Well, I guess it's possible. Is there any type of debugger or something? What about the restore command? I guess I really haven't made any structural changes since your last file. I've changed some value lists and added a field or two, but other than that I think copying into your version will be my best bet.

[Attachment has been moved further down the line :-]

PROJECTS

A. Contact name in portal should be based on ContactID relationship; NOT on "full name" relationship.

Full name relationships are ONLY used as part of a trick, to temporarily match the name, then use it to auto-enter the ID. The real relationship is based on the ID. It is an extra level of abstraction, adding an extra non-intuitive table occurrence every time it's used. It is cute though :-)

B. The Go to Contact arrow works for me.

C. It is not really necessary to use a button & script to add a new contact. It could just be "allow creation." But then you have to hide the buttons on the extra row (showing the buttons causes no harm, but looks odd). You can create calculations to only show the buttons on existing records, using a test on the ID. It's a pain, but looks good.

CONTACTS

A. Contacts Notes: Project name was based on Projects TO, whose path from the portal is: Contact -->Client -->Project. This will always show only the 1st Project for them. And it will show BEFORE you've actually chosen a Project ID. In this case the actual ProjectID in the log table would still be EMPTY. You want them to choose a project and populate that ID.

The project name in that portal should be: contact_project.projectID::projectTitle. The TO is already on the graph.

CLIENTS

A. It seems a little odd to me that there is no button for a new Contact on the Client form. Yes, you'd want them to finish the Client data first. But if there are hundreds or thousands of clients it will be awkward to force them to choose from a client drop-down list in the Contact form.

Drop-downs work well in templates, with only few records. I don't much like them in real situations with thousands of choices; unless they're filtered to a reasonable number. It's better to start at the top, in Clients, to add a contact.

Thanks for the input. I'll need some time to digest what you've written. In summary are you saying that you DON'T think my file is corrupt?

TTYL,

Evan

Well, I don't know if you've "mistreated" it, crashed it, etc.. But the problems were caused by using the wrong table occurrence; which is easy to do when you have these weird ID=FullName relationships. Those relationships are only used to auto-enter by calculation, using that relationship, to get the real ID. It's not that complex of a trick, but it's kind of backwards thinking. It's also not 100% relationally correct, as it would be broken by an exact duplicate name. But it's safe enough in a filtered situation, choosing from a limited list, where common sense tells you that duplicate names would be a problem (2 contacts working for the same client, etc.).

Doh,

I didn't even notice you had an attachment. Downloading it now, thanks!

The problem still exists with Fenton's file.

[Moved attachment further down the line (again)]

Good catch Ralph. I originally fixed what I saw to be the problem, but didn't try and change one to see what happened.

There is another tweak needed. The Name -->Contact ID switcheroo really only happens in the environment of the "logProject" table occurrence, NOT the "logContact" table occurrence.

So "logProject" has to be specified in the auto-enter calculation as "Evaluate this calculation in the context of:", also the "current table" is logProject.

If you look at my "New Project Note" script, which operates in the same environment, you'll see that it explicity goes to the "projectLog" layout, as I had this straight in my own version of the file.

Changing the table occurrence of a calculation is not something you often have to do. But in cases where you are using a table for a "dual" purpose, such as notes from 2 different main tables it is sometimes necessary.

Is that "gscratch" field that's floating above the project log portal being used? Also, there still seems to be another problem (perhaps related). In the contact log of the projects view, when I use the contact name drop down menu to choose a contact, it does not stick. In fact, even with the two example entries in your file, if I hit the drop down menu to change the name of the contact, it seems to erase the field. It goes blank.

No, it's not being used. I was just checking quickly that it was getting the right value. I don't know what's going on with your drop-down. Mine is certainly sticking, in my latest file.

Hi Fenton,

I'm at home now on a WinXP machine. At work I was on a Mac (Tiger). Just to be sure, I just downloaded your file to my desktop. I then opened the file, immediately hit the contact log tab in the opening window, and then immediately hit the blue triangle in your latest contact log entry. Whether I change the contact or leave it the same, the result is a blank field. I have attached a screenshot.

Perhaps you posted the wrong version of your file?

Thanks again (as always),

Evan

Yes, you're right. I don't know what happened. It's a heat wave here, my brain is overheated (that's my excuse). Anyway here's a new file, renamed, so there's no confusion.

iSolutions_7_14.zip

I thought San Diego was supposed to be the best climate around!

Gracias!

Evan

Your solution is great and very helpful.

But what happends once the job is completed and you receive the payments.

How do you close the job etc etc. I have no idea that is why I am asking.

Thank you.