newbie portal/field question

[iHeartFM]

Hi,

I'm trying to set up several fields such that when you select a value in one, the options for the other fields are decreased.

The fields will contain stuff like Company, Product, Size, etc.

When a specific Company is selected, the available products from that company are narrowed down. And then when a specific Product is chosen, the available Sizes are further decreased. Also, I would like to have the order of selection be variable.

(I have a separate file with Company names, products available from that company, and their sizes.)

I tried doing this with portals, but couldn't get anywhere. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

FileMaker Version: 6

[CobaltSky]

Hello iHeartFM,

What you are describing can be achieved very effectively in FileMaker via the use of conditional value lists - ie value lists which take values from a field, using the option for 'only related values'. You will need several relationships (one for each step in selection after the first) and a value list based on each.

For a simple example of a conditional value list that you can pull apart and investigate, you might like to download the free demo file from:

http://www.nightwing.com.au/FileMaker/demos4.html#d1

...under the heading 'Conditional Value List Example'. It shows a single list in action, but should nevertheless give you the general idea.

[iHeartFM]

Thanks! That's really neat. I'm still having a small problem though.

While testing it, I select a company from the list, then products, etc. and for some reason, that changes all the related fields. All the records for that particular company in my related file contain the same values now.

I don't mean for the master file to change the related file, and am not sure if I've set something up wrong. Is there a way to do this without affecting the related file?

Thanks again!

[CobaltSky]

iHeartFM said:Is there a way to do this without affecting the related file?

Yes, there is. Once it is set up correctly, you should be able to use the lists without it having any affect at all on the related file.

The first thing to look at is what fields your value lists are attached to, and whether they are from the main file or the related file. For a multi-stage selection system, you would probably be best using global fields located in the main file.

FileMaker Version: Dev 7

[iHeartFM]

Thanks for your help Ray, it works beautifully now!