Old FIleMaker Dog Needs Help

[falkaholic]

Hi All,

I've used FileMaker as a full time job until just before version 7 came out. I kind of missed the whole transitional heyday. I've been dabbling in FM7 a bit and am now getting back into it.

I'm having real problems wrapping my head around the new relationship model. It is hard to get out of the stone age of FM.

Whats the deal with table instances? How come they are made after the second relationship. How do they dance with relationships? How do you name them? Do they go in both directions? Is there an clean-up function in the relationship graph? How do manage a system with more then 4 tables and some tricky self-relations with out getting confused? Am i the only one that thinks the relationship graph isn't very logical?

Am I over thinking this?

Could some other fellow old FM dog get down to brass tacks and give me the non-textbook low down? Its pass 1am and I'm getting frustrated.

[cjaeger]

>Whats the deal with table instances?

Think of them as a 2nd relation, and name them as you did before having 2 different relationships to a single file.

>How come they are made after the second relationship.

No other way to show them graphically without having the lines cross. And remember, you can connect 2 tables using a third. No more duplicating the same data just to create a 3-table relationship.

>How do they dance with relationships? How do you name them?

see above

>Do they go in both directions?

No. Unless you define the reverse.

>Is there an clean-up function in the relationship graph?

use your mouse.

How do manage a system with more then 4 tables and some tricky self-relations with out getting confused?

use your head. ;-) plan ahead. It's a lot less confuisng than the old way, once you grab the concept.

>Am i the only one that thinks the relationship graph isn't very logical?

No. The default display can be confusing. But changing that is up to you. Use colors, reposition the table instances, rename them so they make sense.

[transpower]

See the comprehensive book, Using FileMaker 7, for a good description of the new relationship model.

[Ugo DI LUCA]

Eric,

I kind of thought the same, when I gave that first glance to 7 while finishing my projects with 5.5 and 6.

Then I started to get the plundge into it, myself, with only the technical briefs on the desk and a few thousand test files of my own.

Finally, I got back here and paid more attention to what was written, the samplers submitted and the thousand advices (some contradictory) suggested.

I have 2 basic advices :

1) Do absolutely not start studying 7 from a migrated solution.

2) Build your first solution step by step

a) separating your solution in multiple test files, with no scripts nor interface as a start, playing with the relational scheme only, just testing the interconnexions between Tables, Table Occurrences, etc.

- A Manufacturer - Product structure

- A Manufacturer - Product - Line Items - Order structure

- A Client - Contacts structure

- An Account grouping Manufacturers-Clients-Contacts structure

- A Account- Product-LineItems-Quote structure

- A Product - LineItems-Orders-Stock structure

etc.

: Assemble those tasks together in a few other bigger files, still with no scripts but a few more fields, playing a bit with the new features (lookups, auto-enter)

c) try to locate the group of tasks inside each of these

- Contact Manangement

- Product Management

- Sales

- Purchases

These groups at the end would constitute the famous TOG, with a few others inside them.

d) try yourself with scripts, context (which is essential with FM7)

e) rebuild the file using naming conventions for your Tables, TOG, fields, so that it helps either visualizing the graphs or the lists of fields and Tables later in the dialogs.

f) build one "module" entirely (Contact Management for ex.) playing a bit more with functions, scripts, interface, value lists.

g) Think about Interface and Layoutings, parameters and the same.

h) group all modules together.

i) add those finesse stuff that makes the difference

Be patient. The time you loose now is the time you'd gain later...

Read and re-read the Technical Briefs from FileMaker web site...

[falkaholic]

Thanks guys.

I will give it a go. I do have my Special Edition FileMaker 7 book here. I will give that another go. Give my brain time, brains seems to need more time learning when deadline loom and pass.