Robocalls from FileMaker?

ROBOCALLS FROM FILEMAKER?  Imagine a FileMaker solution calling a client and delivering the latest data update directly to the client.  Impossible, you say?  Not anymore.

J Sciarra of Colibri Solutions has taken FileMaker and Twilio to next level using the Insert from URL command.  It started out using Jeff England’s example of using Twilio to send SMS messages, but quickly moved on.  It turns out there is a wealth of capabilities in Twilio and other services that can extend FileMaker’s capabilities:

SMS is really a small subset of Twilio’s toolbox. I became intrigued by the idea that I could use FileMaker to send and receive phone calls and potentially build phone trees, reminder systems and other telephony apps.

I also learned something about FileMaker’sInsert from URLscript step. Until now, my limited understanding of the Insert from URL command was as a handy means of grabbing content from the web and getting it into a FileMaker solution. It’s really not really named correctly. With FileMaker 13, you can now use the URL POST command. This command opens a world of new opportunities to communicate with web services directly, such as Twilio, from the FileMaker platform. This is really a different thing altogether.

So with this new insight, one simple and powerful construct came to mind. Could I build a tool that would take contextual database content as a message, make a call to a number stored in FileMaker, and use the Twilio API to translate that message to voice and deliver it? Within a couple of hours, I was able to create theColibriMessage.fmp12file that is included with this post.

Read it all and explore.  There’s a whole world out there waiting to connect to FileMaker.

 More…FileMaker is the Messenger – Insert from URL is Not Just for Containers | Colibri Solutions.