Disappearing Data

[Gogargirl]

Thanks to you guys at FmForums in the past I learnt so much that I didn

[Gogargirl]

Thanks to you guys at FmForums in the past I learnt so much that I didn

[Gogargirl]

Thanks to you guys at FmForums in the past I learnt so much that I didn

[QuinTech]

Hi, Alison. This will happen when there are multiple copies of the same file available to the user. One has no data in that field, the other has the data as expected. My first step would be to make sure there are no duplicates or clones of that particular file, either on the user's HD or on the network.

HTH,

Jerry

[QuinTech]

Hi, Alison. This will happen when there are multiple copies of the same file available to the user. One has no data in that field, the other has the data as expected. My first step would be to make sure there are no duplicates or clones of that particular file, either on the user's HD or on the network.

HTH,

Jerry

[QuinTech]

Hi, Alison. This will happen when there are multiple copies of the same file available to the user. One has no data in that field, the other has the data as expected. My first step would be to make sure there are no duplicates or clones of that particular file, either on the user's HD or on the network.

HTH,

Jerry

[Gogargirl]

Hi Jerry. The user had no clones or copies - the backup script exports the data to a text file.

The file is set to multi-user as they occasionally network 2 laptops, but this time only one user was working on the file.

I'm still struggling here...

[Gogargirl]

Hi Jerry. The user had no clones or copies - the backup script exports the data to a text file.

The file is set to multi-user as they occasionally network 2 laptops, but this time only one user was working on the file.

I'm still struggling here...

[Gogargirl]

Hi Jerry. The user had no clones or copies - the backup script exports the data to a text file.

The file is set to multi-user as they occasionally network 2 laptops, but this time only one user was working on the file.

I'm still struggling here...

[QuinTech]

Can you verify that the other user (the one NOT working on the file at the time of the error) does not have a second copy?

Let's say User1 is the user who experienced the issue, and that he only experiences the issue when User2 is not working. This might indicate that User2 has a file which User1 is somehow accessing, and thus, when User2 is out if the office, the data in User2's local file cannot be accessed.

This is almost always the cause of the issue you're describing. But just in case it's not, some other thoughts:

populating the file with new data from an Excel spreadsheet supplied by the client

You say you do this, right? So it's not something that happens dynamically every time the user opens the file? Just making sure this is not causing the issue.

When they opened the Main file, and viewed the data as a list

Are you implying the issue does not occur when viewing as a form or table? This could be meaningful.

one particular field was blank

Is this a related field? If so, do other fields from the same relationship have the same issue?

Is this a calc field or a lookup?

Does the field have anything unique to it that might cause such behavior?

The second case was a number field, which is referenced by other (calculation) fields

And do the "downstream" calculations return the proper result?

Win XP SP1

Any issues caused by the OS should be more consistent, and not limited to only one field.

Filemaker 6.0v1

Try to get the user to upgrade to 6.0v4, which is the latest (i believe).

J

[QuinTech]

Can you verify that the other user (the one NOT working on the file at the time of the error) does not have a second copy?

Let's say User1 is the user who experienced the issue, and that he only experiences the issue when User2 is not working. This might indicate that User2 has a file which User1 is somehow accessing, and thus, when User2 is out if the office, the data in User2's local file cannot be accessed.

This is almost always the cause of the issue you're describing. But just in case it's not, some other thoughts:

populating the file with new data from an Excel spreadsheet supplied by the client

You say you do this, right? So it's not something that happens dynamically every time the user opens the file? Just making sure this is not causing the issue.

When they opened the Main file, and viewed the data as a list

Are you implying the issue does not occur when viewing as a form or table? This could be meaningful.

one particular field was blank

Is this a related field? If so, do other fields from the same relationship have the same issue?

Is this a calc field or a lookup?

Does the field have anything unique to it that might cause such behavior?

The second case was a number field, which is referenced by other (calculation) fields

And do the "downstream" calculations return the proper result?

Win XP SP1

Any issues caused by the OS should be more consistent, and not limited to only one field.

Filemaker 6.0v1

Try to get the user to upgrade to 6.0v4, which is the latest (i believe).

J

[QuinTech]

Can you verify that the other user (the one NOT working on the file at the time of the error) does not have a second copy?

Let's say User1 is the user who experienced the issue, and that he only experiences the issue when User2 is not working. This might indicate that User2 has a file which User1 is somehow accessing, and thus, when User2 is out if the office, the data in User2's local file cannot be accessed.

This is almost always the cause of the issue you're describing. But just in case it's not, some other thoughts:

populating the file with new data from an Excel spreadsheet supplied by the client

You say you do this, right? So it's not something that happens dynamically every time the user opens the file? Just making sure this is not causing the issue.

When they opened the Main file, and viewed the data as a list

Are you implying the issue does not occur when viewing as a form or table? This could be meaningful.

one particular field was blank

Is this a related field? If so, do other fields from the same relationship have the same issue?

Is this a calc field or a lookup?

Does the field have anything unique to it that might cause such behavior?

The second case was a number field, which is referenced by other (calculation) fields

And do the "downstream" calculations return the proper result?

Win XP SP1

Any issues caused by the OS should be more consistent, and not limited to only one field.

Filemaker 6.0v1

Try to get the user to upgrade to 6.0v4, which is the latest (i believe).

J

[Ender]

Happy 1000, Jerry!

[Ender]

Happy 1000, Jerry!

[Ender]

Happy 1000, Jerry!

[Gogargirl]

Yeah

[Gogargirl]

Yeah

[Gogargirl]

Yeah

[QuinTech]

Thanks, Mike. Been a long time coming...

[QuinTech]

Thanks, Mike. Been a long time coming...

[QuinTech]

Thanks, Mike. Been a long time coming...

[-Queue-]

It's about ******* time! I could swear I've seen that mustache far more than a thousand times though.

Congrats!

[-Queue-]

It's about ******* time! I could swear I've seen that mustache far more than a thousand times though.

Congrats!

[-Queue-]

It's about ******* time! I could swear I've seen that mustache far more than a thousand times though.

Congrats!

[QuinTech]

the OS and the FM version are the only things that are different here

Just to confirm one more element: You are both using the files in multi-user environments? I initially got the feeling you (as a developer) were running them locally and not on the network.

Please forgive my stubbornness on this issue, it's just that any time i've ever seen this, the issue has been multiple files with the same name. Where are the files actually located? Are they on the primary user's laptop, or on a server? In either case, how are they shared? (You mentioned there are occasionally two users.)

Maybe others with more experience have other ideas. (Ender?)

[QuinTech]

the OS and the FM version are the only things that are different here

Just to confirm one more element: You are both using the files in multi-user environments? I initially got the feeling you (as a developer) were running them locally and not on the network.

Please forgive my stubbornness on this issue, it's just that any time i've ever seen this, the issue has been multiple files with the same name. Where are the files actually located? Are they on the primary user's laptop, or on a server? In either case, how are they shared? (You mentioned there are occasionally two users.)

Maybe others with more experience have other ideas. (Ender?)

[QuinTech]

the OS and the FM version are the only things that are different here

Just to confirm one more element: You are both using the files in multi-user environments? I initially got the feeling you (as a developer) were running them locally and not on the network.

Please forgive my stubbornness on this issue, it's just that any time i've ever seen this, the issue has been multiple files with the same name. Where are the files actually located? Are they on the primary user's laptop, or on a server? In either case, how are they shared? (You mentioned there are occasionally two users.)

Maybe others with more experience have other ideas. (Ender?)

[QuinTech]

OK, maybe it's time for a new photo! (JT, you've seen the mustache more than 1000 times because you repeatedly refer to my posts to learn everything you know about FileMaker, right? )

[QuinTech]

OK, maybe it's time for a new photo! (JT, you've seen the mustache more than 1000 times because you repeatedly refer to my posts to learn everything you know about FileMaker, right? )

[QuinTech]

OK, maybe it's time for a new photo! (JT, you've seen the mustache more than 1000 times because you repeatedly refer to my posts to learn everything you know about FileMaker, right? )

[-Queue-]

Oh, um, sure, that's it!

You should post a photo taken after you shaved that Snidely Whiplash off your lip, or at least one that didn't involve Photoshop.

[-Queue-]

Oh, um, sure, that's it!

You should post a photo taken after you shaved that Snidely Whiplash off your lip, or at least one that didn't involve Photoshop.

[-Queue-]

Oh, um, sure, that's it!

You should post a photo taken after you shaved that Snidely Whiplash off your lip, or at least one that didn't involve Photoshop.

[Gogargirl]

Hi Jerry,

Sorry for the confusion. This stuff is small scale, so I developed it as a single-user solution. But occasionally the client needs to have 2 people sharing the files to get the project done in time. So when I send them their project, I set it to muti-user so that they can share the files over a LAN with the primary user as host and one guest.

In this case, thought the files were set for multi-user, there was only one person using them on his laptop. No guests, no servers.

[Gogargirl]

Hi Jerry,

Sorry for the confusion. This stuff is small scale, so I developed it as a single-user solution. But occasionally the client needs to have 2 people sharing the files to get the project done in time. So when I send them their project, I set it to muti-user so that they can share the files over a LAN with the primary user as host and one guest.

In this case, thought the files were set for multi-user, there was only one person using them on his laptop. No guests, no servers.