Using a Value List across 2 portals

[McCormick]

I have three files. I have tow portals in the first one: one portal for each of the other two files. Same layout, side-by-side. I want to use a field from one portal to create a value list for the second portal. Is that possible?

More specifically:

I have (to simplify the situation): Organizations, Locations, and Phones. Any Organization might have multiple Locations (eg, Oakland Office, San Francisco Office). I don't want to divide that into seperate organizations. All of the Phone information needs to apply to a specific Location. This number is in Oakland, that number is in San Francisco.

I can't calculate based on area codes, Locations are often close to each other.

This example is simplified, but the principal is the same.

I'd like a drop-down menu in the Phones portal that lets you choose any of the Locations already entered. Of course, I only want the Locations of this particular Organization, not everything in the file.

Is this possible?

[ernst]

Make a relation with 'Organization' om both side.

Then define a valuelist which shows values from 'Location' and/or 'Phone', with the 'Only related values' option set to the relation you defined in step one.

Regards,

Ernst.

[Ugo DI LUCA]

I don't think a value list in one portal could conditionally filter another value list in another portal. Moreover, I can't picture such a need based on your example.

An organization has many locations and Any location have multiple phones.

This would be solved using a Join File. Then you'd only need one portal in the Organization file related to that line Item. You could build conditional value list inside the portal to reduce the choices of locations (based on the organization), then the choices of phones (based on the Locations).

What is this for. Creation of records or filtering ?

[McCormick]

Well, the solution Ernst suggested solved it perfectly! But just for completion:

Ugo: This is for both creating and filtering. I think you understand my situation, but I don't quite follow your solution. How would I apply a join file? If had only one portal, what is "that line item" that it would relate to? If a company has eleven locations, and they have ten or twenty phone numbers each, it spreads out very quickly.

Since it's now working, I don't need to apply this solution, but I would like to understand it.

[Ugo DI LUCA]

Hi,

Not really a JoinFile actually. I got confused from a prior answer. It would rather be an external file for adresses. If you had to relate contacts to Adresses, there you'd probably involve a Join File.

If a Company has several phones (and adresses), then I'd use an Adress File with these fields :

Company_ID

Company_Name (Lookup)

Location

PhoneNo

MKey -->

Company_ID & "

multikey.zip

[McCormick]

Okay, that makes more sense. That's what I'm doing, actually. Thanks.