Summaries

[Mandu]

I have a layout that displays, in List view, a set of Invoices. Invoices are paid either by Cash, Check, or Charge. In the footer of the list I'd like to show totals by payment method, updated automatically as invoices are added.

I could create three buckets in every record, populating the appropriate one with the invoice total, and create three summary fields, but I wondered if there weren't a slicker way.

Thanks!

Chap

[Søren Dyhr]

It can be done like the attached template does it, although the entire approach suffer from metaphorical vanity. This means that allthough a summary field can behave when being shown in either the header or the footer, will the solution as such not scale particular well, since when ever a tiny detail is altered in the record a freshing of the summary field is re-calculated. Such a manipulation might be ...say clicking on the rolodex to go to the next record ...and the larger the found set proves to be the slower will the respose be from the solution.

I call this metaphorical vanity, because developers pretend that Filemaker is a spreadsheet, and forces thru a spreadsheetish metaphor there isn't catered for. Summaries in database applications is a scripted procedure, made on demand and certainly not something to render to every whim of the users interaction ...so eventhough it can be done is it in my humble opinion a misunderstanding of what databases are about!

So before you with frown adapt my attached solution, give the scripted approach a thought ...best of all realize how much better the linked approach from Kevin Franks page is by watching the CPU and/or network activity when dealing with 40000 and beyond records!

http://www.kevinfrank.com/download/kf-fast-summary.zip

--sd

invoicesPaid.zip