Is there any speed advantage to having the layouts in the same file with the tables in FM7? I would like to separate all tables and all layouts into two separate files...but was wondering if layouts accessing tables in a different file were slower. This is important since some of my tables are tens of millions of records.

Go for it. No speed advantage that I've heard.

Bailey:

What is your logic for separating the layouts from the records? In my understanding (and I may well be wrong) this was something that made sense in previous versions of FMP, but in FMP7, this is no longer an issue.

I hope someone (perhaps you) can spell then (new v7) logic out for me.

-Stanley

Stanley,

Just goes to show ya! My understanding is the exact opposite. You couldn't really separate Layouts from tables in any previous versions, but now you can. You just select the target tables now and regardless of the "file" they belond to, your layout treats them as if you were in the same file (as you had to be in previous versions). The advantage (maybe potential advantage?) is that now you can work on layouts and such with a "dummy" table file and then just up load the new layout when you are completely ready to implement it in your solution. For me it means being able to work on layouts without having 20GB table files around to copy and work with over a cable modem at home.

I agree with Bailey - Stanley is on the wrong track. Separation of data and structure/interface is really powerful and has been a feature of other databases like 4D for a long time. Filemaker does not quite do it the same way as other systems but most of the separation benefits are still there. The ability to mess with layouts, scripts, etc without messing with the data is a huge advantage. The ability to swap in the new interface file and have it automatically connect to the data is wonderful. If you have to make field definition changes, you will have to go to the data file. But most of the development work will be done in the interface file.

I don't see any post about "Separation of data and structure/interface" in the forum

Something like ideas "how to"

Is it possible in FM PRO : (to seperate the data from the structure/interface)

George

Do a search for +separate +interface in the FM Pro 7 forum.

Look at the Separation Model in Migration Foundations and Methodologies.

Must not have looked very hard. There are posts and example files. It's really really easy.