vb3

Ok, I should have put this image up here to begin with but wasn't sure if I even had it. Each scute only gets one notch, and each scute corresponds with only one value. Individual 1 would only be marked on one scute, while individual 37 would have 3 scutes marked (10, 20 and 7). What I had envisioned for my form layout was to include this image with a checkbox next to each scute that has a value, and by clicking on that box you would "activate" that value. The individual ID field would then add up each activated value. Hopefully I've included all the information needed this time! Sorry for any confusion, and thanks for the help. Oh, and, yes theoretically each person notching turtles would use the convention in the image to do so. Deviating from that and replicating the same code would create problems, although multiples of the same ID number would be ok if seperate turtles species started at individual 1 (i.e., species X individual 1 would be acceptable).

Sorry, I should have been a bit more explicit. A turtle has a certain number of marginal scutes (the edge of the turtle's shell when viewed from above). Turtle researchers have designated a certain number for each scute, and have developed marking schematics that allow one to uniquely mark as many as 300,000 individuals without replicating a certain shell mark sequence. I could just make the individual ID field an automatically generated number and use a cheat sheet to tell which scutes should be marked, and may end up doing that if it is easier to figure out based on the recommendations I have receieved so far, but I was hoping for a checkbox solution with this database so I can allow others to use it and see a graphical interface. Thanks for the suggestions, I will give them a try.

Hi, I hope this question is in the right place. I am using Filemaker to create a database of unique identification numbers for individual study animals (turtles). We mark individuals by notching the shell in unique locations and assign numbers based on how many notches there are and their location. What I would like to do is create a series of checkboxes that appears on each record entry, and have each checkbox associated with a value. Once I check a box I want the individual ID field to add up the numbers to generate the unique ID code for that individual. I played around with value lists and scripts to try and accomplish this, but it didn't produce the results I wanted. Hopefully this is a possibility, thanks in advance for any help!