bi-directional "updated record" status problem

[Steven Cappiello]

I'm attempting to create a way for my database system to show the user whether the record has been updated since their last login.

This will mainly be used so that a manager and their secretary can work on the same pool of

records, log in, and know which ones have been updated, and therefore, need to be reviewed by them.

I've got it working. Some of the important fields are..

Modified Timestamp

Previous Modified Timestamp

Modfied By

Previously Modified By

Current Login Time

Previous Login Time

A calculated field shows a graphic on the record if the the record has

been modified since the user's last login.

It also will not show as updated if it was most recently modified by the current user.

I use the previously modified by & previous login time fields to toggle the updated

status off and back on per record.

Everything seems to work great except for one thing..

When a user is logged on... if they make a change to a record that currently shows as one of the updated records, the updated status of that record goes away.. and I'd like that not to happen..

I'd like the user to have to clear the updated status manually, either per record or with a button at

the top of the screen that says "mark all records "viewed" on logout"

I hope I'm making sense to someone... I'd like to know if any of you have any ideas.. and I'd like to know if I could have approached this in a different way from the beginning.

[Vaughan]

How about this:

When the user logs in, the ID of each modified record is put into a field as a multi-key (FMP 7 can handle 2 GB of text in a field to this will manage a lot of records if you keep the record ID key as simple as possible). As the user browses the modified records the ID is removed from the list when they click the button to remove it.

This will require tight control over the user's login and record navigation interface.

[Deep Thought II]

the system has to know if the particular record is reviewed by each user if u wish to implement this on an individual basis.

if it's a database-wide basis, in other words, as soon as any user reviewed the record it no longer is "updated" for other users. it will be a lot easier.

it's a little hard to see what ur database design is like by words alone, maybe u can attach a sample of ur file?

i can't see how the phenomenon of "updated" toggles away ...

[Vaughan]

Hmmm, I never thought of that Deep Thought. The easiest way may be to have a "User" field in each record that holds user IDs.

Each time the record is modified the field is cleared. When the user visits the record their ID or username or whatever is put into the field as a multi-key.

This is a little bit different from the initial brief of "updated since last login" as it will indicate whether the user has viewed the record since it was last modified. However with a bit of interface control it may do the job.

The only problem is that for new users the whole file will be unviewed!

[Steven Cappiello]

I realize I left out an important bit of information, sorry.

This feature will primarily be used between two people per department..

A manager and an assistant.

I wrote the updated calculation to appear "updated" if the record was updated after last login AND the updater was not themself. This is why I called it bidirectional.. it's only between two users.

I'm not concerned with new users coming on and seeing all the records.. for a few reasons.. 1. there are only about 8 pairs of manager-assistants I'm dealing with, and they ONLY deal with their records. (They're forced to view only their records by scripted searches) 2. they're only allowed to edit records belonging to their department so there's no risk of changing the update status for other department's records.