Concatenating legacy 'Stamp' fields

[Wickerman]

I am updating a database where the legacy solution has separate Fields for Date and Time, which were set via "auto enter" options.

In the new solution I'm thinking perhaps I should replace them with a single "Timestamp" field, but wondering whether there are reasons not to . . . so

1) Can I simply concatenate the legacy data in the two fields for the existing records, with a space between them?  Will they "behave" like the fresh records where the full timestamp is auto-entered?

2) Is there a way to display *only* the date, or *only* the time when placing a 'Timestamp' field on a layout?  I'm not seeing a way to do this . . . so is it best to just have separate fields if you might want to 'suppress' one or the other in a given display?

thanks!

Edited August 17, 2018 by Wickerman

[Steve Martino]

2 is easier.  You can display a button bar, 2 buttons, that look like the fields with these calculations (one per button):

GetAsDate(Table::Timestampfield) //shows only the date portion of a timestamp

GetAsTime(Table::Timestampfield)//shows only time.

1.  I would think you could write a script that concatenates.  The date field & " " time field, placed in a timestamp field would work.

Depends on how precise you need it.  Timestamp would be better

[Wickerman]

Thanks very much!  yeah, I'm thinking it's probably just as easy to keep two fields after all . . .

But with regard to the concatenation, I'm still a little fuzzy.  What I'm envisioning is once I've imported the records I create a separate, new TimeStamp field, which will then be empty for all current records. I would just "Show all records" and then do a "Replace field Contents" for the Timestamp field, using the concatenation you describe as the Calc.  Then going forward, the Timestamp is auto-entering and we're all set, and I can delete those separate legacy fields.

So . . . if I did that, would there be any way of telling the difference between the legacy data that I concatenated and the auto-entered entries for new records?  I'm hoping there would be no difference.    I think if there were any difference at all, I wouldn't want to do this . . . 

[Steve Martino]

I can't test this but I would first make the timestamp an unstored calculation field with timestamp as the calculation result.  It will make your timestamps for you.  Then change it to a timestamp field, either creation or modification.  After that all new records would get a proper timestamp

Edit:

The above won't work.  What you recommended will work

First, try on backup copy of file.

Make a timestamp field, no options (modification, creation, auto enter).

 Then go to your records, make sure all timestamp fields are empty and use Replace Field Contents with the calculation:

Table::DateField & " " & Table::TimeField

Then your timestamp field looks like it should.

Then go back into Manage Database and change your timestamp field with the proper auto enter option (creation/modification).

Edited August 18, 2018 by Steve Martino
initial wrong info.