Tables and tabs.

[ndk]

Hello,

I've posted here before but the answers I got made me realize that I am too much of a novice to screw around with trying to put 4 different tables that I have (Clients, Invoices, Appointments and Daytimer) in the same table.

My question is this: Is there a way to use some kind of tab method in order to make each table appear every time i click on a different tab in a "master" table?

Please, being a novice, I would appreciate an easy answer.

Thanks:)))

[Søren Dyhr]

http://filemaker.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/filemaker.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=5463&p_created=1127154755&p_sid=QbRySwZi&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9NCw0JnBfcHJvZHM9MCZwX2NhdHM9JnBfcHY9JnBfY3Y9JnBfcHNfYW5zX3VwZGF0ZWQ9JnBfc2VhcmNoX3R5cGU9YW5zd2Vycy5zZWFyY2hfbmwmcF9wYWdlPTEmcF9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD1jYXJ0ZXNpYW4*&p_li=&p_topview=1

--sd

[mr_vodka]

Not too sure what you are trying to achieve here... If you are looking to display all the records for each table on seperate tabs, you can create a portal on each tab to show the related records. Since you want ALL of the records, you can use the cartesian 'X' join instead of the '='.

You can either pick one table occurence's layout to be the parent ( in which case you would have to use a selfjoin with 'X' to display the records to itself, or you can use a whole other table as a users's, session, etc as the main parent table.

[comment]

You could do this in two ways:

1. Use fake tabs (buttons) to switch between layouts (see the file I have posted here for a simple and cheap to implement example);

2. Define 4 relationships using the "x" operator between the master table and each of the 4 tables. Put 4 portals based on these relationship in a tab control object.

[ndk]

Thanks for the responses.

I think that I need to repeat that I am a complete novice in FMP and that I haven't the *slightest* of what any of the aforementioned posts mean or how to proceed.

Is there a participant in this forum that can talk to me at my level of understanding of FMP?

Thanks

[ndk]

Hello and thanks for the response.

In my case, I don't have layouts within a specific table but different tables. I can't see how this solution applies to me.

Thanks

[ndk]

Hi

I don't understand how this is related.

[mr_vodka]

Thanks for the responses.

I think that I need to repeat that I am a complete novice in FMP and that I haven't the *slightest* of what any of the aforementioned posts mean or how to proceed.

Is there a participant in this forum that can talk to me at my level of understanding of FMP?

Thanks

Perhaps you should take a look at the tutorial files and user guide that came with FM Pro. It should give you a better bearing.

Edited February 29, 2008 by Guest
reworded

[comment]

Create a layout for each table. Filemaker does this automatically when you define a table, so if you have tables, you should have layouts for them - unless you have deleted them.

[Fitch]

As comment suggested, you can make buttons that use the Go to Layout command. You can draw the buttons so they resemble tabs. Would that meet your needs?

If any of that does not make sense, please say specifically which part and I will elaborate further.

[Fitch]

The other option that Søren, John, and comment are talking about involves using a Tab Control. See:

http://www.filemaker.com/help/06-Create%20and%20manage31.html

On each tab you would put a Portal.See:

http://www.filemaker.com/help/06-Create%20and%20manage24.html

The question then becomes, how to set up the relationships for these portals? That's where the "cartesian" or "x" relationship comes in, which Søren's link explains. If that article doesn't make sense, you'll want to back up and learn a little about what it means to relate two tables, and how FileMaker's relationship graph works:

http://www.filemaker.com/help/07-Related%20files.html

[ndk]

"Perhaps you should take a look at the tutorial files and user guide that came with FM Pro. It should give you a better bearing."

I already have and I couldn't find my answers there. Secondly, I am not interested in becoming a programmer nor developing my solution further. I merely asked a question that I thought somebody would be kind enough to help me out with in order to group all my tables under one interface in order to avoid some clicks of the mouse.

Thanks for your suggestion, though.

[mr_vodka]

I was not talking about finding your answers there. We had given you answers on how to achieve what you were looking for, but you had stated that you did not have the *slightest idea what we were talking about. Therefore, to better understand some of the terminologies and concepts in our answers, I had refered you to the files since they reference what we had been talking about.

Reading the included documentation and help files that came with your software does not make you a programmer it only help you understand how to use the program that you bought.

Edited March 1, 2008 by Guest

[Søren Dyhr]

Secondly, I am not interested in becoming a programmer nor developing my solution further

Then turn to professional help instead then - learn to delegate! This forum is quite often mistaken for a bunch of talented participating in Jeopady, it's actually the other way around ... people here are good because they're swiftly ready to question everything, and especially reasoning and put an effort into it.

Thresspassers who barely think themselves into Richard Floridas class without the willingness to do the effort to actively be creative, but merely behaves eclectically - might be the pride and joy of marketing for a ready place to unload junk, but are in fact underachievers in disguise.

http://www.fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/193440/tp/0/all/1/

http://www.fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/191864/fromsearch/1/hl/knowledgeworker/tp/1/

http://www.fmforums.com/forum/showpost.php?post/278867/

...kind of covers this attitude....

--sd

[Lee Smith]

Hi ndk, and welcome to the forum.

Although this Forum is open to all levels of skills, knowledge, and abilities, we do ask that you know something about FileMaker before asking questions. At a minimum, we would expect that you have read the manuals that came in the box with your FileMaker Disk. Also, that you understand some of the simple things such as, how to create a new database, fields, TO, layouts, etc. We do not expect you to be proficient, only that you understand what goes into these things.

You will find a lot of answers to questions you might have, in the manual, and the Online help (available when FileMaker is open).

FileMaker has included several ready-to-use files with the disk. You will find these in the FileMaker Application Folder. You might find something there that fits your needs, and eliminate having to create your own. No sense recreating the wheel. If these don't do what you want, or you prefer to roll-your-own, be prepared to put in some time, and effort in learning FileMaker. Although FileMaker has a reputation for being easy to learn, and use, you can consider that a marketing ploy, if you plan to go beyond the basic, and then you will find, that there is a learning curve that is not always easy. That is the way lists such as these exist, i.e., to help with the learning curve.

I want to make one other thing perfectly clear. [color:red]All Members of this Forums are volunteers. In other words, [color:blue]no one is getting paid to help you. They help you only if they choose to.

We are all FileMaker users, and enjoy helping others work through their questions, whether they are making a name, and address database, or some complex business solution.

Lee

Edited March 1, 2008 by Guest

[ndk]

Hi,

Sorry to have touched a sensitive nerve there.

I suppose I should have pretended I understood what was posted :

And yes, I did read the manuals and I did attempt this on my own to no avail and yes, I do appreciate the help and the fact that the people that post here are volunteers.

What I need, that is not unheard of when dealing with complex and very specialized software, is for someone to take me by the hand, literally, in order to accomplish what I need done.

Thanks

[ndk]

Hi

I have tried to turn to professional help, but the expense is too much for what my budget can take.

The latest, GTI, wanted 2000$ just to look at my database.

And it isn't at all nice of you to either judge me, compare me or insinuate that I am an underachiever because I didn't understand what you were trying to tell me with the example you posted for download on this forum.

I really do appreciate your trying to help me, but I have noticed that advances users of any software tend to try to explain things over novices heads, without really realizing what it means to be a novice.

Again, I appreciate any help you have offered me.

[ndk]

Thank you. So far, you have provided me with the closest I could get to getting an answer. I will study these options and get back to you.

Thank you so much

[LaRetta]

What I need, that is not unheard of when dealing with complex and very specialized software, is for someone to take me by the hand, literally, in order to accomplish what I need done.

Not hardly. What you need is to be willing to do some of the work.

Within 30 minutes of your original post, you had received three very good responses, all directing you to understand cartesian product operators. Also within that 30 minutes of your original opening thread, you responded that you had NO IDEA whatsoever what anyone was talking about. How could you POSSIBLY have done ANY studying of the suggestions in that length of time? Simply, you couldn't.

You also rated yourself Intermediate. How were those responding supposed to know you were not? You then beg off saying you know nothing about FM and imply those who responded were unwilling to assist you properly. Simply, if you want hand holding go to a kindergarten. If you want assistance with FileMaker, we will help you as long and as much as it takes ... under one condition: that you are willing to put forward some work as well. That is only fair.

[ndk]

Hello,

I'm sure a few more of the regulars will chime in a few minutes/hours or days to chastise me because I don't understand some of the notions that you understand because you do this for a living.

All the best and may I suggest that you take a few deep breaths and lighten up. You're way too bitter to be capable of helping others, with all due respect:)

[Søren Dyhr]

I have tried to turn to professional help, but the expense is too much for what my budget can take.

The latest, GTI, wanted 2000$ just to look at my database.

Because the entire assumption that just a tiny fix is missing, usually are pretty wrong and the time it will take to digest what is attempted is usually pretty tiresome, because it's oftern is based on homeknitted conventions and wrongly taking the tool for being something else, quite out of it's realm. Estimating 7-8 hours to untagle your stuff is actually, without knowing the state things are likely to arrive in, are pretty fairly measured IMHO.

You and your assigner to the task have gotten something wrong somehow:

http://www.fmforums.com/forum/showpost.php?post/282229/

You are caught...

In a digital world of infinite distraction

From:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-ferriss/marijuana-trumps-blackber_b_46595.html

...and who's to blame here, that you think work is something to go to, and not something you actually do. Perhaps a notion way too common to be regarded as underachievement as such, then lets use Richard Bransons term "fat cats" instead.

You would hardly ever find a developer willing to build anything upon a legacy base, because why fix it if it worked in the first place ... if it doesn't work is in 99% of the cases a normalization error.

--sd

[comment]

Congratulations, Søren. You have proved how easy it is to read manuals (in comparison). :

[Lee Smith]

:exactly: :giggle:

[Søren Dyhr]

Gentlemen I have never claimed that mono-causality in building knowledge existed, my take on it is merely like Dissy Gillespie's solo's in different versions of "Night In Tunesia" ... the chords makes the framework, but without "Bildung" would it just be a series of notes fitting the chord structure. Reading of manuals should not attempted differently ... and reading any manual from cover to cover is daft as a brush, context and purpose is an important ingredient.

Performance could be seen as the degree of fragmentation.

--sd

[David Jondreau]

I don't know if it's possible to save this thread of not, but I would like to point out that most forums I lurk on and post to have their own "culture," kind of in the sense that each family has its own culture.

Someone who steps into this new culture without having done their research (ie lurked for a while) need to have a thick skin, otherwise, you're likely to get yourself into a situation where you're annoying the people you are asking to help you, and then there's no way for you to get the help you want.

:twocents:

[Vaughan]

"I have never claimed that mono-causality in building knowledge existed..."

It's proving that it DOESN'T exist that's the hard part. At least, not in pairs.

[Fitch]

I don't agree that someone who needs help should be expected to lurk before asking a question. I feel that one of the best things about this site is -- or should be -- that beginners can get help when they need it. They don't come here to get a lecture.

When I see a question that annoys me, I just don't answer it.

DJ I'm not trying to pick on you, I appreciate you trying to be the voice of reason.

[Søren Dyhr]

It's proving that it DOESN'T exist that's the hard part. At least, not in pairs.

Nice one! :

--sd

[mr_vodka]

Someone who steps into this new culture without having done their research (ie lurked for a while) need to have a thick skin, otherwise, you're likely to get yourself into a situation where you're annoying the people you are asking to help you, and then there's no way for you to get the help you want.

I dont agree with you here. I was not annoyed at all with the orig poster's question. The orig poster's question prompted a response on an intermediate level so many of us gave one. After a few tries of trying to explain some solutions, they answered back stating that they needed a more broken down answer. So since they were not familiar with the terminology that was referenced, I simply referred to it.

There was no flaming going on. As others have pointed out, a certain degree of effort seems rather fair from the person asking for help no?

Pg. 130 and 136 of the FM9 user's guide describes the cartesian product. Relationships and portals are described in that general section as well. If the user wanted to use tab panels, they are describe on pg. 94, otherwise as others have suggested, seperate layouts could be used. There have been many referenced links. Not one subsequent post showed any forward progress from the Orig poster. It wasnt as if they came back and said I tried this but it didnt work, etc.

So I disagree with you saying that a thick skin is needed for this forum. Many newbies post here every day asking questions and many of them get an answer to fix their solution. MOST of these people are NOT programmers.

However, when asking help from others it would make sense to try your hardest in learning how to do it yourself instead of insinuating that they cant do it because they are not programmers. Our helps seems to be adequate enough for at least 90% of the newbies that post on here.

[LaRetta]

AMEN AND AMEN.

I will help anyone and I don't give a rip whether they know anything, lurk or not. But after being given information, I would at least like to know they read it and tried SOMETHING! No thick skins required, although giving those responding the benenfit of the doubt that they aren't posting to attack, belittle or hurt would sure be nice.

Well put, John. :wink2:

[Fred in Thailand]

It absolutely astounds me that an individual who professes to be somewhat knowledgeable about FM would respond as the OP did to this forums effort to help. I have been the grateful recipient of the help offered on many occasions and am still surprised, astounded and amazed at the group of people here that are willing to give FREE advice and the lengths they are willing to go to provide it. Thanks to you all.

I to am a novice to FM and even though I have now been working with it for over 2 years, I am still a novice. Fortunately I learned a long time ago to do my homework before seeking the help of this forum, therefore the advice given has always started me in the right direction. The key word is HOMEWORK... It apears to me that the OP wanted all the work to be done for him...

Edited March 7, 2008 by Guest