How to Combine Contacts?

[CamMac2]

I have a database of Companies.

Each company has multiple contacts. They live in a file called Contacts (each

contact is its own record) on a "Contacts Layout".

Each company (may) also have an ad agency with agency conacts. These also live in the Contacts file on "Agency Layout".

I need to create a found set of certain contacts, both company and agency, (on perhaps a "Combined Layout"), that I can send promotional mailings to. The list would need to change based on the promotion.

My problem is how to get fields named

Company Contact First Name,

Company Contact Last Name,

Agency Contact First Name,

Agency Contact Last Name,

to appear in one sortable list?

I know the answer is staring right at me, (global fields? ) but it seems I have tried

everything.

Thank you!

[CobaltSky]

From the sound of it, you need a portal in your companies database, which displays a list of related records from the contacts file.

It may be that an existing relationship between the two files will be suitable, but you may have to consider creating a new relationship which will match the company name in the companies file to s suitable field in the contacts file (one which will hold the company name for both types of contacts.

If no suitable field exists in the contacts file, you may wish to consider creating a calculating field which draws together appropriate information from other fields, to use as the target key field for the relationship.

You will also probably find that the First Name and Last Name fields are in fact the same for both company and agency contacts, and are simply labelled differntly on the alternate layouts. If that is the case, you will have only two fields to display in the portal (and they will hold the name for each related record in the contacts file, regardless of whether it is refers to an agency contact or a company contact).

[CamMac2]

<< From the sound of it, you need a portal in your companies database, which displays a list of related records from the contacts file.>>

I'm sorry - I didn't mention that the main database is the company database, and the contacts are, indeed, a portal to the contacts database.

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<<It may be that an existing relationship between the two files will be suitable, but you may have to consider creating a new relationship which will match the company name in the companies file to s suitable field in the contacts file (one which will hold the company name for both types of contacts.>>

The relationship uses a unique, serial Company # as the match field. Company contacts and Agency contacts for the same company will have the same Company#

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<<You will also probably find that the First Name and Last Name fields are in fact the same for both company and agency contacts, and are simply labelled differntly on the alternate layouts. If that is the case, you will have only two fields to display in the portal (and they will hold the name for each related record in the contacts file, regardless of whether it is refers to an agency contact or a company contact).>>

The Main Database has a separate layout for ad agency info (contacts, address, phone, etc). (BTW, The Main Database is not a listing of Ad agencies, rather, it is a listing of many different types of companies, some of which have Ad agencies) The contacts are not the same people.

The found set I need to create will need to list the contacts - sometimes just agency, sometimes just company, sometimes both, depending on the sort criteria.

The only way I can figure out how to generate this kind of list is to do the sort twice - once for company contacts (and export as a dbf for the mailing house) and once for agency contacts ( and export a second dbf). BUT I sure would like to have just one list.