How to list multiple selected Records into a Table View List

[CoreyS]

I am a new user to Filemaker.  played around with it years ago and basically understand it can be a much more powerful version of excel.   

I basically want to create a simple compare and contrast list for products for our workplace.   Each Product / Record --- lets just say they are Hammers....   would have individual fields for their brand name, model number, material, height, weight, etc..... Many websites have features that when you are browsing their various products you can click a box that says add to list.  Then after that, you can click a button that usually says "compare selected"  that will show 2-4 or more models in a side by side vertical table so you can review features and make an informed purchasing decision.   See Apple, Crutchfield audio etc,

Then that list could be printed or emailed to customer.

Additionally other ways of organizing the data would be useful.  I would like to be able to create a compare and contrast list that could be generated by searching for all models that might contain a specific entry from a given record field.  Create table for all Hammers that are made out of Stainless Steel ( material field )

Not really sure where to start.  Any help would be great Cheers.

[comment]

The main problem with your request is that Filemaker is not flexible in the horizontal direction. In order to compare 2 products side-by-side, you must build a layout with 2 portals (for example). To compare 3 products, you would need another layout with 3 portals, and so on.

Things would be much simpler If the compared products could be placed one atop the other. Then you could just find the selected products and show them in a detailed List view. Same thing for showing products that meet some criteria (e.g. material): just perform a find. 

 

3 hours ago, CoreyS said:

it can be a much more powerful version of excel.   

That is not a useful way of looking at it. Excel is a spreadsheet, Filemaker is a database. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

[CoreyS]

Thanks for your feedback.  

If portals are the way to do it then I will look into what designing portals will require thanks.  

On top of each other is not user friendly.  Imagine you go to a store and instead of being handed a brochure with 5 different cars all comparing their specifications to each other on a regular piece of paper ,  you are handed a one column scroll with no way to compare line by line items.  

[comment]

13 hours ago, CoreyS said:

If portals are the way to do it

Portals are one way to do it. But all ways have the same limitation: the number of columns must be fixed in advance. Or at least the maximum number of columns; you could put 5 portals on a layout and hide the rightmost 2 when comparing only 3 products.

 

13 hours ago, CoreyS said:

I will look into what designing portals will require

It's actually very simple: place a tall one-row portal on the layout and put the fields you want it to show inside it. Duplicate it and set the duplicate portal to start at row 2 and so on.

 

13 hours ago, CoreyS said:

Imagine you go to a store and instead of being handed a brochure with 5 different cars all comparing their specifications to each other on a regular piece of paper ,  you are handed a one column

This analogy does not hold. You can put products in rows and features in columns. It's the same information as having the products in columns and features in rows - just rotated 90 degrees. The only difference is what people are used to.

Note also that for printing, you could rotate the fields and the labels - so the end result would look the same.

Edited July 24, 2019 by comment