Using Multiple Windows

[Chuck]

I'm interested in comments regarding the use of multiple windows in FileMaker. As you probably know, FileMaker 7 has the ability for a single file to show multiple windows, which allows for some interesting and perhaps useful new additions to how solutions can work.

For instance, I am currently working on a solution that has three tabs across the top: Home, Vendors, Traffic. Vendors and Traffic are main tables that contain the bulk of data entry, and have many portals into other tables of related information. Each has a list view and details view. With multiple windows, I can have one window for Home, one for Vendor List, one for Vendor Details, one for Traffic List and another for Traffic Details.

When you create a new window, the found set and sort order of the current window are duplicated, but creating a new window isn't always necessary. If the user clicks a record in the Vendor List window, that will open up the Vendor Details window if it doesn't exist. In this case, the found set, sort order and current record of the list view are duplicated automatically in the detail view, which is what I want.

However, if the user then goes back to the list view, changes the sort order or the found set, and then selects a record, I would like the sort order and found set to be duplicated in the existing details window. One obvious way to do this is to close the details window and create it again, but this seems to cause quite a bit of flashing that I'd rather avoid.

Another solution is to flag all of the records (the sort order is easy because that can only be changed with scripts, and my scripts store the sort order state), and then find all of the flagged records while in the detail window. For databases without too many records, this is accceptable, but replacing on thousands of records would be quite time consuming and unacceptable.

I'm looking for other developers insights into this. Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Chuck

[TerenceM]

Here's one rather late response to this problem that I just figured out. I'm also using the trick of closing the window and creating it again. However, try reversing the steps.

rename old window to "close me"

save size/location information

create new window on top of old window "close me"

close window "close me"

now the flash of closing the old window is covered up.

-Terence

[Chuck]

This is exactly what I finally ended up doing. Maybe a new wish for FM is better management options when moving from one window to the next.

Chuck