fmmike

PatternCount... - That's interesting I will play with it! Thanks -fmMike

LaRetta, My apologies for being brief. I shouldn't code and do "chores" concurrently. What I am trying to do is: - prompt the user via Custom Dialog box, (s)he has the option to enter either: a known ID (numeric, indexed key) or enter the last name of the family (or a portion - from my previous topics/postings). - If the ID is opted for entry I want to ensure it is a valid integer (this post). - If it is blank I search via last name. - else I drop out with a dialog "please enter some criteria" Thus I have gleaned that validation will not fire within a Custom Dialog. Since I don't expect that both values will be entered, the "join" option is unattractive. set field [substitute(Abs(g_Search_Family ID) , ".","")] Appears to work BUT I need to include a test to trap for an input of all alphas. Based upon my testing (ID = qwerty, It would fall through the code and give undesirable results. Let me play with my new found knowledge. But to quote my *new* governor "I'll Be Back!" Is there an easy way to copy code snippets from FM scripts? This is tedious... - fmMike

That doesn't appear to work. The custom dialog prompts for a user ID (numeric) or a Last name (alpha) in separate fields within the custom dialog. I evaluate which one is notEmpty and process from there. I just want to take the ID (gID) and ensure it is numeric. From that point I do the Find. This doesn't appear to work either. That concept might work but I can't implement a working version. ...snip ... What are the errors of my ways? Are your examples syntactically correct? - fmMike

I have defined a global field (as numeric). I want to validate the input to that field (via custom dialog) results in a numeric value or displays a dialog box. I've tried: NumToText(TextToNum(g_field)) <> g_field -> It won't catch non-numeric values. This is crazy Any ideas?

THANKS! I got so involved in all of the data movement/processing that I didn't catch that. It works like a charm now. ... And I learned afew things along the way!

I'm still having display issues - even after great review of your example. Something still doesn't click. I have attached a sample file. There are many 'pauses' to display the progression. I'm getting some kind of cartisian join, but can't understand where my FMP code is confused. TIA test_of_portal.ZIP

Thanks LaRetta. I downloaded the file and gave it a quick read. My eyes are starting to blur but that appears to be what I'm looking for. I'll play with it tommorrow. - and be back with questions/praise/commentary. Have a good West Coast PM (I'm in SF CA area)

That's sad to hear about not being able to use a found set in a portal... Perhaps I am attacking this the wrong way. I was using a custom dialog to help the user either enter a Family number (if known) or let them search by name. I was trying to help facilitate the name search by allowing them to enter a partial name and then present them a list of matches. The type-ahead scenario doesn't bode well in the custom dialog environment. I'm a newbie with FM, but have a background in SQL. Making the transition is difficult. I know what I want to do but struggle with the toolset...

Hi, I'm having trouble getting a display in my portal. Here are the details: From a custom dialog... I prompt for a partial name (self-join relationship on indexed "Family Name") ie "sm" which should result with rows for: "smith" and "small" Enter Find Mode[] Set field ["Family Name","g_familyname"] Perform Find [Replace Found Set] Goto Layout ["Find Family"] The portal appears BUT displays only the "small" row. The "find" works correctly since it omits the non "sm%" rows. I can click with the "index card" and see each of the 2 rows. How do I get BOTH rows to appear in the portal?