Value list from repeating field?

[K1200]

Is there a reasonably forthright technique to populate a value list using the contents of a repeating field?

I have a global repeating field that contains the current acceptable values for a particular user-entered field. The values in the global field can be modified, if ever needed, by a system administrator. There are only six repetitions in the field.

I've searched, but haven't been able to find an answer to this simplest of cases. My own efforts have resulted in "this value list will not work because the field cannot be indexed". I really don't want to resort to a dedicated table for this one-field usage.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Raybaudi]

Hi

create a field with option of autoenter/replace this calc:

List ( repeating )

and create the VL from that field

BTW: it's better a mono-record table, because if you change the values of the global field, only the current field containing the above calc re-evaluates itself and the VL will contain the previous value, too.

[K1200]

Thanks very much for your suggestion.

Although I still get the same message, the value list Pop Up and selection now work fine.

If you wouldn't mind taking a quick look at it, I've prepared an example file to show the results I'm getting. Have I left something out? Or is the message just a FileMaker quirk?

RepeatValues.fp7.ZIP

[Raybaudi]

So you choose to have a separate mono-record table.

In this case you don't need a List field, nor a relationship.

RepeatValuesMod.zip

[K1200]

Yes, that works well for the simple case.

The problem is that my true application for this is a bit more complicated. I am now very close to achieving what I really need, which is to have different sets of choices according to which parent record the user's entry is related to. The example file below shows what I mean.

But to further complicate matters, I actually need a code (numeric 1 to 6) to be set when the user selects from the value list. In my new example, FileMaker correctly extracts the code fields into the value list, but for the corresponding text, it shows all the text choices for each entry.

I've tried various combinations of calculated fields, both stored and unstored. Nothing seems to matter; it just doesn't want to list the different values (one-to-one) in the second side of the value list.

By the way, the 1 - 6 codes each have one specific text string associated with them, which is why I need the two-column value list presented. I know my description of this might be confusing, but the example file shows best what I mean.

Any further suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks very much for your help on this.

RepeatValuesDual.fp7.ZIP

[Raybaudi]

Hi

from Help On Line:

Drop-down list

The field displays the value from the first field. When you click in the field, the drop-down list displays values from the second field. After a selection, the list again displays the value from the first field when the field is exited.

So, if you want to see only the code, you have to change the definition of that field from pop-up menu to drop-down list.

Also you can't have a repeating field as the second field.

[K1200]

Also you can't have a repeating field as the second field.

Yes, that's what I determined after trying about twenty different things -- things like GetRepetition (Text ; Get (Calculation Repetition Number)) and Case statments -- and nothing seems to get around that restriction.

Since confirming the restriction, I've backed away from using the drop down selection (good point you made) for this and instead, will use a small table to show the choices and put the code assignment into a set of buttons. It's not as slick as the value list would have been, but it works.

Anyway, thanks very much for taking a look at this.