Checkbox & Radio Button Usage

[Lorick]

I may not be using Checkboxes and Radio Buttons correctly.

I have what amounts to two fields, say Type & SubType, in a single table. The table is then equijoined to another table with lots of data. I have a layout from the two-field table and a portal to the records from the other table. I've set Type up as a Radio Button set and SubType up as a Checkbox set. That is, the user can select a single Type and one or more SubTypes within that Type. When I go to Browse mode and hit Cntl-N to make record in the two-field table, I can then click on a Type and then click on one or more SubTypes - and I immediately see good hits in the portal.

So first: is this a proper use of the Radio Box and Checkbox capabilities? It seems pretty neat, but it might be unsupported.

Second: Assuming the above is OK, I've tried to add a button to the layout to sort the hits; but the sort doesn't seem to function at all. Perhaps I don't really have a "found set"?

I'm just getting used to this wonderful tool, and I may be doing silly things.

Thanks,

Rick

[Lorick]

Any help with this? Do I need to restate it?

Thanks,

Rick

[comment]

Thew first part seems OK. Except it is not clear why would you need a new record - it sounds like this is just a viewer. If so, one record should be enough. In fact, you don't need records at all - you could simply change the view selectors into global fields. You could even put the global fields in the same table as the data, so you wouldn't even need the other table...

Anyway, the use of the radio/checkbox as described is proper.

The second part: you surmise correctly that you do not have a found set. What you have is a relationship. The portal shows ALL RELATED records from the data table - disregarding any found set in the data table.

You can sort the records in a portal in two ways:

1. Define the relationship itself to sort;

2. Define the portal to sort (this overrides the relationship setting).

These sorts are "always on", and there is no simple way to provide a user with a button to change the sort field and/or the sort order.

[Lorick]

Thanks for responding! I guess what I need to do is to build a layout for each sort. Then the buttons could load the appropriate layout.

And, indeed, one record is sufficient for the case I'm thinking of.

Good stuff!

Rick

[Lorick]

Drat - Following this on, I'm stymied by a usage question, and I hope someone can put me on the right path.

I have a checkbox field, and I want to use a script to set all the checkboxes to "checked". I can do it using Insert Text and keying in all the values, separated by carriage returns. But this is a programming trap, because if in the future, the value list changes, my hard coded list will be obsolete.

Can anyone think of a way to set all checkboxes in a more elegant way? If I could use the value list itself, somehow, I could do it, but I'll be darned if I can figure out how to do it.

Rick

[Ender]

Try the ValueListItems() function.

[Lorick]

That's perfect, of course. I'm embarassed I didn't spot that, with the FileMaker Help and all my books.

This group is great. I appreciate everyone's generosity with their responses. I hope I get to the point that I have enough knowledge and experience to give back to this community.

Rick