relationships-I just can't get it to work

[HeavyE]

Background: Very new to file maker 6

Problem: i can not get my relationships to work. I referenced 3 different books and i have followed the instructions step by step( and all three are the same) and yet i still can't access any information from the secondary file. I have set up the proper relationship, specified the fields, and when i type in a search to find multiple fields i get nothing. Is there some little step that I am missing??? If anyone can help, by all means. Thank you!

[QuinTech]

Hi, E. There are a million reasons this could have gone wrong. Could you possibly post your files here?

Jerry

[HeavyE]

I'm sorry but i can't. They are restricted.

[HeavyE]

Here i made two fake files. I did everything that i have read to do and yet i can't get them to work. fake1 is the master and fake2 is the secondary. I want to be able to type in an ID number and have the rest of the fields fill in. i know this is probably an extremely easy thing, but i'm just lost.

[QuinTech]

Well...

1. Make sure the two related fields are of the same type (text-text, number-number, ...)

2. Add to your layout the primary key and the foreign key. If the foreign key field is empty, set the relationship to Allow records to be created. Add another field from the relationship to your layout and enter something into there in Browse mode, then try to follow this trail.

3. If you are searching in related fields, there may be many records in the child file that meet that criteria, but you can't find them because the relationship is not valid.

Let us know if this resolves the situation, there are other things that could be tried.

J

[QuinTech]

The attachment didn't come through. You have to zip or stuff your files.

J

[HeavyE]

sorry, messed that up

Fake1.zip

[QuinTech]

OK, i try to find '2' in number1, and i am returned 1 record, as i would expect.

You say "search to find multiple fields"--you do know that if you put '2' into number1, number2, and number3, you will NOT find all records where 2 appears in one of those fields, you will instead find all records where 2 appears in ALL of those fields. Forgive me if that's too basic, but you DID say you're a noob! : )

J

[HeavyE]

That is the only FIND that works for me. Lets say i want to find the record that has a 5 for number3. So i go into FIND mode, type in 5 for number3 and it tells me that no records match.

[stanley]

HeavyE:

Welcome to the Forums.

Your solution works fine for me. In your Fake1 file, stay in browse mode. Type a number (from 1 to 6) in the ID field, hit enter, and the related data shows up. That's exactly how it should work. Now, if you change one of the fields (number1, number2, etc) in Fake1, the related record in Fake2 reflects the change.

Now, if you had two records in Fake2 which you wanted to show at once in Fake1, that's a different story - you'd need a portal for that.

Hope that helps

-Stanley

[LaRetta]

You have two issues as I see them, HeavyE. And to see it clearly, you will probably want to make the changes I indicate as you read through this ...

1) You are missing an ID. Fake1 needs a unique ID (called Fake1ID). Fake2 needs a unique ID (called Fake2ID) and Fake2 needs a text field called Fake1ID.

Now change your relationship in Fake1. You need to join Fake1ID (in Fake1) to Fake1ID (in Fake2). Now create a new record in Fake2 and insert a '1' in the Fake1ID field and enter a 4 in its num3 field. You now have two related records. If, while in Fake1 you issue a script-step Go To Related [show], it will switch to Fake2 and display both related records (based upon a match in the Fake1ID fields); or you can place a portal on your Fake1 layout to display the multiple related records.

But there is more you need to know ...

2) You can not find (and display the total count) of Fake2 records from Fake1. When you Find in Fake1 - even if you Find from a Fake2 field, it will only display Fake1's records that match the criteria entered. Finds must always take place within the file/table in which the records reside. So now, from Fake1, Find num3 = 4. It will still only produce one record found! Because it searches only Fake1 for a match.

Without knowing what you really want to accomplish, it is difficult to advise. Having two identical datbases rather defeats the purpose of relational theory. If you give us a 'real-world' example, we could help you further, but I hope this helps with your understanding of the process. And I also welcome you to the Forum!

LaRetta

[QuinTech]

That is because in Fake2, the record where num3 = 5 has an IDNumber of 2. In Fake1, the IDNumber is 1. These two records do not match through the relationship, thus the find is basically null & void.

J

[HeavyE]

Thank you very much to all who replied. I figured it out. I'm sorry I couldn't post my real data but I could lose my job. Thanks again to all!! And dont worry i might be back with some more fake questions.