Semantic confusion

[WarrenK]

I am new to Filemaker. I am working with an old version 6 before deciding whether to upgrade. I am trying to build a very simple application in which I scroll the contents of a table as a pick list, and insert a field from the selected record as a value in a new record in a separate table.

I am having difficulty wrapping my head around how to implement this in FM. I think I understand that lookups (which is the term I would use for what I am trying to do) is reserved for use with hard-coded selection variables. My reading of the manuals leads me to believe that what I want to do will be via a portal. However, I haven't found a good example of how this is done. Also, I am not clear on whether scripting is required to achieve this result.

I have tried to download some examples onto my 10.4 Mac but they bomb out on me, plus they are for later versions of FM than I have.

Will appreciate any tips, links, etc.

Thanks!

Warren

[efen]

Do you mean something like the attached files?

transfer1.zip

Edited February 16, 2007 by Guest
amended file

[WarrenK]

Closer to what I want. What I want is for the portal in a.fp5 to reflect the contents of the b.fp5 file. And when I click on the selected record of b. (shown in a.) a field from that b. record populates a corresponding field in the current a. record.

Ideally, it would display the record and give the user the ability to save the new record at that time or else select a new b. value from the portal.

Hope this makes sense.

Thanks for your help!

Warren

[Lee Smith]

Information in the Portal about the Related Record shouldn't need to be prompted to show current information. If you are talking about other information that is not in the Portal, then read about the [color:blue]Go To Related Record script step.

If you mean something else, then you need to elaborate on what you have now, and what you want to achieve.

HTH

Lee

[WarrenK]

I was afraid my explanation would confuse more than enlighten. Let me go at this from another direction. Keep in mind that I don't fully understand the vocabulary of FM, so please bear with me.

I want to build an app that populates a main file. Let's call this app main and the file that it creates mainfile. The purpose of main is to display to the user two scrolling lists showing the primary keys of two subordinate files (let's call them sub1 and sub2). The scrolling lists are what I understand are called "portals" in the FM vernacular. Is that correct?

The app main is used in this manner:

1. The user scrolls through the records of sub1 displayed in its portal and clicks on the desired record.

2. The user scrolls through the records of sub2 displayed in its portal and clicks on the desired record.

3. After visually confirming that the selected sub1 and sub2 records are, in fact, the desired records, the user clicks "save".

4. The app (main) then writes out a new record into mainfile containing the selected primary keys from sub1 and sub2.

5. Another app will allow the user to select a given primary key of sub1 and then display all sub2 records that have been associated with that sub1 record via the app main.

Hope this is clearer.

Thanks,

Warren

[Lee Smith]

Hi Warren, and a belated welcome to the Forum.

It sounds like you are using the sub files as value lists, for selecing information for a new record in your Main File, but maybe if you could give an example of the data you would be selecting in the sub files? if will make it clearer.

Lee

[WarrenK]

Lee,

Sure, here is an example. App main is used for booking multi-person fishing trips. Sub1 presents the contents of the file containing information about guides. Sub2 presents the contents of another file containing information about clients. The names of the guides and clients are the primary keys for their respective files.

App main allows the user to select a guide, a client, and to enter a date for their trip. The information is not stored into the file created by main until the user has visually verified that s/he has selected the correct guide and client, and entered the correct date.

Another app will show all clients booked for a given guide on a given day.

Thanks,

Warren

[efen]

Is this nearer what you want? At present it only books one client, not several, for each trip.

Transfer2.zip

Edited March 4, 2007 by Guest

[WarrenK]

Thank you so much for that example app. Yes, this provides most of the functionality I was looking for, and by reviewing the code I can figure out how it was done and how to adapt it to my needs. In particular, I appreciate the scripts because now I understand better how they interact with the database "schema" details and what must be scripted to achieve my desired functionality. I suspected that I would have to write some scripts but had not been able to find any examples that seemed relevant to my needs.

Thanks again.

Warren