Auto Fill Match Field in Related File?

[rmach]

I have created a "Prospect File" listing fields for name, address, telephone numbers of high schools I will import from comma delimited file. Also created a "Contact" file for contacts, with fields which will be used to fill in personnel contact information about each school. I have created relationship both ways using "High School Name" as matched fields. My tests show relationships work across both files with auto fill of needed data from one file to other.

When I import data into "prospect file", the I want to auto create a "Contact" record for each school in the "Contact File using the "High School Name" field. Is there a way to have Filemaker do this, or do I have to manually enter the High School Name in the Contact File to have relationship work?

Also can you recommend other training sources with interactive CD. Am using Special Edition Using Filemaker Pro 5, Rich Coulombre/Jonathan Price. Good book, but would like something more interactive with on screen examples to follow written material.

Thanks for knowledge and for taking time to help.

Robert Mach

[LiveOak]

The quickest way is to just perform the import twice, once for each file. You can use two scrips, one in each file to do this. The script in one file can even run as an external subscript to the script in the other file, so the whole thing happens at once and automatically.

-bd

[rmach]

Thanks for quick reply. Download idea is great, but limits future entry after download. Want to be able to have new record automatically created in second file every time a new Prospect record is created in Master file.

[tlsparker]

First, the import idea is the quickest way to get started. Once you are started, you can synchronize data between files by creating a data entry layout in your prospects file that has global fields (this is good practice for data entry anyway). You create a global field that corresponds to each of your data entry fields. For example, if you have a field called HighSchoolName, create a global field called gHighSchoolName.

Once all data have been entered into the global fields, have the user click a button that says Record Data. This button is attached to a script with the following steps:

-New Record/Request

-Set Field(HighSchoolName, gHighSchoolName)

-Set Field(OtherDataFields, gOtherDataFields)

-etc,

-etc...

-Go To Related Record

-Set Field(Contacts::HighSchoolName, gHighSchoolName)

For this to work, you need to create a relationship from Prospects to Contacts based on the field HighSchoolName. Make sure the "Allow Creation of Related Records" box is checked.

Hope this helps.