Repeating Fields to Relationships

[Kasei]

As some of you might already know I built a large database in FileMaker 5.5 Yes is was quite painful and as suspected we upgraded to FileMaker 9. I am using FileMaker 9 Advance to perform the migrations and upgrade of the 5.5 system.

I have a question regarding repeating fields. I have a section of repeating fields and I would like to import that data into newly created portal fields in FileMaker 9.

What is the best way of going about moving repeating field data into portal fields?

Thanks for your help.

Kasei

Edited September 26, 2007 by Guest

[Fenton]

"Portal fields" are records in a related table. So you need 2 things, the ID of the parent, and the value of the field.

The way you convert repeating fields into related records is during the Import step. A dialog will ask you if you want to split the repeats into records. Say yes. Import the parent ID field along with the repeating fields. Then create the relationship (if it does not already exist) between the tables.

If the related table does not yet exist, it can be creating during the Import. Choose New table, at the bottom of the Target table choice. Then rename it afterwards to what you prefer.

[P.S. Convert your existing file to FileMaker 9 first, else you can't import repeating fields.]

Edited September 26, 2007 by Guest

[Kasei]

Fenton,

Thanks for the help. The import worked out great. It is so nice to be working in FileMaker 9.

Cheers,

Kasei

[Kiele]

Hi Fenton, and others.

Thanks for your post on importing the repeaters. As fate would have it, I have a client that wants to Migrate their version 4 file, which is loaded with repeating fields, to v8.5 or 9.

I been searching here and at several FileMaker support lists, but can't find any white papers on this, or even a step-by-step list of things to do, and to watch out for. Can someone point me in the direction of more on this subject.

Thank you for any info provided.

Kia

Edited September 29, 2007 by Guest

[Fenton]

I think practically any book on FileMaker is going to mention this. It is also mentioned in the Help, in the Importing section. I don't think you'll find much about it in a White Paper. It's a basic operation, already documented. It was discussed more a long time ago however; it was a big deal when people we're converting from FileMaker 2 to 3 I imagine. That was just before my time; though my first database had repeating fields (that's when I first used this technique, to make my database relational; a revelation -)

There's really not much more to it. You import them, you let FileMaker split them into records, you also import the parent ID, and tie them with a relationship. That's it.

From the FileMaker Help:

Setting the import action and mapping fields during import

...

...

Specify how to import data from repeating fields in the source file

Select:

* Keeping them in the original record to maintain the field(s) as repeating fields.

* Splitting them into separate records to import each repeating value into a separate record. (Use this option to work with individual values in repeating fields, such as to sort or summarize them.)

Note When you split repeating field data into separate records any non-repeating fields that you import are duplicated in each separate record. For example, if a record in the source file has values in three repetitions, splitting them into separate records imports three records, each identical except for the values in the repeating fields.

[Kiele]

Hi Fenton,

Thank you for your Reply. I guess all of those repeating fields were making me nervious, because I hadn't done this process before. I just kept thinking that I was missing something important.

Thanks again,

Kia