Struggling Newbie:I am trying to move my Lotus Approach database to FMP8. My "Many" table has 4000 existing entries, and my "one", about 450. I have related the two tables and allegedly (at least followed the instructions) assigned "lookups" to two fields in the "many" table I wish to show in the "many" table taken from the "one" table. Nothing happens. The field in my layer form in the "many" table remains blank. The data was opened as a *.dbf and all else seems to be working well. The database is an art inventory; the one table is the artist bio. Now I link the tables via the Artist ID Number, which is a unique, automatically assigned number from the "one" table. I can't find any information from the several books I own re/ FMP nor from the FM site. All help is sincerely appreciated.

Thanks,

Jack e bear

You may need to perform a "Relookup" of the data to populate. To perform a manual "Relookup", go to the key field of the relationship, ie, Artist ID, then from the menu, select "Records" then "Relookup Field Contents."

If your setup is correct, the lookup data should populate.

Hi Breezer,

I tried your advice. The program churned through the 4000 records, but, again nothing showed-up. I suspect that I must have something amiss in my relationships, but what it might be is not obvious to me.

Dear Breezer,

I tried sending a reply via the email, but I suspect that wont work. I'd like to send a *.jpg attachment--I attached one to the email--but there is no obvious method. I was just in JAX to visit my son--he just moved there. Nice place.

Thanks,

Jack

Still trying to find where I have gone wrong.

I checked the relationship graphs in both tables: the "one" (artist) table is external. Just to make sure, I related the same fields in the "artist" (one) and the "works" (many) FMP8 files. The field that I am keying-on is an "auto-increment" field, and is supposed to be "unique," however, I just realized that my accession number, in in the "many" table, could have the same number. That is to say both numbers are "unique" to its own field, but it might NOT be unique to the database(s) over-all. If this could be my problem, then, is there a way I could re-enter into the "One" table the artist numbers with a prefix, say, "A" for artist? Then, I'd have to replace the "artist" field in the "Many" with this new number, somehow, without fouling everything up. I have the choice of re-entering by hand the first and last name of the artist into 4000 records or finding a way to make this thing work. It was all so easy in Lotus Approach: all one had to do was to make a join with a few key strokes. Filemaker is just way too arcane for my small brain.

Any new advice based upon this additional description, would, again, be sincerely appreciated.

Slowly sinking into the West .

Jack e Bear

Jax is nice, I moved from NJ so I'm loving this Sunny Florida weather.

Try to zip the file then attach it. I suspect you are probably using a calculated lookup or something is missing in your relationship. If you can't attach the file, a screen shot of your relationship graph would suffice.

Hi Breezer,

I ran this through my mind all night and believe I may have the relationship backwards. I am going to re-do that and get back to you. I have searched all over the FMF site for instructions on how to "attach" or "embed", but to no avail. I tried a screen shot to the clipboard, but nothing showed on the forum menu, so I couldn't include it.

I believe I started with the "destination" file as the first element in my relationship graph and it should have been the other way around according to a book I am reading. The book also states it is possible to have both files on screen at the same time (not in the graph window, but in a separate window), but I find that instruction no-where in any of the books or help files. I just wish to be clear that these two database files I am using originated in Lotus Approach as *.dbf files and they seem to be forever separate in Filemaker.

Thanks again for your concern and help.

Jack

Dear Breezer,

I am in your debt. I kept to the pathway and re-defined the relationships. I then did a re-lookup as you first suggested, and ta da!!there they were/are. Terrific, now I can move on to some more creative activity, like learning about scripts and such.

I very much appreciate your help in this matter and, if there is anything I can do to return the favor, please let me know.

Best regards,

Jack

Just when I thought I had figured it out, I have run into a new, but related, problem. I have been renovating the database discussed above (two tables: artists works/artists). Because I wished to learn using a smaller version of the database, I did all my experimenting on a table lacking photos. Believing I had learned enough, I started working on the larger version. First I did a "save as" to clarify the name of the file. Things seemed to be fine and I had installed all sorts of nice buttons and easy scripts and was about to create a relationship. First thing I found was, although I was working in the "saved" file name, the "define/database/relationship graph showed the old name of the table. Same thing with the "artist" table. But I fooled around a bit and found the two new names and related them as before. After relooking-up I got a message that there was no "look-up" to do. Also, when I went back to the layout, all I got was "table missing" in every field.

I checked the size of the new name (the name I had been working in successfully) and it was the same size as the other table. Presumably, the data is somewhere, and I am now doing a "recovery" which is going to take until next year at the rate it is moving.

So the bottom line is:

1. Can one actually do a "save as" and expect to get a table with which it is possible to work?

2. In working with a relationship, why does the graph revert back to a table NOT named as the table that was opened?

It makes it VERY confusing (like a lot of things in FM :

All help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Jack

Dear Breezer,

Should you have a break in your week, could you kindly look at my last post--which was a reply to myself!! When I tried to recover the table in question, it still comes up with "table missing" in all of the fields. And to make it even more annoying, "table missing" is not to be found anywhere in the "help" section of FM nor on the web-site.

And, so it goes.

Cold in Santa Rosa, today.

Be happy,

Jack

Verify your file references by going to File > Manage External data Sources >

Make sure the paths are correct, it could be looking at your original data source.

If that looks okay, try File Save As clone.

The

Edited February 10, 200817 yr by Guest