Okay, I'm an idiot. I am trying to set up a portal to show in list view the inventory from the database (there is only one database). I drag out the portal, select "Item" in the show records field, click okay, drop a field on there, and nothing. The portal shows a list-type box and nothing else. I doesn't matter if the field is relational or not or if i group it or not, or any other the options for the protal format are different. I have been using filemaker help and the Filemaker Pro Bible (the greatest series of reference books on earth!) and they describe the exact procedure I am telling you about right now.

The relationship I am using is set up like this: the relationship name is item, relationsip is the time= :item and they are the same field in the same database. Is that the problem, that it is the same database. I have read that it is okay to do that but...

I've had this happen with other programs and I am sure it is somehting obvious, any help would be greatly apperciated and i am sorry to add the the list of newbies that have posted here with the some stupid problems. I at least have RFMed.

You don't want to put a portal on a "list view" layout. The portal itself displays a list. Once you place a portal on the layout, double-click on it to bring up its options dialog. There you can specify how many rows you want to display.

Please ignore last post; I misread your question.

Yes, it's okay to have a relationship within the same file and display it in the portal.

Make sure that the portal is based on the same relationship as the portal fields. That is a common mistake.

nope relationships are the same. I make a portal, place a field on it, select the same relationships, and nothing. In browse mode it just shows a field on top of a portal. One wierd thing does happen though. When I am in browse mode and the field that is on the portal is filled in there seems to be another field right below the first on the portal. I dunno what that means but it is wierd. This portal should show me a list of records in the database no matter what record I am on in browse mode right?

You have a field that was probably sent to the back that is under the portal or under the layout. You need to verify that the relationship is correct, and that you're displaying those fields on the portal from the relationship.

I brought the field to the front, didn't work. I check the relationship, the Portal has the Item relationship and the field has the Item relationship with the field "item" selected. Did I miss anything?

Are you sure that you haven't mixed field types up?

It's a text field. Does it need to be something else?

Its not the fields going on the portal...its the relationship itself. Are the field types on both sides the same?

I don't understand what you mean. They both use the same relationship, and the portal is hooked up to the same database it is in. On both sides of what?

Anybody? Thanks for your help steve, here and in the other post.

Can you post or email the file so it can be looked at?

Sure, it's rough so there are some things around the sides that need to be fixed. It is aslo a modified template, what is the legality of redistributing that template? Also maybe someone could point me to a downloadable template that has a portal in it, all of FMP's built in templates come with a list mode and don't use portals, or at least the ones I've looked at.

And remember it is going to be something REALLY obvious and stupid (like mistaking something for something else) which is a sad thing that I do when I start new programs.

When I click the attachment I get the "Page Could Not Be Found" error.