Synchronizing Fields

[Hellmut]

I would like to figure out how to synchronize various fields. The data needs to display as a text field but it also needs to be stored as a number so that it can be statistically manipulated.

There might be a more elegant solution. I am imagining a pair of fields. The first is a text field, the second stores the correponding number.

Thanks a lot for your help.

[LaRetta]

Hi Hellmut,

We really need more information here before we can assist you. Can you give a brief overview of what you have (fields involved, what kind of text they hold, why you need the number, relationships, etc)? What are you trying to achieve? What are the rules on converting the text to number? Are there patterns you will use?

LaRetta :wink2:

[Hellmut]

Thanks, La Retta.

Background: I am compiling a database of British officers of the crown during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. In the end, I want to measure how much violence these individuals had to endure during their life time.

Variables: There are two variables that I would to express as text and numerically. The first one captures their aristocratic titles. From 'no title' to 'king,' there are ten different titles.

The second variable captures people's office. There are 35 different offices that I record.

Patterns: The numbers 0 through 9 express titles. The numbers 0 through 34 express offices.

Purpose: I would like to use text to make the database more accessible for new users. I would like to use numbers so that I can statistically manipulate the data.

[comment]

Try it this way?

Officers.fp7.zip

[Hellmut]

That's perfect! How did you do that, Comment? How do you automatize the display of the name?

[comment]

Just look at the relationships graph - that should make it clear. Note that the title/office are displayed using related fields from their respective tables.

[Hellmut]

And that insures that the number and the text correspond?

[comment]

Yes. If a person's TitleID is 9, then the related record in the Titles table is the one whose TitleID is also 9. So the related field Title is "fetched" from that related record.

[Hellmut]

Here is a detail that I don't get:

In the relationship graph, why don't the fields title and office show up in their respective tables?

[Lee Smith]

They do, you need to hit the widow shade on the right top of the relationship boxes to expand them.

Lee

Edited February 20, 2006 by Guest
someday I'll learn the differnce between Lt $ Rt

[comment]

That is one possible answer. Here's another: they don't show up, because they are not playing a part in forming a relationship.

[Hellmut]

Thank you very much. I think I got it now.

In the process, I also realized that I had defined my relationships incorrectly.

Stay tuned. I am sure to ask more embarrassingly simple questions. Thanks again.