Can't figure out how to use portals

[dharmaraell]

Hello,

I am new to filemaker and am having a hard time understanding how i can use portals to do all data entry from one main page. I need to track documents in an archival collection and three main tables are item, publisher, author with publisher and author each having a many to many relationship to item. I would like to create the records in the publisher and author tables from the main items page. Oh yeah, there are also two joining tables i created. So, if you have the inclination, won't you help?

IPtracking.fp7.zip

Edited June 14, 2007 by Guest

[Vaughan]

"...how i can use portals to do all data entry from one main page."

Portals show related information. They don't exist just to make data entry easier.

I suggest that this has been "left for the keeper" because you are asking for something that's not sensible. Do-able with an enormous amount of effort and many contrivances, but not sensible.

"I have a Bathroom (where I wash myself) and a Kitchen (where I cook dinner) linked to my Bedroom (where I sleep). I want to be able to wash myself and cook dinner while I sleep in my Bedroom."

I tried to open your sample file but it is password protected.

[dharmaraell]

Alright, I uploaded a new version without the password protection-sorry about that. I find it hard to believe that this isn't possible---so how would data entry happen?? First they'd have to create author records and then go and enter the item records? This seems like a pretty normal database task, but maybe I'm missing something...

[AudioFreak]

"I have a Bathroom (where I wash myself) and a Kitchen (where I cook dinner) linked to my Bedroom (where I sleep). I want to be able to wash myself and cook dinner while I sleep in my Bedroom."

If only.....That would save A LOT of time......LOL

[dharmaraell]

OK, I now see what you mean. So, now I have it where you must create the publisher or author record first, but then you can choose from a list on the main item entry page. Then a script creates the record in the join table based on the authors chosen for the record. However, my version is still a bit buggy. For one thing, someone can add the same author multiple times to an item, thus creating two (or more) identical records in the joining table. Another thing is that I can only get the drop list to show the author ID instead of just the names in the default (non-pulled down) display. Lastly, a user can go to the portal from the main items page and delete a name, thus removing the name from the author record. They can also edit the name from here which might be nice but could also cause problems. I would think we'd want a way to unattach the name from the record in case they choose the wrong name accidentally from the drop list, but obviously without removing it from the author record. I guess it would have to delete the join table record that was created when they attached it. I hope that these are fairly minor issues that can be resolved without too much hair pulling. Any assistance you can provide would be much much appreciated. I keep feeling like if i was just more familiar with this sort of thing it would have been done days ago. So, I'm attaching the latest version, once again. You should have all privileges as a guest, but if not the admin password is admin.

IPtracking.fp7.zip

[Vaughan]

The author duplicates can be controlled with field-level validation, enforcing unique values on the name field, for instance.

Most of the rest, such as deletion of records, are controlled through interface design (layouts and custom menus) and access privileges.

As you're discovering, creating a "finished" application is a lot of work encompassing many different disciplines and broad areas of knowledge. :o

[dharmaraell]

And funny enough, I'm an interface designer This database stuff is for the birds!