should letters, ivoices etc. be in sep database?

[***ANDY***]

Hello,

should letters, invoices, labels etc be in a separate database instead of the same database that contains all my records(plain example attached)? Or is it o.k. that for each record in my main database I create a layout with e.g. "welcome letter". How would this affect the efficiency of the db if I'd like to send out a serial letter to certain customers?

Thankful as always for any help,

Andy

records_letter.zip

[stanley]

Andy:

I'm afraid your example came out (on my machine) as a Word .doc file, so I can't comment in particular.

However, in general, I would say that you'd have letters, invoices and labels all in their own db. Labels (and I assume you mean mailing labels) would actually come from a Contacts (or Addresses) db. The main reason for this is your example of a serial letter. In a relational system, you could go to your Letters db and write a single letter, then select all of the contacts you wish to mail the letter to (in your related file.) Via a script, you'd generate all the copies of the letter. The letter would contain reference to all the contacts it was sent to, but there'd still only be one copy of the letter. You would generate all of your mailing labels at the same time, from the related Contacts db.

-Stanley

[***ANDY***]

thanks for your reply, I thought it would be like you described...

[bruceR]

You definitely do not want to create a separate layout for each record. Perhaps you haven't learned about merge fields yet? You can have ONE layout and it will work correctly for any record.

[***ANDY***]

well, my task turned out to be a little different now. Here are the facts:

1. I have one db with client data called TOURS.fp5

2. I have a 2nd db that contains my confirmation letter for the client called LETTERS.fp5.

3. one field in each db called CLIENT# funtions as the canal for my relationship.

Problem: in TOURS.fp5 I see record no.1 with CLIENT#:1, when I look at LETTERS.fp5 I can see all my related data within my confirmation letter and also see CLIENT# 1, but when I change to record 2, CLIENT#:2 in TOURS.fp5 and look at LETTERS.fp5 it's still on CLIENT#:1.

How can I click from record to record in TOURS.fp5 and get the same record information in LETTERS.fp5 without having to create multiple records in LETTERS.fp5???

Thanks in advance...