not another filtering portals question

[veganboyjosh]

i've noticed that there have been quite a few questions relating to filtering portals lately, my own included. it seems that the answer is pretty simple to those who do get it, and know how to make it work. i was able (usign the solution posted here) to get my problem solved. i'm not sure i fully understand how or why it works, but it filters thru the fields i want and not the fields i don't, so i'm not gonna mess with that anymore. for now.

what i (and possibly some others) are interested in (and forgive me if this is the wrong forum) is the how and why the global field filter makes it work. are there any resources about using global fields to their full potential? i mean aside from this forum. don't get me wrong, this forum is great! the great thing about these forums is that you can take the posts in small doses. i'm looking for some fairly deep reading material that covers the basics/intermediates of global fields and related topics. i dunno if this falls into the category of db relational theory, but i've always been the kind of kid to take it apart to firgure out how it works, and then i can (usually) fix it.

any suggestions? thanks in advance!

josh

[CobaltSky]

Hi Josh,

Global fields are interesting in their own right, but you are drawing a parallel between them and portal filtering which is not necessarily accurate.

Filtering works according to the principles of data relationships, and in that sense operates independently from global fields. Depending on the circumstances, filters may operate from global fields, stored or unstored calculations or data fields, and frequently a combination of these with some script code. Though, for convenience, a filter may use a global field, frequently similar functionality can be achieved using standard fields.

So I guess that what I am saying is that it is probably helpful to look into the two things separately - try to get a rounded picture of global fields and their various uses and limitations. And separately investigate the nature of relationships and the ways in which they can be manipulated to produce a variety of results. Then as an afterthought, you will note that there are some occasions when global fields may be suitable for use with relationships - including some occasions that involve filtering.

As to where to go for in-depth resources, I suggest that you start a tour of the FileMaker web-ring, as their are a good many sites that offer training, articles, reviews and publications (including some of the better known - and almost ubiquitous - titles).

In addition, I think you might find it helpful to spend some time looking through the myriad of articles and resources on the FMI web site - in particular their burgeoning knowledge base.

[veganboyjosh]

i knew that globals have uses/limitations that have nothing to do with filtering portals, but i thought it was relevant cos that's what has been a common topic in this forum specifically lately.

i will check out the webring as i have more time, there is a myriad of information out there, i know. and obviuosly the best way to learn something is to play around with it and figure out the hows whys and why nots of it on your own. i guess i'm looking for some introductory theory.

someone in another thread/another forum suggested that the greatest and worst thing about filemaker (or maybe that's my conclusion after reading what they posted) is it's ease of use. i'm able to get a db up and running in no time. even a pretty complex set of them, with relationships, lookups, etc. now that i've learned this part of it, and learned a little of what makes layouts pleasing to the eye as well as easy to use, but what i don't have is the background of why we'd need something like global fields, or why i'd want to populate a value list from status(layoutnames). that kind of thing.

i'd be really interested in reading the history/evolution of functions in fmp. when i read scriptology, one of hte most helpful ascpets of that was reading about why case statements are better than if statements, and why they came up with case statements. if i had the history to learn, then i guess i'd feel like i was evolving with the whole system. does that make sense?

i know this thread is way way way off topic now, and way longer than i expected it to be, and for that, i apologize. if it needs to be moved, so be it.

is there a place to read about the evolution of fmp commands/script steps, etc...so as to get the backgrounds of how and why certain features are the way they are?

thanks.

josh

[ddreese]

I think this is a great topic. I, too am new to Filemaker, and I've gotten a lot of help from these forums. But I am also really in the dark about Globals. What they can do, how you can use them, everything. The user's guide is next to worthless on the topic of globals, it doesn't help me out much. Let me know if you find anything worth reading on the topic

[veganboyjosh]

i think globals could/should have their own forum. of course, just about every single option and script step and calculation and function could have their own forums.

one of the great things about this whole process of learning fmp, is that as soon as you figure out one thing that's buggin the crap out of you (and usually turns out to be some obscure checkbox that restores a find or indexes a field or something similar) you are suddenly on this other level that opens up more possibilities for better graphical interface, or more complex scripts/portals/whatevers just as soon as you learn this other thing...