framework error box that says "an unhandled exception has occurred in your application..."  the details window contains:

See the end of this message for details on invoking
just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.

************** Exception Text **************
System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException: Length cannot be less than zero.
Parameter name: length
   at System.String.Substring(Int32 startIndex, Int32 length)
   at setupfinalise.Form1.Form1_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Form.OnLoad(EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Form.OnCreateControl()
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.CreateControl(Boolean fIgnoreVisible)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.CreateControl()
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmShowWindow(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ScrollableControl.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ContainerControl.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Form.WmShowWindow(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Form.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)


************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
    Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
    Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
    CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/microsoft.net/framework/v1.1.4322/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
setupfinalise
    Assembly Version: 1.0.1461.36194
    Win32 Version: 1.0.1461.36194
    CodeBase: file:///C:/PROGRAM%20FILES/SCOTT%20RAYNEL%20SOFTWARE/MC%20XML%20EXPORT/SETUPFINALISE.EXE
----------------------------------------
System.Windows.Forms
    Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
    Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
    CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/system.windows.forms/1.0.5000.0__b77a5c561934e089/system.windows.forms.dll
----------------------------------------
System
    Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
    Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
    CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/system/1.0.5000.0__b77a5c561934e089/system.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Drawing
    Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
    Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
    CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/system.drawing/1.0.5000.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/system.drawing.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualBasic
    Assembly Version: 7.0.5000.0
    Win32 Version: 7.10.3052.4
    CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/microsoft.visualbasic/7.0.5000.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/microsoft.visualbasic.dll
----------------------------------------

************** JIT Debugging **************
To enable just in time (JIT) debugging, the config file for this
application or machine (machine.config) must have the
jitDebugging value set in the system.windows.forms section.
The application must also be compiled with debugging
enabled.

For example:

<configuration>
    <system.windows.forms jitDebugging="true" />
</configuration>

When JIT debugging is enabled, any unhandled exception
will be sent to the JIT debugger registered on the machine
rather than being handled by this dialog.


I don't really care about getting this fixed (everything runs fine on my main Win2k box) but am passing it along FYI.   No response required.  BTW, the failed install is on a Dell Latitude C610 running Win98se.

Thanks for your programming work, Scott, the plugin is very useful and greatly appreciated!

[scott_r]

I don't really care about getting this fixed (everything runs fine on my main Win2k box) but am passing it along FYI.  No response required.  BTW, the failed install is on a Dell Latitude C610 running Win98se.

No, no, thank YOU for the feedback. Every little bit helps and I will endeavour to get this fixed.

Scott.

[Nolonemo]

Scott, I just realized my last post was ambiguous.  I was getting the error reported in my last post during the install of MC XML Export (not while trying to run it from inside MC9).  Even though I got an error during the install, the plugin shows up inside MC9, but if I try to run it I get an error, the debug dump for which is :

See the end of this message for details on invoking
just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.

************** Exception Text **************
System.ArgumentException: Path cannot be the empty string or all whitespace.
   at System.IO.Directory.SetCurrentDirectory(String path)
   at ctlXAlbumLib.ctlXAlbum.startup()
   at ctlXAlbumLib.ctlXAlbum.cmdStatus_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.OnClick(EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Button.OnClick(EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Button.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ControlNativeWindow.OnMessage(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)


************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
    Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
    Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
    CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/microsoft.net/framework/v1.1.4322/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
ctlXAlbumLib
    Assembly Version: 1.0.1.0
    Win32 Version: 1.0.1.0
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files/Scott%20Raynel%20Software/MC%20XML%20Export/ctlXAlbumLib.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Windows.Forms
    Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
    Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
    CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/system.windows.forms/1.0.5000.0__b77a5c561934e089/system.windows.forms.dll
----------------------------------------
System
    Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
    Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
    CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/system/1.0.5000.0__b77a5c561934e089/system.dll
----------------------------------------
Microsoft.VisualBasic
    Assembly Version: 7.0.5000.0
    Win32 Version: 7.10.3052.4
    CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/microsoft.visualbasic/7.0.5000.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/microsoft.visualbasic.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Drawing
    Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
    Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
    CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/system.drawing/1.0.5000.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/system.drawing.dll
----------------------------------------
Accessibility
    Assembly Version: 1.0.5000.0
    Win32 Version: 1.1.4322.573
    CodeBase: file:///c:/windows/assembly/gac/accessibility/1.0.5000.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/accessibility.dll
----------------------------------------
Interop.MediaJukebox
    Assembly Version: 1.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 1.0.0.0
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Program%20Files/Scott%20Raynel%20Software/MC%20XML%20Export/Interop.MediaJukebox.DLL
----------------------------------------

************** JIT Debugging **************
To enable just in time (JIT) debugging, the config file for this
application or machine (machine.config) must have the
jitDebugging value set in the system.windows.forms section.
The application must also be compiled with debugging
enabled.

For example:

<configuration>
    <system.windows.forms jitDebugging="true" />
</configuration>

When JIT debugging is enabled, any unhandled exception
will be sent to the JIT debugger registered on the machine
rather than being handled by this dialog.

[scott_r]

That's interesting... the first error you reported is in the setupfinaliser which records which directory you've installed to. The second error is when the plugin reads that data. So there's something amiss there.

Here's a registry hack that might help:
Open the key
"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings\MCXMLExport\Settings"
then either add or edit the value with name "InstalledDir" to be the full path you installed MC XML Export to. Dont forget to include the final backslash.

See how that goes,

Scott.

[scott_r]

Having posted that last post I thought I'd better add this:

The installer requires that you have write-access to the system registry. So, if you're on a restriced access computer, or you dont have Admin rights on 2k/xp it will fail, and I just realised that I didnt catch the error in the program.

Hope that clears things up,

Scott.

[Mastiff]

Scott, did you get my library backup? I could of course E-mail you the full library, files and all, but that would probably take two years on my ISDN connection...  

[Nolonemo]

The installer requires that you have write-access to the system registry. So, if you're on a restriced access computer, or you dont have Admin rights on 2k/xp it will fail, and I just realised that I didnt catch the error in the program.

That might be it, I was getting the errors I reported on my work computer which won't let me into the registry via regedit (I get a "Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator).   However,  I've been able to install other programs that write to the registry, and can clean registry entries using Norton Utilities or RegCleaner.  Hope this is helpful.

Nolo

[Von]

I posted this in another thread (http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?board=3;action=display;threadid=18137) earlier, but Nolonemo asked me to post it here:

Sorry if I'm missing something obvious here, but I'm having trouble getting this plugin to work. I'm on XP Pro, and have Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 installed.

When I open Media Center and choose this plugin in the tree menu, I can't see any information displayed, and the program seems to hang. If I move my mouse around a bit, bits and pieces of information become visible, among other things the "Start" button. No preset configurations or anything, just a blank screen.

I have skins disabled, but something must be interfering with the display functions. Does anyone have any idea what this is all about? I'm really keen on using this plugin...

Thanks,
Von

[Nolonemo]

Sorry I didn't include this in my last post, Von, but what happens if you click on the start button once you find it?

BTW, when the plugin first starts, it is pretty much blank except for the start button in the middle and a greyed-out small pulldown window near the top.  Once you click the start button (it actually takes two clicks on it to start the plugin), then you see a bunch of information/option windows, etc.

[Von]

Right, now I tried clicking the "Start" button. I had to click it twice, and then after 10-20 seconds I could see more of the information. Something isn't working, though. I could not see absolutely everything, and as soon as I toggle between Media Center and some other program, things get weird again, only bits of the info is visible. For instance I may see a dropdown menu, but nothing surrounding it, titles/descriptions etc. All in all, it seems the problem is with the display functions.

[scott_r]

Von, you said you have skins disabled... What version of Media Center are you running?

Scott

[scott_r]

Scott, did you get my library backup? I could of course E-mail you the full library, files and all, but that would probably take two years on my ISDN connection...  

Yeah, I got your library, thanks. I ran MC XML Export after deleting the disk location view schemes and it worked fine. I think you might have missed a couple. There is one in each "view" - Audio, Images, Video and Advanced. Delete these and you'll be fine. Note also that MC XML Export doesn't look at what Media Mode you're in - it just assumes you're in "All".

Hope this helps,

Scott

[scott_r]

That might be it, I was getting the errors I reported on my work computer which won't let me into the registry via regedit (I get a "Registry editing has been disabled by your administrator).  However,  I've been able to install other programs that write to the registry, and can clean registry entries using Norton Utilities or RegCleaner.  Hope this is helpful.

Nolo

Ah. Well, I'm using VB's in-buit registry editing tools, so that will be the problem. I'm not using my own registry functions, or windows API calls. VB must be playing nice with Windows and adhering to the security policies in place.
Sorry, guess you'll just have to do work at work

Scott.

[Von]

Von, you said you have skins disabled... What version of Media Center are you running?

O-oh, this is embarrassing.  

I'm sorry, I'm actually using Media Center 9.0.180. Only now did I see that the plugin is for version 9.1. I'll try to upgrade, hopefully that will do the trick. Sorry, didn't mean to waste anyone's time.

(Edit: typo.)

[scott_r]

O-oh, this is embarrassing.

No worries - I'll be interested to hear if this fixes your problem.

Thanks,

Scott.

[hit_ny]

Comments about scott_r's MCXML export plugin.
- after clicking start, it takes 5 minutes to populate schemes. I have removed all disk location view schemes. Wish this could be faster, my library size is 15,000 files.   

You sure you got all the disk location view schemes? There's one under Audio, one under Images, one in Video and yet another in Advanced. I've got libraries of 40,000 files populating in just a couple of seconds without these four view schemes.

Actually yes, all 4 have been removed. I timed it, it takes 3-5 mins till when its operational after clicking the Start button. I think it might have to do with the smartlists i have. I do have a few that use [Filename] as a filter to display stuff.

- When using nolo's preset, it generates the raw XML fine but then seems to take ages to do the transform. i stopped MC, then ran the m$ msxsl cmd line utility and it generated the reqd HTML in a cpl of minutes. Dont know why !!   

Because I don't get paid to optimise my programs like Microsoft employees do. Also, the MSXSL utility doesn't handle xsl extensions - MC XML Export does (hopefully).

Well then why re-invent the wheel, would it be better to use msxsl to do the conversion stuff instead. Just include it with the plugin, have it live in the same dir as the plugin and call it from the plugin.

xsl extensions, are these important to use Scott's presets ?

[sraymond]

Well then why re-invent the wheel, would it be better to use msxsl to do the conversion stuff instead. Just include it with the plugin, have it live in the same dir as the plugin and call it from the plugin.

xsl extensions, are these important to use Scott's presets ?

Extensions are useful...  but I haven't gotten them to work yet (though to be honest, I haven't spent much time on it).  The main extension I wanted to use was one that let a single XSLT generate multiple output documents.  The immediate need was creating playlists for Mastiff, but I'd like to convince Nila that using XSLT for his website creator is a good solution as well.

I'm curious about the performance hit you're seeing with the MSXSL.NET processor vice the MSXSL4 processor.  I've done some checking with an XSLT profiler and I get pretty similar results.  But I have noticed that the command-line processor was noticeably faster in some cases.  I don't think this has anything to do with Scott_r.'s plugin.

Scott-

[scott_r]

Well then why re-invent the wheel, would it be better to use msxsl to do the conversion stuff instead. Just include it with the plugin, have it live in the same dir as the plugin and call it from the plugin.

I haven't checked up on this, but I'm not sure if Microsoft would be happy with me re-distributing MSXSL (the executable). But I haven't checked on this. Plus, MSXSL doesn't support EXSLT, which sraymond sugested I include to see if we could get multiple output documents working.

Note also, that as a plugin writer I don't have direct access to the Media Library, which for the most part is a good thing. All data that I get has to come through SDK functions, which adds another layer of "slowness".

The next version of the plugin that I'm writing will contain a lot of performance enhancements and tweaks, however, because there is a lot to do on it - for example, it's being re-written in C# as opposed to Visual Basic - it will be a while untill it will be completed.

Hang in there, folks...

Scott

[sraymond]

Hang in there, folks...

Scott, none of us has any cause for complaints.  A plugin will never provide the performance of built-in functionality.  Any optimizations you make would just be icing on the cake.

XSLT's biggest problem performance-wise seems to be memory issues - it is a *hog*.  It can take twice or more the memory of the XML size.

I'll see if I can't find some answer about performance differences between MSXSL4 and .NET.

Scott-

[boyddr]

I would like to print the MC XML Export output of my library (when expanded), but would like to have it print one album per page.  Is there a way to add page breaks to this for printing?

[sraymond]

I would like to print the MC XML Export output of my library (when expanded), but would like to have it print one album per page.  Is there a way to add page breaks to this for printing?

Are you referring to the XAlbum preset (specifically, the ArtistAlbumGroup)?  If so, you can edit the XSLT by adding the CSS style="page-break-after: always" to the <div> element that contains each artist.  If you want to do the same for each album (which is what you've asked), do a google and see if a <table> element can take the same CSS.  If not, just wrap the table in a <div> element.

Give it a shot...  if you can't work your way through it, let me know.  I guess I should have put the CSS in a separate file (it'd make it much easier for inexperience people to edit).

Scott-

[millertivo]

I'm really liking this plug-in.  This is my first introduction to XML (though I have HTML experience) so I hope this isn't too basic a question.

Everything is working fine when I view the XAlbumArtistResults.html file on my home computer (I used the client-side template).  I thought that I would be able to copy the entire XAlbum directory to my personal website at my ISP and then view it from there.  But when I go to the results HTML file, there is just a bunch of crazy characters that show up.

Am I missing a basic thing?  I assumed I will have to fool around with the "file://" for the images and see where to do that but can't find where I would need to do anything else.

Also, specifically what files MUST be on the website?  I assume I don't need all the xml files for the views that I didn't use.

Thanks for any guidance.

[scott_r]

Can you link to the file on your isp here? That would help heaps - try changing the character encoding as well.

You should only need the resulting html along with the graphics directory, the swf files and your coverart as far as I'm aware.

Scott.

[sraymond]

If you are using the client-side template, you're depending on your browser to perform the XSLT transformation into HTML.  So I'm not sure how you're getting the XAlbumArtistResults.html if you are *not* using the server-side preset.

But apart from that, Scott_r.'s answer should be correct.  It sounds like an encoding problem to me.  I'm still not exactly sure how the whole UTF thing works....

And don't forget that you can use the plugin to process the coverart, making it much easier to transport *everything* to a remote server.

Scott-

[millertivo]

That did it.  Changing the encoding to ASCII did it.  Great program and thanks for the suggestion!  I would have never thought of that.

[Von]

O-oh, this is embarrassing.

No worries - I'll be interested to hear if this fixes your problem.

Thanks,

Scott.

Just thought I'd let you know that upgrading to 9.1 did fix the problem.  The plug-in seems to work really well, I look forward to trying it out more extensively than I have had time to so far.  

Thanks,
Von

[EpF]

Will this plugin work with MC10.0.59?

[scott_r]

It does here

Just make sure if you've got a large library to remove your Hard Disk Location view schemes, otherwise when you start the plugin it will take forever - this will be fixed soon.

Scott.

[EpF]

Good Man yourself, Scott! Just loaded it now... Thanks

[Diverdown1964]

I've just used the pluging to create an import for SQL server, and its working very nicely indeed. I've noticed one problem (aside from the big library bug). It seems to choke on image processing when the resultant name would contain "odd" characters (ie AC/DC or names with commas, !, etc). As far as I can tell, it continues processing images for other files, but it winds up indicating a non existent file for those it has trouble with.

Is it just me?

Thanks

[scott_r]

Brilliant! Thanks for the feedback - I think you're the first person to use the image processing

I'll fix it up and release a new version soon - hopefully with the large library bug fixed too

Also, you've written an XSLT for conversion to SQL? Mind if I take a look?

Cheers,

Scott.

[Diverdown1964]

Hi Scott

Glad I could help. I've actually been dying for a way to make the XML output by MC usable.

No - I didn't actually use XSLT - I've played with XSLT a fair bit (using xsl-fo) , and I just don't have the patience for it. I actually used javascript, and a tool that our copmpany sells that saves XML to any RDB using a <record uniqueid="xxx"><FieldName1>Fielddata1</FieldName1><FieldName2>FieldData2</FieldData2></record> sort of syntax. I tried using your Access transformation, but limitations in Access made my way easier.

I've been mainly interested in making my collection searchable from the web, and plugging that into my web site. I'm using the plugin mostly to control what gets output, and for the image processing (a killer feature!!!). If you like, send me an email at jpw@ever-america.com and I'll set an account up on my server for you.

Also - if you're intested in the tool I'm using, let me know via email.

Thanks for your work.

[Diverdown1964]

Hi again

I realized that I didn't fully answer your question....

Once I get the XML data in an RDB, the same tool I'm using to get it in there will spit back XML resulting from a SQL request, optionally transformed using xsl, or an open source product called Freemarker (which is what I use).

I wanted to get it into SQL, because a 80 MB XML file is difficult to transform (let alone sort!)