Help With What Should Be Simple....

[jackshedd]

Okay, this should be simple...if I were in anything but FileMaker.

Most of my DB experience revolves around web-database, where I have more control over the interface using SQL..please be gentel with me, this is first time I've tried using FMPRO for anything more then simple one-to-many relationhips.

I'll see if I can describe this...

I'm developing a fairly robust CRM for a client, whose main functionality reloves around mailings and labels.

I have several files:

Contacts.fp5 (primary data entry file)

Locations.fp5 (child of Contant entity, stores all addresses for a contact)

Communicate.fp5 (child of Contact entiry, stores all forms of comm.)

History.fp5 (child of Contact entity, stores all actions)

Letters.fp5 (child of History entiry, stores letter content for Letter action)

Okay, here's where I get bogged down...

I have a database called Mailings.fp5 which stores all mailings history. My join file, MailingHistory.fp5, of course, joins contacts to mailings, as a single mailing can be sent to several contacts, and each contact can have several mailings.

Problem...

How do I generate a mailing?

I tried approaching this as I would through web.

1.)User generates a found set. This set will recieve the mailing.

2.)User enters a mailing layout, and generates a temporary mailing.

3.)Once temp mailing is complete, user clicks on "finish mailing"

4.)Script takes found set, and generates a record that this mailing went to them in join file.

5.)Script generates a copy of the mailing in Letters.fp5, for letter editing.

6.)User sends mailing to printer.

This is horrendously complicated, and it seems like FM should be simplier then this...

Also, how do I save a found set, for letter restoring so that, for instance, a user can re-generate thier mailing letter?

Any help or insights would be appreciated, not only greatly, but so much so, that I would bow before you.

Thanks in Advance!

[rhakka]

first off, to save a found set: if you have a mailing history join file connected to your contacts in some way, could you not just search for all contacts related to a particular mailing to regenerate your mailing list?

Basically you described a mailing process just fine, you just need to set up the layouts (mailing layouts, etc) and script it. The only place I can think of that will be complicated is you will need "external scripts" in several files to do what you want, that is, scripts that are triggered in scripts in other files.

for instance you might have a script that goes

"....

gotolayout (mailing)

Perform Script (External, Mailing.fp5)

perfrom script (external, letters.fp5)

(//I forget the exact syntax this is generalized)

print

..."

that's not exact syntax, btw. The mailing script creates a record and sets the fields to appropriate values, and possibly triggers another external script for the join file records (you'll probably use a looping script to handle that). then the letter script pulls a copy over to the letter file, etc.

Other than that, you have to figure out what addresses you are sending the mailings to, since one contact can have several addresses.

just some thoughts from a semin00b. still drinking my coffee so maybe that's tough to read