Blanking all but one field in a record

[Valdrin]

Hi all, I need a little help.

I have a FileMaker pro 6 DB that has 30 or so fields in each record, one of which is used to print a badge number (a number field that auto enters a serial number that increase by one with each new record). I need to find a way for the users to blank all the fields in a record except for the BadgeNumber field -- is there an easy way to do this?

The only way I've found so far would be to use make a script and use clear for all of the Fields except the BadgeNumber field:

Clear [select, "FieldName1"]

Clear [select, "FieldName2"]

Clear [select, "FieldName3"]

Clear [select, "FieldName4"]

Etc.

But that does not seem like an elegant solution, and it also messes up a few "Yes" "No" fields that auto fill to "No."

I thank you all in advance for any help with this matter.

[ESpringer]

It's not clear whether you want to REMOVE the data ("clear" the field) or just not SEE it... ("blanking" it isn't clear to me).

If it's about not PRINTING the other fields (because you only want the number to print), then you should just use the "Sliding/Printing" options (under "Format" menu in Layout mode) to choose "Do not print" for all items EXCEPT the badge number. You can use the "Preview Mode (under "View" menu) to see what would print.

If it's about not SHOWING the other fields (say, because they're confidential), then there are various levels of solution depending on the situation, your role, and how secure you'd want to be. At any rate, one solution to have only certain fields APPEAR (not just in printing, but on the screen) is to duplicate your basic layout, and on the new layout, delete all but the fields you want to show on screen.

If it's about REMOVING or CLEARING the data altogether, your script works... but why would you want to do this? If you really do want to restore the fields to "default" values (including some "no" values, for example), then you can use the "Set Field" step in a script...

Is this on the right track?...

[Valdrin]

Oops, sorry if I was not clear: I want to remove the data, restoring all of the fields to same value you would get when you create a new record.

The reason I want to do this is to give the users a way to start a record over if they have made some data entry mistakes (the way things work now, when some users are in a rush they just hit the new record button to save time instead of hi-lighting and erasing the mistakes).

I am not familiar with the "Set Field" step, how would I use that?

[Valdrin]

I think I figured it out: in a script use "Set Field" with the appropriate value for the fields with preset values, and use "Clear" to remove data from all the other fields. Is that the best way to handle the situation?

[ESpringer]

Ah, I understand your task now. Indeed, a combination of "clear" and "Set Field" steps ought to do it...

Gee, it seems that if the layout is intuitive enough, they ought to be inclined to fix mistakes without starting over, no?

At any rate, there are indeed times when it makes sense to work around whatever people's habits actually are...

Best of luck.

[Valdrin]

When I put the DB together I didn't think I would need to do something like this, but when we used it at the convention, once things got hectic, the people working registration started new records instead of correcting mistakes 43 times (it seems that they usually did it when they entered data into the wrong fields several times in a record). In their defense, the people working registration are all volenters, and only a couple of them had gotten a chance to use the DB before the start of the convention.

This time, in addition to the changes I'm making to the DB, I'm also going to make sure that the department head gives everyone entering data a one page combination quick start guide and check sheet, which should help out cut down on the number of bad records.