Amalgamating Databases

[Jed69]

I have two Databases and I would like to make them one but retain all the layouts and scripts etc form both databases. Is there any way to do this easily.

John

[Fenton]

With regular FileMaker Pro you can Import from one file into another. At the time of import one of the choices for the target table (at the bottom) is to create a new table. This creates a new table and brings in the fields. They are pretty plain however, no auto-enter (I don't think), no calculations. It also of course brings in the data.

If however you buy FileMaker Pro Advanced (there may be an upgrade path, I'm not positive however), then you can Copy/Paste an entire table, or all fields, or selected fields from one file to another. It does not bring in the data; you'd still need to import it. But it brings in auto-enter calculations, calculation formulas, validations, etc..

With FileMaker Pro you can Import scripts (be sure to create tables, table occurrences, and layouts first, or you'll need to do a lot of reassigning; name everything exactly the same). With FileMaker Pro Advanced you can Copy/Paste scripts, or parts of scripts. So either works pretty well for moving scripts in your situation.

Neither product can import or copy/paste table occurrences and their relationships, in the Relationship Graph. So those must be rebuilt manually. I find it useful to take a screenshot of one, so I can view it while recreating in the other.

Both products can copy/paste layouts. If the table occurrence names are the same, and the layout is properly assigned to a same-named TO, the fields will line up automatically.

If, after importing scripts, you see calculations in script steps commented out, with /* stuff in calculation */ then it couldn't find something. You need to fix it, then you can remove the commenting characters.

[P.S. Check everything carefully afterwards. Even with FileMaker Pro Advanced it is difficult to get everything in without leaving something that needs to be fixed. For example, a script might go to certain layout. A layout might have buttons with scripts attached. If you copy/paste the layout before importing the script, then the buttons will lose their scripts. If you import the scripts before you have the layout, the scripts won't know which layout to go to. You can create the layout first, correctly named, but not copy/paste anything yet. Then import the scripts. Then copy/paste the layout objects.

Similar dilemma with fields using a Lookup or a calculation, requiring a specific table occurrence. You can't bring in such fields flawlessly until you have the new table occurrences, yet you can't create the table occurrences without the table. With FileMaker Pro Advanced, you can create the table, even create the table occurrences, before copy/pasting the fields. Then, attach the relationships. With FileMaker Pro such fields would need to be reset anyway, so that question doesn't arise.]

Edited December 30, 2007 by Guest

[Jed69]

Thank you, this is very helpful.

John

[David McQueen]

A couple of other things you might want to do:

Prior to migration make sure that all scripts have unique names. All of the scripts will appear in the same list in a consolidated solution.

Similarly recreate your value lists with unique names.

I also do this with field names.

When you do the conversion from multi file FMP 5-6 to FMP 7-9, go back through and check scripts and calculated fields to look for broken logic. I had instances where something like:

if not(something=0) and (somethingelse=1)

turn into

if not ((something=0) and (somethingelse=1))

during conversion. Not the same thing.

HTH

Dave McQueen