Is there an easy way to access a global field in another file?

I have tried various Relationship tricks but they are fragile.

For example, I have created a global in the current file, filled it with a value I know will exist in another file and set a relationship on the match. Unfortunately this can break down in a number of ways. If the global match field loses it value, or the external file has no records, or at a later date I change the external file so the it doesn't contain that value, the connection is lost.

Any ideas?

Instead of using global fields, use a calculation field ="1" (or some other simple value) in each file. Use this as the basis for your relationship. (Search this and other forums for discussions of "constant relationships") This still will not work for a file with no records, you'll need to make sure there is always at least one record in every file.

create in both databases a number field called "one". In the auto-enter options select "Data" and fill it with the value 1.

So every record on both databases has this field filled with the value one. Now You can create a relation with these fields as keys.

If you have already records, you have to fill the 1 with the replace.

For me, this field is a standard in every db, like the ID. It solves many problems, e.g to access globals through several db's

Gerd

Thanks, both of you, Good Ideas!