How many tables....

[gephry]

Finally! have upgraded from 6 to 8 and am loving it! That aside...

I have an integrated system (insanely relational) that runs on the FM6 platform. It has about 16 different databases, logs with image scans, auto-schedulers, calendars, staff lists, etc.

I don't know how much I can/should combine these databases down into separate tables in 8--I'm wondering about file size (due to image scans) and ease of archiving (either the whole thing, or individual tables). Since I'm new to 8, not exactly sure what's the best to do.

What are people's thoughts and recommendations on this?

Thanks!

[mr_vodka]

I would probably have the image scans in a seperate file. While its great that you can merge the old FM6 files into a combined file with multiple tables, I probably would have a seperate file for your image scans. You can read the pros and cons of having seperate files in the 'Seperation Model' forum.

[Ender]

Agreed. While FileMaker can technically handle holding lots of images, for file maintenance, it's often easier if images are kept in a separate database file. Alternatively, images can be stored in a shared network volume and referenced.

Additionally, if you have a large table that regularly gets cleared out, that will be a good candidate for keeping as a separate file. The alternative being a long Delete All process for that table, or a Save As Clone and Import of all the other tables.