Unique Auto-enter Calculated Fields Error

[cobra]

Hi Everyone,

First, I should say that this problem exists in both v7.02 for Windows and MacOS X. The problem did not exist in version 7.01.

To replicate the problem, define the following three fields:

A Text

B Text

C Text Auto-enter Calculation = A & "-" & B

For field C, un-check "Do not modify existing value..." and "Prohibit modification of value during data entry.". Under the validation tab, check "Not Empty" and "Unique". Then, set Validate to "Always" and un-check "Allow user to override...".

Create a new record with the values "A" for field A and "B" for field B. Field C automatically evaluates as expected.

Create a second record with the values "A" for field A and "B" for field "B".

Problem: C only partially evaluates.

Create a third record with the values "A" for field A and "B" for field "B".

Problem: C remains empty and FileMaker displays an error message. (The error message is incorrect, by the way...the problem is not that C is empty, but rather that C requires a unique value).

In version 7.01, Filemaker would raise an error saying that field C required a unique value. A meaningful custom error message for field C (i.e. "You already have a record with those values"), the end-user would be able to take the appropriate action (change Field A or B's value).

What this means is that FileMaker 7.02 cannot handle unique concatenated keys. I've already reported the problem to FileMaker and hope the next update will fix this problem.

Note: if the auto-entered field does not require unique values, it will evaluate correctly.

Also, the fact that Filemaker allows relationships based on more than one field does not mitigate the severity of this problem. In my solution, the concatenated field is used specifically to prevent duplicate values in a table joining two others in a many-to-many relationship.

We should not have to do this manually at the interface level...which is a weak solution, imo.

For those of you using auto-enter unique concatenated keys, use them with a great deal of caution...the data they store/display may not always be correct. Also, be aware that existing solutions that rely on this functionality will not work correctly after an update to v7.02.

I hope this information is useful to someone.