Capturing values from a portal

[Cousin Jack]

Hi everyone, Sorry for posting another question so soon. I have a big solution that I have been working on for over a year, and am now (I think) tidying up the loose ends.

My problem is:

I have a portal in a (Standards) Master File showing data from a link file between the master File and a related file (Policies) which has "Standard Number" as its match field.

I need to be able to allow the end user to change the Standard Number (the match field) in the master file without loosing the relationship to the various policies linked to that standard ... which, of course, disappear from the portal as soon as the Standard Number is changed in the Master file.

I think I need to capture the policy numbers from the link file before changing the match field in the Master File, and them somehow put the new Standard number into these records in order to re-create the relationship to the new number in the Master File. ... The problem is that I can't get my head around how to do this!

I have tried various ways without success and would be grateful if a more experienced programer could let me know the most elegant way of re-creating a relationship between existing data when the match field has to be changed.

Look forward to hearing from you

Many thanks

CJ

[ESpringer]

Why does your match field need to change? I'd suggest building the relationship keys out of unique record IDs that have no other significance (or which can't possibly change). If the Standard Numbers will predictably change now and then, you might consider creating a new field for now as a calculated duplication of the Standard Number, and re-orient the relationship to that field, which wouldn't change even as your Standard Number does.

Ideally, this field would use an auto-enter unique record ID as described by several advanced folks in articles. The real key to a relationship need never really be seen or handled by the end user, who sees only portals and button-scripts connecting the related records...

If you wanted a quick fix for now, a script could use a global field to hold the new Standard Number, go to related policy records (show only related records), replace the Standard Number key in all the records there with your new value, then switch back to the Master File (not via relation) and replace Standard Number...

[Cousin Jack]

Thanks ESpringer,

That's all I needed. I had managed to puzzle myself into a stall. Your response has jogged a couple of brain cells adequately to create a memory.

In that I need to allow the user the option to keep the cross regerences or re-do them depending on which fields he changes in the master file, I will go down the route of the final paragraph which happens to be exactly how I had solved a similar problem elsewhere in the solution (!!)

Thanks very much for your time and help ... greatly appreciated

CJ.