Please Help. Simple Database query NEWBIE

[Yianni]

I run a restaurant and i hand out suggestion cards to my customers. On these cards we ask for name address phone number date of birth. I created a simple form on filemaker to enter and record this information but i need a little help. As i hand these cards out every week there is the possibility of a return customer how can i get filemaker to check and not allow duplication of records on submission of the information?

Or better still when it realises it is a return customer to record a history of visits by that customer?

Any help would be greatly appreciate.

Yianni

[RalphL]

I like to use an interface based on John Mark Osborne' s "TypeAhead". http://www.databasepros.com

The user types in a few letters and see a list of customers whose name starts with these letters. If the name is not in the list then a new record is made. If the name is in the list the user clicks on a button to go to that customer.

I would record visits in a related table.

[transpower]

You need to assign a unique customerID to each customer. As Ralph says, visits should be in a separate, related table. The link between the two tables would be customerID.

[Yianni]

Thanks for that.

Ive created the related table which records visits by customer ID but now what?

How can i use this. What do i need to create for it to tell me my most visited customers. Or better still is there a way i can view customer records which also carries a field which calculates from the table their visits. So you would go to View Records this would be an area that is not modifiable it is just to view and as well as it displaying their name address etc.. it would also display total number of visits.

All & any help is greatly appreciated as i am quite useless!!

Yianni

[IT_boy]

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