Calculation Engine (Define Fields)

I'm working with a table view for the first time. I can't seem to get the footer part to show up at the bottom. Thanks, Mel

I have my DB set up as multi-user, and up to this point three of us have been able to share it. We've recently replaced our useless idiot assistant with a delightful qualified assistant, but now, even tho the DB -- from both her computer and mine -- is set up as multi-user, it cannot be shared. Once one of us opens it, anyone else trying to get in will have that dialog box saying that the DB is set as single-user and cannot be shared. We will be moving to FM8 soon, but it will take a while to convert everything, and these DBs need to be shared by all of us at the same time until then. Any suggestions as to what this might be? Thanks!

i dont know how to use function filter plz anyone help me with example file thz

I have an advertising database for classified ads. I have it calculated to figure out the income each month. However, some of the ads that I have do not actually run. Is it possible to create a field to make the ad active or inactive? IF so, please instruct - I am very very new to FM Thanks in advance!

In my table, I have three container fields. I have a fourth Calculated field, which using a case statement and numeric values in other fields, will set itself equal to one of the three container fields. Eg: Case(Value=1; Image1; Value=2; Image2; ...etc) This seems to work fine when the application is accessed through FileMaker. The probelem arises when trying to view the calculated field through IWP. I just get the "broken image" icon. Can you not use a calculated field set to return a container type inside IWP? Any help would be appreciated.

I have a field that can take text values from a predefined list. I would like to count the number of times that each value of that list is selected in all the records in the database. Basically, it is like getting a histogram of the values in a certain field. Any suggestions will be appreciated. MD

My "city" field in my contact database obviously has many cities. After creating a found set of records, I want to be able to show the name of each city represented with the number of records that match each city. Such as Scottsbluff - 13 Gering - 7 Chadron - 9, etc. How would I accomplish this? Thanks! David

I need to find out how many records have the value "Walk In" or "Repeat Customer" in my T_GuestType field that is populated by a custom value list. The goal is to produce my salesperson report and show how many transactions came from walk in guests and so forth based on the values in the Guest Type field. This is a Count [color:blue]( Transactions::T_GuestType ) function is it not? Only, how do I get the calc to sort out the items in the field and then return a count based on that info? I tried this with no reward... [color:blue]Count ( Transactions::T_GuestType )= "Walk In" Do I need to do a Case calc? Appreciate the help. PF

hello! i want to know how can i, when i click a radio button some text will show and when i click it again to uncheck it the text will hide or get disabled, even if i can do it with a button, how can i do it? thanks!

hello! i have a "members" table and a "team" members. I want to make a layout for each team showing the members that are in that team. And if it is possible a button next to the name of the team member so the person can go to that team member layout. How can i do that?! it would be of a lot of help! thanks!

Hello! i have one field called "studied" that has a value list called "subjects", i have another field called "completed" with a "yes/no" value list. I want that when i click on "yes" on the "completed" field, all the checkbox in the "studied" field to be checked, and if i click "no" nothing to happen. How can i do that?! thanks!

Hi - I'm trying to do something that seems like it should be easy, but I can't quite get it to happen. I have a layout/table for a form that combines visits to doctors that are being submitted to insurance. It has a portal to a visits table that is related by the id of the claim form. Works fine to show the specific visits on the claim. I'd then like to show a breakdown of the visit expense subtotalled by doctor. As far as I can see, you can't do subsummaries in a portal. So I tried creating a new layout based on the visit table, and use GTRR from the claim form table to find all related records - ie all visits that are tied to that claim. This also seems t…

I have a reference check form in my app that currently has 20 questions (fields) that are pretty much standard questions. I have this set up so that once the data is entered I save it to a PDF and email to the client. No problems here. Every once in a while a client will ask me to get very specific information while I am talking to a reference. Generally no more than 2 or 3 extra questions. Is there a way for me to set up 3 extra fields where I can customize the label at data entry and only print those fields if they are not empty? I thought of setting up a secondary table with the custom questions, add a flag to the prinary references table and if it is che…

Hi, I have to move some fields to a new table, but i use them in scripts and layouts before. What is the efficient or easier method to do that. Or how can I find field missing messages instantly. Thanks cabi

I'm trying to copy and paste data from an existing field to another for a specified found set, basically trying to "fix" a database that was not set up correctly in the beginning. I've set up a script that works - but only for the first record of the found set; not the others. I think I must be missing a basic step somewhere but can't figure it out. Here's a simplfied version of what I'm trying to do. Field 1 (an existing field with data, e.g., "x") Field 2 (an existing field with data, e.g., "y") Field 3 (new field that will contain either "x" or "y" or be empty if fields 1 and 2 are empty) One of many different script versions was: se…

I am sure the solution is simple but couldn’t figure it out. How to go to invoice# 1827 in an invoice table?. I tried GoTo record script By Cal with Invoice::InvID but did not work. It seems that FM uses its own numbering.

This should be easy. I have a Field called "Team Record Checkbox". On my layout, I have assigned a single checkbox value "Team Record" to that field. Now, I want to do some calculations based on a record that has the checkbox enabled. How do I formulate the if statement? if(Team Record Checkbox = "Team Record"; do this ; else do that) does not "do this" when the checkbox is enabled. Nor, if it is set to "True"

I am stumped (as only a self-taught newbie can be) by a simple field question: I am registering guests for a small retreat, with overnight room charges. I have very simple fields and summaries set up: room charge, deposit received, balance due, etc. It works very nicely except I don't know how to make the room charge negative without having to include a negative sign on entry. I'd rather enter the charge, and have all the fields add together and the final balance negative if balance due. Seems to me there must be a way for the field to automatically make the entry negative. I've experimented with various number and finance functions, calculations, but none have …

I'm stuck. I am trying to get a "target" Field to display the field value in red, if the target is a client. Otherwise display in blue. I created a test field to test it below, and it works great; [color:green]Field Name = Targettextcolor Type=Calculation Options=Unstored, from URL Stagina Area,= Case ( IID Client? = "YES" ;TextColor (Target; RGB ( 200 ;0 ;0 ) ) ;TextColor (Target; RGB ( 0 ;0 ;200) ) ) But, when I try it on the actual field, it is displaying the field in blue, as the records are coming in, but can not get it to ever display in red. Got an idea that it's due to it being indexed, but not sure, and how do I get around it? [color:green]Fie…

I need to fill in a field using a calculation based on the difference between two date fields - if greater than 60 days then "No", if between 1 and 60 days, then "Yes". I wrote the following script, which works so long as both fields are filled in. The problem is one field (Date Permission signed)is filled in first with the second field (AR Date)at some point in the future. With the AR Date field empty, the calculation returns "No". I tried adding an IsEmpty (AR Date)"" function, but that always returns a blank. Is there a way to leave the calculated field blank until the later date field is filled in? If (AR Date - Date permission signed ≤ 60 and AR Date - Date perm…

Is there an easier way to filter a field so that it contains only letters and numbers other than using Filter (field ; "A...Z 0...9")?

I am new to FMS of any sort, and have been slowly implementing FMS 8Adv., with limited help from my IT Dept. I am trying to use calculations to display images for individual records, using the different field info to nav to folders to find the correct images. Worked P2P fairly well, both with relative paths and absolute. Got it to work with FMServer looking at a remote location on our network here, but when I relocated everything onto the FMS machine, relative paths did not work, and I am having trouble getting any absolute paths to work. Due to the way that our network is segregated, the servers with external access cannot interact with the local network…

I am designing my first database and have a field called OjtOnTime that has the following calculation: Case (OjtComplete <=90;"Yes";OjtComplete > 90;"No";"NA"). I want to calculate the percentage of "Yes" responses. Would the following calculation do it? (Count"Yes"/Count"Yes"+Count"No")*100.

Looking for some advice from seasoned FM veterans about the best way to handle updates, upgrades, and version changes to a client DB that will be hosted on a web server. I'm developing the DB and need to know the best way to set myself up now to make changes in the future as the development process moves forward. Do I create a reference to the file with no data or do I make changes to my file, take them off line at night, import the data and re-upload? What is the best way to handle this? I'm sure there must be a solution since 'versioning' is the way to continue a relationship with the client. Thanks.

FMP 6 I have a number of pull down buttons with pre-entered text. When I scroll through my database, using the tab key some will automatically open and I can select the entry I want by using the arrow keys, yet others do not open and I need to use the mouse to open them and select the entry. I have been looking at this for two hours but do not seem to be able to fix it. BTW in the tab order they are next in line and should open after the previous field. Any suggestions? Thanks

I have decided to eliminate the status area on my next database project. I have buttons to move forward and backward through the records. I can see that I can insert the record number onto the layout, but can anyone tell me how to display the total number of records and after a find the number of records out of X. I have been displaying fields <> but can't seem to find record information. Thanks

Is it possible to prevent a user from being able to enter spaces or tables into a field?

Hi all! I've got a number field where I want the value to be incremented by 1, but with an added "-06" or "-07", depending on what year it is. The result should look something like "102-06". Is it possible?! thanks in advance Anders

When entering calculations is there a way to replace the action of moving the mouse and clicking on the OK button with a keyboard command since the return key is tied up doing carrage returns in the calcuation dialog box? Just seems like there should be with all the time I waste doing that. I guess I am just used to photoshop where you gain speed by learning the keyboard commands. Thanks Drew

In my educational Database I have a related table of how many days a student was absent. I do care for how many days the student was absent and not present because this has no meaning for me. The table fields are: Attendance: AttendanceID Attendance:: StudentID Attendance:: Date Attendance:: KindList: Excuse or no excuse I need to count all the records that a student has to this table in order to know how many days was absent from school per school year. As it is well known there is a limit of absenteism to promote the student to next grade. But to know all the records that a student has to the table of attendance is not enough because there is a dif…

I'm very new to Filemaker, I have at my company several large datbases. Some of them have increased to 10gb in size as we are scanning a lot of information for past employee files. I have noticed that these files are getting corrupt often and I have to restore from backup. The problem being is that I don't know when they became corupt. I have tried to rebuild the db through filemaker which takes a long time and says that it is too corrupt to rebuild. Should I not be using FM with such large files. I'm trying to convnince my employer that we should just use folders withing Windows instead. Any help or information regarding file limitations is greatl…

Hello all, I have a problem wend I access my file from FMS8v4. The problem is the following: I have a text global field in a table that is not related to any other table in the file. If I open the file local from my C: and edit the field the next time I open the file the changes don’t disappear. However If I open and edit the field and then close the file from FMS8v4 the data in the field disappear Please help.

How can you highlight a text in a text field? I know you can change the font colour but I would prefer highlighting. Thanks and Merry Christmas.

I'm having a problem figuring out how to have my status indicator break down how many records are in "status a" and how many are in "status b" on a report. I'm trying to eliminate having to search all the time. I want to know everything at a glance. How hard would it be to do in FMP5? Everything is on one table right now.

If anyone know how can we create a field to display simultaneously the field name + the field value. EXAMPLE: FAX(The name of the field) 210-896-7895 (the value of the field)= [color:red]FAX:210-896-7895(the default value of the field).

Hello, I have a question that may not have an answer. Is there a way to require a field? I have an inventory database that I'm setting up. One of the fields is entitle "Type". I'm wondering if there is a way to not allow you to move on to other sections of the database if the "Type" field is left empty for a new record entered? Any advice would be great, js22

Here's a good one for those of you that like trigonometry. I NEED to find the inverse sine of a number, but no "asin" is available... FIELDS: C - NUMBER D - NUMBER CALC_RESULT - CALCULATION (THIS IS WHERE THE PROBLEM IS) The calculation (IF arc sine were available) should be: Round(Degrees(Asin(D / (Sqrt(2) * C))), 1) - please note that Asin does NOT exist The result SHOULD be the inverse sine of field "C" multiplied by the square root of 2 (1.41) divided into field "D", which is converted into degrees then rounded to only 1-tenth of a degree. Example using real values if: C=4.8125 D=3.875 CALC_RESULT=34.7 (SHOULD BE) C (4.8125) times the square root o…

I apologize if this mabye had been a previous topic, but I searched to the best of my knowledge. I am new to this form! Thanks for having me. Heres the problem: I am trying to create a point of sale system for business. The main part I have been working on is the Invoices. I created a table customer which records customer information, and a table order which is linked to customer through the invoice ID field. THe problem i'm having is that... we use invoice #'s to keep track of our things, when i make a new invoice it commits to that invoice and uses that number, when I delete that invoice it deletes that number and moves onto the next. Is there anyway that …

I am trying to switch from Excel to Filemaker. For most static databases, it is going well. But one VERY simple Excel database is giving me trouble. I need to perform a calculation based upon a previous record. In this database, the first record is "Beginning_Balance", and the last record is "End_Balance". So for record #2, its value for "Beginning_Balance" will be the value of "End_Balance" from record #1. In Excel, this is very easy, due to the use of relative field reference. But I cannot seem to find the equivalent in Filemaker. I am very new to Filemaker...so it may just be called something different...but after scouring the "help" files, I just can't find it. Any he…

I currently track open windows in a User table (as multiline). But I’ve realized that FileMaker does so natively. I would like to take advantage of that feature. I’ve attached a simple file. WindowNames ( Get ( FileName ) ) nicely lists all open windows in the sequence they are accessed (current window always on top). I want to fire a script upon event (window switch) – I’m using SecureFM and can do this now. But, instead of a multiline, I want the window names in repetitions (current window in rep 1, prior window in rep 2 etc). Why? Because I can then display the repetitions individually (as buttons) which can be selected (to grab the value) and return a User…

Hi all, I am new to Filemaker and started my 1st database. I have data to import from Omniform and tne "ProposalID#" was hand entered as "122406-1", "122406-2 (for Today-1, Today-2). I need to keep those numbers and from now on any new proposal auto enter the same way:"122406-1", "122406-2 (for Today-1, Today-2). Is there any way to do this in FM. Any help is greatly apreciated Emilio

I used "Research Notes" template and added some of my own fields. When I am inputting data in these fields in Browse mode and using "Tab" button to navigate to the next field the tab does not follow to the very next field but may go to 2nd field below it but eventually when I keep tabbing it does cover all the fields just not in sequence of the arranged field areas. how do I fix this? Thanks

Hello, I've been using Filemaker for only a few months now and I've run up against a snag on my database. I work in a chemistry lab and I need to keep track of our inventory. The way my database is set up is with 3 main tables: Chemical Info, Ordering Info, and Inventory Info. I have linked these three tables by a common field "Inventory#". I've set up a layout with tabs and portals so that you can view all of the information about a certain chemical on one layout. My problem comes with adding new chemicals to the list. Usually one would enter a new chemical into the database from the table "Chemical Info." This assigns the chemical a serialized "Inventory…

Hi I'm pretty new around here, but I have a question. I'm trying to create a calculation to predict sunrise and sunset times for any point on earth, but I'm having some strife with the numbers. When I use the following calculation: MeanEclLongSun + 1.915 * (Sin (Radians (meanAnom))) - (.02 * (Sin (Radians (meanAnom * 2)))) I end up with a result which differs from the same calculation performed on a scientific calculator. Now this is curious, since individual calculation of: 1.915 * (Sin (Radians (meanAnom))) works perfectly. More complex calculation, though, throws a different answer. For example, .02 * (Sin (Radians (meanAnom * 2)))…

I am a newbie at FM but have dealt with some hardcore relational db in the past. So it is with some embarishment I have to ask the following. I am correcting someone elses work at the mo, and have come up against a small wall. The item concered is a "pre invoicing system" that is to say you do stuff in filemaker it prints an invoice, export to the accounting package where all the real work happens. The account package will auto gen its own invoice numbers, but I need to be able to store the last used invoice number in its own table. The idea is that the filemaker "module" querries this table for the last used number, add 1, records this against th…

I create the Form 1 and Form 2 record, what I'm try to do is Form 2 number can't same as Form 1 number. Field Form No. = A0001 (Form 1) When the person open the new record at Form 2 same number as Form 1 (A0001), can use the validation then give the message? Thank for reply! Check_My_Number.zip

Sorry to still be using FM6. It's the only one that runs on OS9, OSX and Win32. I have a Detail DB where each record is one billable item in a single job, with a JobID. For the invoice I need to display all of the individual items on separate lines, and want to copy the data rather than leaving it hotlinked. I _THINK_ the easiest way would be to make a multi-line text field and read in the fields from all the records with that particular JobID, but the multi-line field will only read in the first record it hits, no matter what I try. I am still searching but have yet to find a promising idea... Any assistance gratefully accepted!

Is it possible in Filemaker 5.5 to turn a custom patern into a background for a part? I can change the colour but I don't seem to see an option to use a custom background

Hello, I am trying to make a calculation field that uses "if" logical functions to result in a text strings, but there seems to be a limit to the amount of letters you can have in a text string. Is there a way around this? Here's the calculation I would like to create: If(Membership Category = "$25 Contributing", "The Interpreter newsletter and program and book discounts.", If(Membership Category = "$50 Supporting", "The Interpreter newsletter, program and book discounts and a second program participant discount.", If(Membership Category="$100 Sustaining", "The Interpreter newsletter, program and book discounts, a second program participant discount, plus an…

Hi, Im building a royalty database where each album has artists, Producers, and songs, and each song has authors. It works up to there but i cant keep a unified address book of the authors, artists, and producers, I dont know how to do that. Please look at my file and make any suggestions. Thanks Alex Rodriguez VastagoRoyaltiesV2.fp7.zip

I'm having some trouble figuring out where to put my parentheses in my embedded calculations. For example, I want to round the total for the sales tax (we have a line on our invoice that calculates tax on each item). It looks like: Sum ( Sales Tax ) but when I try Round (Sum(Sales Tax) its telling me my parameters are off. Likewise, for my Cash Back calculation: Case ( Transaction Type = "cash";Amt. Received - Order Total ) Where would the "Round" go? Thanks for listening to the woes of a newbie.

Hi All, I am new to FileMaker and I am trying to create a subsummary report for an existing database. I have to print invoice entries group by customer, object class. A customer can have many object classes. So the report should look like Customer 1 Object Class1 invoice records Object Class2 invoice records Customer2 Object Class1 (for this customer) and so on... Now I have to compute total amount of purchase for every object class type for a customer and then apply some discount on them. For the total amount and discount, I have created two summary fields. Now I should display the net amount ( total amount - discount). I dont k…

Please forgive me but I am new to more advanced databases. I am trying to create a comic book collector database. I want to have the issue numbers correspond to titles, and other info that pertains to the specific issue such as condition, location, etc. Is it possible to have a title and then in the layout and then add, or use a check box to check off the issues that you have? Then the info for the issue shows in the layout. So lets say you enter a title of Spiderman. It has an id of 1. off the the side you have or can enter the issues you have, maybe on separate lines. Then if you click on the issue one record you can enter all the info for it. Click on Issue …

Hi, I am trying to create a field for a statement report where it will automatically update the due date to be 7 days of the current date. I use the "Get[Current Date]" field +7, but it only adds the date that I create the field. For example if I create this field on the 20th Dec. the due date will be 27th Dec. But when I print off a statement on the 30th Dec, the due date is still 27th Dec. Its not updating the current date. Can anyone give me a better solution? Thanks, Dean

I'am making one DB off my stock and I have one folder with all the pictures of most of the products. What I would like to know, is how can the picture appear automatically on the field container created by me, once I wright his name one the field name... Is it possible make FM read and search the picture path and retrieve it in the container? Thank U ..a lot

Hi, I am starting with FM8.5 coming from FM6. I am not sure of the implications of selecting Always or Only dunring data entry in Validadte data in this field. II do not undertand the advantages of having this 2 new options. I understand that Only during data entry validates while the user enter data in the field, and Always validates also during scripts and imports. But it is not clear: - which option is best to use in most fields - when is best to use Always - under what circunstances should I use one or the other For instance, what will be the problem if I use Only during data entry for all my fields? (leaving aside data import issues). Tha…

Hello, i have got a problem with dates... i have got couple fields: monday, sunday, week id and i want to change every time when i run filemaker, because for example in sunday everyting was OK but in monday (week id should change to next one, monday and sunday date too) it's not working until i change something in code!!! How can i autorefresh this fields (this fields are in every record)

Hello all, I've got a table for patients and another table for visits. I need a list of patients with their next appointment date. Each patient has multiple appointments from the past and for the future. I tried creating a calc in visits that said: case(appointment date > get(currentdate); patient ID) Then I could build a relationship from the patients table to the visits table based on Patient ID. That of course works once: since you can't build a relationship on an unstored calc the current date doesn't update. Is there a custom function I can use?

I have a database and would need some tips on how to do something. I have a Customers table, Invoice table and would certainly need a Reminder table for what i want to do. When a customer makes an order, an invoice is created and sent to customer via email. I'd like to be able to have a set of reminders automatically created when the invoice is done to remind me 1/ to process payment 7 days later 2/ to send a customer satisafction survey 5 weeks later. 3/ to let me know when customer membership is about to expire (50 weeks later). I guess i would need a script but what to put in it ? What if I want the email to be sent automatically? T…

I have a large database and wish to add a new field to each record that INITIALLY contains the contents of another field, that I can later edit. Is there an easy way to do this? Marcel

Just returning to FM after a few years absence. I have three databases that are linked: Contacts, Line Items and Letters. Line Items has the linked key to Contacts field "Contact ID". Each line has a button to create a new letter in Letters. Need the new letter to contain the contact address from Contact File and the line item fields that I just created in Line Items. Think I need a key field in Letters that contains both the Contact ID (from Contact ID File) and the Line Item number (fRom Line Items File). I know I've done this before in the past but I can't remember how. Is it a calculation field and if so, how do I do it? Thank you!

Hi gang, I am creating a table of contents for chapters in a book. I have 3 tables, book, chapter, page. in the chapter table I have a field that uses the min function to find the first page of that chapter from the page table. the problem I have is that the book has a preface and a forward which have roman numeral page numbers. Is there a simple way to convert them? Mike

I am trying to create a business database. The product is storage buildings. I have 2 problems. 1. The buildings come in 8 styles and each style comes in 20 sizes. Can I make a price field that will depend on a combination of pop-up menus. i.e. that a UMB (bldg. style) in a 10x20 size will produce a different price than a CMB in a 10x20 size. I need to make a number (price) automatically enter as a result of selecting 2 or more values in separate fields as opposed to having 160 (8x20) separate fields 2. There are 3 kinds of sale - Wholesale, Retail, Rent to Own. Using a common database can I select Retail and not have any data entered in the Rent to Own layout. The …

Does anyone know how I can set up one of the checkboxes or radio button sets to a default value anytime a new record is created? For example, I have a radio button set that designates "target customer" by either yes or no. Can I have this set to be "no" by default for each new record I create? Thanks!

Hi there, I've been searching for an answer to this question for about an hour with no luck so far. Maybe one of you guys can help me... I am trying to create a calculation field which simply displays the number of records which are related in a related table. Here is the exact scenario: The 'student' table lists all of the people who are using our service. Each student has a studentID number The 'tutor' table lists tutorID/studentID relationships. If tutor 100 and student 200 are working together, the relationship is shown as relationshipID 2, tutorID 100, studentID 200. Each student can work with multiple tutors. All I need to do is add a …

Hello, I am formatting a list of quotes with headings, and sometimes categories, and some of the quotes are quite a bit longer so the printout drops down a full page if the full quote does not fit on the page. Am trying to figure out how to slide it up and let the quote start on the one page and have the rest on the second page. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Hello, How can I get a sum of all the numbers in a field across all records? Right now I have a calc field that is =SUM(Tickets) But it only calculates the sum of that one record... How can I get a sum of all the number of tickets in all the records? Thanks, Chris

Ok, this is a bit strange. We have a filemaker pro server with several databases. Recently several databases have been crashing. I found out that one of the databases is 500 Megs in size! This is a database that we rarely use, we use it only for tracking our quotes. We can't figure out why it is so huge Is there any way to check out the size, or to look into everything. Our average size is around 30 to 100 megs. There is only 1 container field. There are 900 records, and half of them have a pdf in the container field. the other records have nothing in the container. Largest size of these pdf's is 18kB - so there is no reason why it should be …

Hi, I've been trying to to solve a small but annoying little issue. I have a number of time fields, to which a time is copied from another time field in an another table. In the originating field the time is input as hh:mm (Leave data formatted as entered). When this data is copied with Set Field-script step to another time field (Format as hh:mm), it is, as expected, displayed as hh:mm. But when the user wants to modify the value in that field, it is suddenly displayed as hh:mm:ss. If you manually remove the seconds, they will not appear again if the value is modified again. Any ideas how to get rid of the seconds in the target field would be greatl…

Hello, I am trying to modify a label calculation, and it is telling me I am missing the operator. It must be the end of the day (or just cause I am a novice) but I don't see where I am missing one. Here is the calculation: Case(not IsEmpty(Partner Name) ; Partner Name & " " & "and" & " " & First Name & " " & Last Name); IsEmpty ( Last Name ); Company; First Name & " " & Last Name Basically, I am trying to have it search for a partner name; if there is a partner name put in "partner name and First Name Last Name. If there is no Last name, put in the Company; otherwise just do First Name Last Name. TIA

I have created my business contact database with around 200 fields. All of these fields are in one database table. My different tabs are for example Director 1, Director 2, Co sec, Subscriber, etc. How do I create more tables then link these all up so I can seperate my tab list a lot more easily. So say that my Director 1 tab fields of say 20 boxes are in one database table. Hope someone can help. Thanks Martin

Hi, How can a field be checked for valid numeric value? I used database validation tab to set 'strict data type' as numeric only. But during import (using script) it added the records with field empty for invalid values. Isvalid() function takes value as 'B3' as valid. Another step I tried : GetAsText($TEMP_1) ≠ (($TEMP_1 + 1) - 1) where $TEMP_1 contained the field value. This worked for all cases except where zeros are prefixed with number. Example: '011'. I need to throw a error if any invalid numeric value is encountered. Any suggestions? Regards Tushar

I know filemaker server is the real way to do this, but our IT isn't budging. Is there a way to have a script or something that will create a backup (copy) of the DB file at a certain time each day? thanks in advance!

Hi there, I'm using the new List function, and it's really sped one of my scripts up, but to pass data between several fields, I need to work with a concatenated field. That's no problem. The problem is that when I parse the data from the concatenated field, using the MiddleWords() script step, negative numbers lose their sign. I'm sure there are plenty of ways around this, but does anyone know the best practice/easiest way? Thanks, Dave

I do not use Filemaker much - so please excuse me if I have put this in the wrong area I have a database of artist that is used to export an xml for flash, I need a way to create a balanced index from the names. the index needs to have 6 divisions — a-d, e-f etc which if I had a normal person asking for this - it would be easy and i would just divide the alpha and call it done instead - and I am not sure it can be easily done - I need the splits to be so that the number of artist in each split is as close to being equal as possible with out splitting up the artist in a letter group ie: if there are 300 artist there should be as close to 50 artist …

Help, I've tried to import JPEG files into container fields both ways, picture in FM and using the file reference option. I can import them fine however if I try and click on the field it will not open the picture in 'preview' or any other program. Any ideas? GBR2L

Hi everyone, I am trying to highlight certain words in a text field. The idea is that the user will type a word into a global field and that word will be highlighted in the text. I am trying to make the word capitalized, bold and change colors. This is the script I have. Case( PatternCount(Lower(Contents);Lower(xFind)); Substitute(Lower(Contents);Lower(xFind); TextStyleAdd(TextColor(Upper(xFind);RGB(128 ; 0 ; 128));Bold));Contents) I am using the lower function so the user doesn't have to know if the word is upper lower or proper, they can enter "word" and it will find "word" "WORD" or "Word". The problem is, that although it will find all the words …

I"m having a tough time determining client's ages. I've pasted what I'm using below... I tried a few different things... however depending if I'm looking before Dec 31st in the year previous to the future date (ie Dec 30/2006) - the date as of July 1st/2007 isn't right. However, I think after January 1st it's ok... Can someone please offer some help? CALCULATION 1(Age) 2007- Year (dob) - If ( Date(Month (dob) ; Day (dob) ; "2007") > Date (7;1;2007);1;0) + If ( Month ( dob )=1; .05; If ( Month ( dob )=2; .04; If ( Month ( dob )=3; .03; If ( Month ( dob )=4; .02; If ( Month ( dob )=5; .01; If ( Month ( dob )=6; 0; If ( Month ( dob )=7; .11; …

Hey there- I have a table in my database designed to maintain all of my company's contacts. The table contains a checkbox field with the options "Client", "Consultant", "Vendor" and "Other". Because we have contacts that are both a client and a consultant, I have to maintain the field as a checkbox set. In my projects table, though, I want to be able to show values lists of clients and consultants separately. i.e. Where the user can choose a client for any given project, I want a drop down list of clients only. My idea was to create a calculation field in the Contacts Table, which I could then use to create a dynamic value list. e.g. Case(Contact_Type = …

Hi there, First post on here for quite a while, and I'm hopeful I won't embarrass myself too much with this fairly simple question. I've done a couple of searches but can't seem to turn anything up. I'm building a database that will track tasks for employees, a cross between a scheduler and a to-do list. I need a field with today's date in it, so that portals with tasks display appropriately. The problem is that it's quite commonplace for someone to still be working on today's tasks after midnight, and Filemaker thinks that it's tomorrow. So my solution was to use a calculated field, but I'm having trouble with the syntax. The logic I want to use is this: …

Help please! I have a lineItems table, which contains stockTable items and costs via lookups. The lineItems table has a calculated Summary field - Sum(lineTotal) - so when I do a find on a particular lineDescription, I can see the total value of sales for that particular item - great! However, I would like to show - dynamically if possible - the top 10 selling items. I'm stuck on the best way to do this!? I have a few Heath-Robinson-esque theories, but I'd like to do it right!

Hello all, I am making a dispatch database for a volunteer ambulance organization and in the db I have: A list of radio codes (aka 10-codes) where each code corresponds to its own value... example: 10-63 = Responding to location: 10-98 = Available in the area. When a radio code is selected I would like a description to go into the addjacent text feild with the ability to type further information... example: 10-63 | Responding to location: QB/63DRIVE for mortor vehicle accident 10-98 | Available in area, from (whatever) area I already have the feilds set up all I think I need is a script to insert the corresponding description into the text box.…

I'm trying to create a conditional sum but I'm having difficulty with the calculation. I have an Administration layout that gives a company overview by a variety of calculation fields. I have work orders recurring by month for multiple route men. Each month has a different grand total value due to the following conditions: number of tickets, number of call backs and number of one timers. I want to sum the total ticket value of the current month, omit the call backs and one timers and return the result to a portal field. I know I can write a script to sort the records omitting the conditionals to return a value, but I'd rather use a calculation so that…

Global Field I have a layout, A, using global fields to verify first before saving into the table. There is a 'New' button scripted to clear all gFields so that user can input new entry. There is another layout, B, with similar functions, sharing some gfields too, which the 'new' button script includes. So saying two users are each using one layout. If the 'New' script is performed while layout B is ongoing, will it affects? Have been building the database on a comp, no chance to try it on multiple comps. Need to know this before proceeding. Timetable Which is a good way to create a timetable? Its an optional to my current database but will be more eff…

I want the user to enter a number into a text box, then have a timestamp field update right behind it. I will need several of these on same page. I can make buttons that timestamp, but cant seem to relate a text entry to a timestamp. Prob a easy one, just learning this thing. My next prob is to creat a grahic container that changes if the text field update time is past 12hours.. thanks in advance for your patiance,

This if for John or anyone else familiar with his calc field for restarting numbering for subsummary sections: Case( GetNthRecord(Category; Get(RecordNumber)) ≠ GetNthRecord(Category; Get(RecordNumber) - 1); 1; GetNthRecord(RestartNumbers; Get(RecordNumber) - 1) + 1 ) This calc works great BTW...my question is this: Is it possible to add a calc field to each record that will take a field and divide by the number of records in the subsummary section? For instance if my field NUMBERS is 50 and i have a report that uses your calc to number say 10 records in a subsummary section 1-10 then the calc would be 50/10. this would help me…

I have two fields marked with the Storage option "Use global storage (one value for all records)" One is a date type field and the other is a number type field. When I close and reopen the db, FMP "remembers" the date field, but "forgets" the number field (it goes back to being blank). Why is this and how do I make FMP remember the number field? I know I could create these two fields in a new Table that would have only one record, but I'd rather KISS (keep it super simple) and limit the number of Tables.

I have a customer db that has a serial number which is based on the month & yr i.e. Jan 06 = 2601xxx. Right now I have to go in and change the serial number at the start of each month....any ideas on how to automate this would be appreaciated!

I am a beginning FM Pro user working for a manufacturing company. I am trying to create a calculation that shows how many assemblies are available based on the number of parts that are in inventory. Ex: 1 assembly has 4 parts using 1 part each. Parts in inventory (each part is a number field in FM) part 1--qty 5 part 2--qty 17 part 3--qty 10 part 4--qty 20 Obviously, 5 assemblies are available because the lowest part qty is 5. Does anyone have any suggestions as to a calculation I can use to display that lowest number? Thanks, Greg

Is there a way to make a field required based on the "populated" status of a related field? Sometimes I want to make sure that if a record is revisted to add a piece of information that an a related field is also handled approriatly. Does that make sense? I think it could be accomplished through a second layout that is only accessed as "data update" type form with the newly required field on that form only? I think that would work but is there an easier way, and that would only work in an update mode, not on the fly during data entry? If X-field(not is empty) then Y-Field (Is Required) Thanks, Steve

I am trying to put links to various documents into container fields in a database. (With links instead of storing actual documents, I understand I can then click to open the documents ini Browse mode in whichever software they were created in - all of mine are either Excel or Word.). As long as I don't shut down FileMaker (8.5 Advanced), everythng works fine. If I close out the file and come back later, [color:red]the links are GONE!! [color:green]The icons have literally disappeared!! The blank container field is still on the lsyout but it is empty. . HELP!!!!

I have a table called Projects, and for each project, there is a Start Date and an End Date. I would like to generate reports with a line for each month of the project's duration. Each of those lines would have calculation fields based on related tables. I've thought of doing this with a portal on the Projects layout. In that case, I guess I'd have a related table called Months. But how would I populate the related table? One option might be to write a script that creates new records in Months based on the date range, but ideally, I'd have it dynamically update when the user changes Projects::Start Date/End Date. Is it possible to do this dynamically? Or would I…

Hi, I'm using a container field to view PDFs. It seems that a container field will only show the first page of a PDF. What workarounds can anyone suggest, in order to see more of the PDF's pages? Grant

Hi, I need a field that, upon creating a new record: - Autocompletes with a combination of 3 characters - The 3 characters are roman alphabet letters (A-Z). For instance ATN, VBR, DEX, etc. - The combination must be unique for each record - The combination must be consecutive (for instance AAA, AAB, AAC...BAA, BAB...BBA...CAA, CAB, etc) - I need to be able to define in the initial function or calculation certain combinations that must be omitted (I am upgrading a database from 6 to 8.5 and some combinations are already present). I have a list of codes to omit (comma separated values) that I could include in the function. The secuence must follow a s…

Does anyone know how to use variables in a function? Basically, I want to calculate a value, based on a parameter, to use multiple times in the function. Has anyone else tried this? Never Mind. I did not realize that Filemaker has a Let function. Thanks Anyway.

Hi... amateur of FM here. Trying to design a database Let's say if we were trying to find the average age of car of different colours let's say for example sake.... how can you calculate the for example the average age of red cars.... so more precisely.... A database that has variable of age of car and colour of cars... you have n numbers of red car and y numbers of blue cars and z number of green cars.. how can you summarise the data and find out the average age of each colours of car? Thanks

I have a database with eight fields (S_a - S_h) set up as checkboxes drawn from eight separate value lists (S_a - S_h). I created a separate layout to display the selected contents of the fields with a calculation of, for example, GetAsText (S_a). The problem is that some of the displayed content does not match the boxes checked (a checkbox field may have 3 of 8 values selected but displays 6) and, in one case, contains a value deleted from the list. Any idea of a better way to see only the values checked?

Hi everyone, I want to design suppliers id and its inventory list shown as above. when i click desired supplier i want to see its inventory info. my two lists have already been ready but i couldn't combine them that i want... i prefer table view for two lists. if you are assistance to me, i' ll be very happy...

I am trying to build onto a simple FM application to record inventory transactions for our small manufacturering facility. Records for each batch of components we make are entered into a table including the quantity, departmental source and destination of the components. I am trying to find a simple way to total quantities of each component in each department at any moment. The basic calculation is totalling the quantities of each component with a particular departmental destination and subtract from this, the total of the same component with the same department as a source. Then I want to display the total quantity of each each component as a line item for each com…

Hi, I'm trying to get a field to add the total sales (money count) for the last 7 days from another database, eventually I would like to the same per month. Has anyone done this?