Bento?

[Machi]

Hi there, i was looking for some help, maybe some of you guys can help me. I've developed a relational database using FMpro 9 (i started with 7 and then move up all the way to 9 throughout the years) to manage an archaeological project in south america. So far the database is doing great and it works. I recently run into Bento and I liked the way the "Source" Menu works, making it easy to jump into different layouts and grouping things in the Itunes way. So the question might be a little challenging, I havent got the time to really look into how this menu works from the point of view of a relational database, in the next days i'll try to "disect" it, but i was wondering if maybe someone around already thought about this. Is it possible to create something like Bento in Filemaker pro? to create an interface that works like Itunes? Opinions? Comments? I'll appreciate your input. Thanks

[CobaltSky]

Hi Machi,

A mix of navigation scripting and some Go To Related Records[ ] buttons, either as part of a portal side-bar or a custom menu (or both) would probably get you to the point you are contemplating.

However, we would need to know more about how your solution is used and what kind of problems you would be trying to solve by implementing this alternative approach, in order to give you more specific/meaningful advice about the best ways to get there.

[Machi]

Thanks for your help. I've been trying to understand how bento works and translate it to FM9 scripts. The dbs I developed is not so simple so I created several menus and something like 20 different layouts to connect information that pertains to survey, excavation, analysis, archive, media, etc.. I'll try to post more detailed information about it on the forum as you suggested.

Right now there are 2 things that I am interested on for my dbs that are inspired by Bento: (1) a sidebar menu to jump between different layouts. Right now I have a Splash screen and a floating menu since I decided to develop the whole database in different floating windows to allow the user the ability to reorganize different parts of the database and cross check information. It'll be nice if I could freeze on big window and keep other windows open... I dont' know if thats possible at all but I welcome any suggestions. (2) I really like the ability of Bento to create sub groups in the data in the form of collections and smart collections, is that possible in FM9?. That's it for now, thanks for your opinions