Hi.

I've been scouring this forums, and I'm getting that there are issues with value lists and calculated fields.

Basically, here's what I need:

I need a pull-down menu of customer names (calculated based on various text fields) on an invoice so that the user can select the item, and have it auto-fill in the address.

Right now, I have the "left value" in the value list as the ID number, and the "right value" as the calculated name.

So, the pull-down menu isn't showing all the records from the customers table. How can I get it to do this? I assume it's related to "indexing"?

Alternatively: Is there any way I can just have it build a value list based on a SQL statement instead of dealing with all these dialog boxes? From what I can tell, FileMaker supports SQL through ODBC for external sources, but how about internally? Just using a SQL call for this would be like a zillion times easier, as far as I'm concerned.

Make sure the calculated customer name is "stored". Just as a trial, I set up unindexed fields for "First Name" and "Last Name", created an unstored, unindexed calculation for "Whole Name" and created a value list with the record serial number that also displayed "Whole Name". Everything still worked fine, even though the warnings messages on indexed fields appeared. I used the value list from another file, still all ok.

One thing that can happen. If two identical names exist with different record numbers, you will only see one name with the first serial/record/customer number.

This shouldn't be a major drama, there really aren't any "issues" (problems?) beyond the structural requirements for indexing common to all database systems.

-bd