Choosing which portal row to use for a form letter

[Darren M]

Hi everyone... I'm still working on this donations database, and I'm stuck again. To recap:

2 main databases. One called DonationsDatabase.fp5 (the primary one) and a related one called RelatedDonor.fp5. RelatedDonor.fp5 contains all the individual donations. One DonationsDatabase there is a portal that lists all the donations associated with that donor (via relationship of the donor_id).

I have several form letters that utilize the donor information. Most of the donors are single-donation entries, so it's not a problem. But a couple have mulitple donations, and I'm not sure the best way to go about retrieving the specific donation to use in a letter.

I thought about making another database just for form letters but this seems unnecessary. Any ideas? Thanks!

[Fitch]

Depends on what you want to do - use a selected donation, or the most recent donation.

If the latter, edit your relationship and click "Sort related records." Make it sort by the related donation date (descending). Now all you'll have to do is reference donor_id::your field, and it will use the most recent donation.

If you don't want to change the way your portal sorts, then just duplicate the original relationship, and use one for the portal, and the other for you form letter.

If you want to use a selected donation:

- Make a number field in the related file

- In the portal, format the field as a checkbox with a value list of "1"

- Duplicate the original relationship and make this one sort descending based on the number field

- As above, reference the related field from this relationship

[Ugo DI LUCA]

I'd go for the first solution provided by Tom.

More than the Relationship sort, you may also want to check DJ's sample to 'Moove around and renumber Portal row', as you could use this solution to select a specific record to be looked-up and used as the default record for your letter.

[Darren M]

I'd be happy to use the first one, and that does work (sorting via most recent entered). The problem is, knowing my users, they're gonna want to print a copy of an older one. That's why I was thinking of using a separate db just for the letters. I'm going to try Tom's second option and see what happens.

Thanks again guys - this site rocks for helpfulness

[Ugo DI LUCA]

Well,

Why would you need a separate file when all you need is a dialog saying that there are more than one record for this selected Person ?

A script, a calculated message appearing on screen, or a hided Button would do it based on the Count(your relationship).

The script :

If count(your rel) > 1

Show Message "There are more than one record, make sure you selected the good one",

If StatusCurrentMessageChoice = 1

....

or

Case(Count(your rel)>1, "There are" &" "&Count(your rel) & " " & "records registered","")

or

Based on the Visibility trick, a button that appears using a calculation

Case(Count(your rel)>1, 1,0) for left side and a calculation (indexed) =1, leading your user to a portal with a set of "items" to select.