Question

I need a FileMaker “calculation” script to convert a DMS latlong (eg: 37°55'43.6"S, 145°11'26.1"E) to a decimal format (eg: -37.928778,145.190583).

Answer 1

Here’s a fun way to do it: convert it to a FileMaker calculation and call Evaluate() on it.

Evaluate( 
  "Round(  (" &
  Substitute ( 
    dms ; 
    [" ";""] ; 
    ["°";" + "] ; 
    ["'";"/60 + "] ; 
    ["\"";"/3600"] ; 
    ["S";") *-1"] ; 
    ["W";") *-1"] ; 
    ["N";")"] ; 
    ["E";")"] ; 
    [","; " ; 6 ) & \",\" & Round( ("]
  ) & 
  " ; 6 )"
)

The above will turn the input into a calc like:

Round( (37 + 55/60 + 43.6/3600) *-1 ; 6 ) & "," & Round( (145 + 11/60 + 26.1/3600) ; 6 )

then passes that to Evaluate, which gives you -37.928778,145.190583