List layout, newbie question

[chincillya]

Hi!

This is my first post here, so I hope this is in the right place.

I am an experienced software developer but I am new to FileMaker and I have to make a simple application for a firm that lists hired people, the projects they are working on and so on...

The first thing I did was a main menu with a few buttons on it. Now, from this menu you should be able to move to a list of hired people. Every row in this list would contain date fields, text fields, number only fields, dropdown lists and fields automatically filled when data is entered into other fields. The whole list would also have buttons to add more rows to the list (more people, that is), remove selected rows and so on.

I really don't know how I should start designing this list. Should I make some kind of layout with a portal in it that loads a table with a custom layout? Or have I misunderstood the whole concept of portals? How should I make the buttons on the "frame" of the list (the other layout that holds the list layout, or whatever) add stuff to the list layout? Can you add/remove stuff to a layout using scripts? Can you give me a real high-level explanation on how I should start making a complicated list like this?

Thank you very much, and please correct me if I am asking dumb questions...

//chincillya

[Søren Dyhr]

If I understand you correct is it some sort of subsummary shown in a portal. Portals have in this case a problem that unless you get really crafty with GetNthRecord( and GetSummary( are bound to have both breaker and first value in the same line, the remaining could easily be disguised via a Case(ID≠First occurenceID...

Do you get my drift, a subsummary made in the join table is much more convenient, and designed for the very purpose! So in this case can't a join table be avoided, in case you have forgotten it???

--sd