Which is better...?

[mpower]

I'm new to this so please forgive me if this is in the wrong place. I need to create an extensive relational database. I am a real estate investor who needs to create "packages" for sellers, buyers, lenders and title companies. Each groupd will have a different set of forms (some of the forms will be common among all groups) So there are 6 different entities and about 42 "forms". The six entities will require a selection from the "forms" And each form will will have some information from other forms as well as information from the 6 entities.

So if you understand all that, the question is, is it better to create one database with 48 tables or 48 databases. The main goal of course is the ease of relating all 48.

[David Jondreau]

You don't want 48 tables or 48 databases. You want one database, with perhaps a half dozen tables...and 42+ LAYOUTS. Layouts are how information is presented to the user, tables where (and how) the information is stored. The number of tables is dependent on the information you're trying to gather.

For instance, you need at least a Contacts table (where a contact can have the type of Buyer/Seller/Lender/ Title Co) and a Properties table.

[mpower]

Thank you! That will make it easier. So using your suggestion, will I be able to create a package for say a seller, that will include any of the 42+ layouts? And as far as the layouts, will they be able to include information from any of the tables?

[David Jondreau]

Oh boy. You're asking some really basic Filemaker questions whose answers are essentially yes, but if you're asking there's going to be a learning curve.

You should probably learn the basics from a well-written book than on a forum. I hear The Missing Manual series for Filemaker is pretty good, though someone else should chime in here cause I haven't actually read any Filemaker books in a while.

[mpower]

no problem, and sorry for the basic questions, I'll do just that, read and read. I've read some and have a pretty good idea of how it works..I thought I could, just seemed to easy, I guess I shouldn't make it more complicated than it is. I think I do have one that might be more of a chanllenge.

take a look at the proposed layout. The propery window is the main file that the seller, buyer, lender, et.. will be attached to. Can I create a layout like where the seller and buyer records can be searched and by pressing a button attach that record to the property record?