Michigan Record Conversion Procedure

Path:  APIS  :  APIS Documentation  :  Metadata  :  Michigan Conversion

Michigan Filmaker Pro (FP3) APIS files include the use of repeated subelements rather than relational tables or files, making it extremely difficult to export their metadata in a usable format.   In addition, FileMaker Pro allows the use of unpredictably long data fields (some are up to 3200 characters in length), presenting some practical problems in their export.  Here are the steps that were taken to convert this data into a format appropriate to APIS.  

1. Prepared detailed conversion specification.
   
   
2. Using FileMaker Pro, deleted fields not to be converted according to prepared spec.
   
   
3. Identified image link ("structural metadata") fields, and exported them to a separate file using the option to specify that "repeated fields" be converted into "repeated records".  (FYI: 3262 records became 4221 records);
   
   
4. Deleted these image link elements from descriptive metadata file (which then contained only non-repeating fields).
   
   
5. Exported the now flat image-link data into a software program / environment in which minimal programming/scripting tools could be used to attempt correlate the various structural metadata elements and sequence numbers.
   
   
6. Using Filemaker Pro, created output versions of description & structural metadata in MMF Interface Format, with FileMaker Pro's "calculated field" function to create standard metadata elements.
   
   
1. If (Items = "1" and Trim(Material) = "Pap","cu300 | 1 | 1 papyrus" & " ; " & Trim(Size), "")
   
   
2. If(TextToNum(Items) > "1" and Length(Trim(Items)) = 1 and Trim(Material) = "Pap","cu300 | 1 | " & Trim(Items) & " papyri" & " ; " & Trim(Size),"")
   
   
3. If(Items = "1" and Trim(Material) = "Ost","cu300 | 1 | 1 ostracon" & " ; " & Trim(Size), "")
   
   
4. If(TextToNum(Items) > "1" and Length(Trim(Items)) = 1 and Trim(Material) = "Ost","cu300 | 1 | " & Trim(Items) & " ostraca" & " ; " & Trim(Size),"") etc.
   
   
7. Use FileMaker Pro to create DDBDP links, e.g.,
   
   "cu510_dd | 1 | " & Case(Position(Ser_Vol,"OMich III",1,1) = 1,"O.Mich.:3:" & Trim(Pg_No), Position(Ser_Vol,"OMich II",1,1) = 1,"O.Mich.:2:" & Trim(Pg_No), Position(Ser_Vol,"OMich I",1,1) = 1,"O.Mich.:1:" & Trim(Pg_No)) etc.
   
   
8. Used FileMaker Pro scripting to create normalized Dates corresponding to MARC Date1 and Date2.  (Date2 is used in this conversion as either the end date of an actual or estimated span, or as an alternative date of creation. Both date types can be used in the APIS interface to retrieve or limit results according to date.)
   
   Sample FMP script: Case((Position(Date,"A.D.",1,1) > 0 or Position(Date,"AD",1,1) > 0 or Position(Date,"A. D.",1,1) > 0) and (Position(Date,"1",1,1) = 1 or Position(Date, "2",1,1) = 1 or Position(Date,"2",1,1) = 1 or Position(Date,"3",1,1) = 1 or Position(Date,"4",1,1) = 1 or Position(Date,"5",1,1) = 1 or Position(Date,"6",1,1) =1 or Position(Date,"7",1,1) = 1 or Position(Date,"8",1,1) = 1 or Position(Date, "9",1,1) = 1), )) etc.
   
   
9. Exported calculated, reformatted fields using either the tab (.TAB) or comma-delimited (.BAS) formats provided by the program.
   
   
10. Loaded delimited text files into APIS.

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