Portal List - Seems to add a row but no data shows up.

[lanceomni]

I have gained some ground as to organizing my table structure but I am having a few issues. I feel as if I am so close but missing some small detail.

Portal Lists:

I have set up a table called "Jobs" to keep track of photographic work. Under a tab labeled Contacts I want to have a portal list, similar to the Events Management template, which will allow me to attach various people to the job.

When I click the button to make a new contact I am sent to the Contact Layout and I am able to fill in the information but when I go back to the Job Layout the information is not there. I do see an additional portal row but no information in it.

Second Portal List:

Under my "Contacts" table I have set up a similarity portal to show related contacts by Name, Company, Position and City. I tried to duplicate the "Contact Management" template keeping in mind relationships, scripts, list values and table/field names. I just don't get any matches.

[color:red]The attached file has been completely reworked from my previous post.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-Justin :

photography_test.zip

[Fenton]

OK, here's one way to do it. It creates the Contact, then creates the Join record, then ends up back on the Contact form. The contact has already been assigned to the Job, and you'll see that when you go to the Job, but you have to fill in the fields in Contact first.

I think this may be a good method, despite being a little visually disconcerting. Because it avoids;

1. Having to go back to the Contact to fill in the fields, and

2. The Expose weakness that Vaughn pointed out in another thread, which can break (my) Loop/pause window trapping.

It is visually disconcerting because you start at a Job, then end up on a Contact. But as soon as you click on the Jobs button you're back where you were, and the new contact is already in the portal. (I would likely still use a new window, just 'cause it's cuter. In my opinion there is no perfect way to do this, add a new contact with all its fields while adding the contact to a join table.)

I also added a ContactID field to the portal, with a Value List to choose an existing Contact. Seemed necessary.

Your script had some holes in it. For one thing you were setting the global JobID to the portal row number; don't want to to do that :-!

The Tasks part of the script is still broken, but there's no Task portal yet, so I left it as is.

photography_fej.fp7.zip

[lanceomni]

You have been a great help in kick starting my filemaker skills. I took my original and recreated the changes that you made so I can learn exactly what I did wrong. Ive imported my old database of jobs/clients/contacts and it has gone smoothly. I am still having issues with a portal showing related items in the same table. Like the (contacts_management template) but I want to try and figure it out myself.

======== 1st ? ===========

I think I might want to add a tab under my contacts to show related jobs. I figured Id add a portal showing the same information thats located in job contacts but it doesn't allow me to select them. I then thought to relate them but I know you should try to avoid going full circle with relationships.

Would I create a table called "contacts_relatedjobs" and set up something similar to what you helped me with in the jobs table or would this be the job of some kind of report.

============= 2nd ? ================

Is it possible to have a single layout with a left side and right side. Each showing different table records? Left side showing jobs and right side showing contacts/clients? I know you can create separate windows but I figure it would look nice if it was set up as one screen.

Thank you for all your help

Justin

[email protected]