Tracking edits to track progress - Beginner

[KevinX]

Hey all,

I am relatively new to using FMP and really have just picked it up so I can add features that help me do my job to my organizations existing system. With time to work from home I've been playing around with a system to help stream line case management. The system includes a needs assessment which details current information (ie. employment status, linkage, transportation, etc). I built this for utility so my team can share and store the most up to date information on each case. Sent my completed system to the person who manages our FMP and he asked that I find a way to store previous iterations of each field so we can show progress or change over time. I have spoke with him several time to try to get a grip on how to accomplish this but it just makes my head spin. 

The assessment is extensive, so it's really not practical to generate and fill out a new record each time. I was thinking maybe duplicating the record, but even then I unsure how and where that will be recorded. Do I need a new database?

I don't have a background in any of this, I've just got a lot of time on my hands, so please forgive me if my terminology isn't always correct. I have some basic familiarity with setting up relationships and writing scripts, but I feel like I'm over my head on this one. Any assistance or guidance would be welcome. 

 

[comment]

It's hard to tell what exactly you're looking for. There are a few methods "to store previous iterations of each field" - do a search for 'audit log'. However, the main purpose of these methods is to increase data integrity, not to "show progress or change over time". Such goal would be much better served by creating a new record for every change. If the entity you're tracking has many attributes, and you want to track the progress of each attribute individually, then consider using the EAV data model.

 

[KevinX]

Thanks, The EAV model information was helpful, I spent all day reviewing it. I want to maintain the usability for the purpose which I created it. To do this I've displayed the data in a portal which is filtered to only display the record labelled "master" is a specific feild. I want to write a script that will switch the last input to "master" while switching the previous "master record" to an alternative label "record". I am struggling with having the script look for previous related records labelled "master"and changing the field in that record. any thoughts?

[comment]

3 hours ago, KevinX said:

any thoughts?

Not really, because I don't understand what you're describing. I answered in general, picking on the two phrases that made some sense to me. The rest is very vague (to me, anyway). I suspect your basic approach is wrong. At least I cannot think of a scenario where it would be necessary - or desirable - to tag one record among many as "master". That's not how a relational database is supposed to be organized. But again, I am speaking in general and I could well be missing the big picture here. 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2020 by comment