Converting Lotus Approach to FM

[Tony Leslie]

I have 12 DBF files that were linked together on a one to one basis in Lotus Approach. This was necessary because we need about 800 fields (most with lots of text) and Approach only allowed 4kb per record, as compared to FM's 2Gig.

I can quickly import these into FM Pro 9 by simply creating new Tables, however I am then back to creating all those "one to one" relationships. I have been told that is not a good way to go.

I have found that to create one table with all 800 fields is a very painstaking process of creating new fields one at a time, then painstakingly mapping the import, then doing the import to "Update matching records in the found set."

Does anybody know an easier way? I would like to simply import the 12 Databases as separate tables, then combine the 12 tables into one. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Or, is it really all that bad to have 12 tables all with one to one relationships?

Thanks, Tony

Edited May 7, 2008 by Guest

[LaRetta]

Tony, what kind of data are you talking about? Is it invoices with lineitems, inventory, contact management, what? Usually you would have MANY relationships which were 1:n (one-to-many). How can they ALL be 1:1? 800 fields sounds like a lot and I would suspect that many of those fields should be split out into related tables. If you have fields which contain 'like' data then it indicates they should be split out.

For instance, if you have:

Field1: Work Phone

Field2: Mobile Phone

Field3: Fax Number

Field4: Home number

Field5: Emergency number

Field6: Summer residence

Field7: Warehouse number

... those 7 fields should really be related records. Do all 12 tables contain the exact same fields? If so, why are they split into 12 tables already? Do you have grasp of relational theory and normaliziing data? A bit more information would be necessary before we could properly advise.

LaRetta :wink2:

[mr_vodka]

"one to one" relationships can be of value sometimes but it seems as though there may be a lot of redundant fields.

Anyway, since you have Advanced, you should be able to do the following. Drag your DBF files into FileMaker and you should be prompted to convert them into FileMaker.

Once all 12 are done, you can then pick one file to be your main (or create a whole new file). Then from each file, select all the fields, copy, and then paste into the new main file.

Once that is done and you have your fields, you should then be able to import the data from each of those other 11 files matching on name.

[LaRetta]

I am trying to recall ... in Approach, the text fields are held in a separate file (.ADX I think). You may have to export that field and a key separately to import into standard text fields within FileMaker. I believe the ADT files can be ignored (index, right?); only the DBF and ADX has data.

[Tony Leslie]

Hi LaRetta,

Thanks for responding. I'm new to forums, so I'm not sure how to respond to "NO_REPLY" emails. I'll try this first.

We are home builders. The approximate 800 fields describe all the infinite detailed features, and significant data regarding each house. The twelve databases each have a common field (JOB_NUMBER) which is used for linking the relationships. The fields are Address, Subdivision, Lot #, Floorplan, Excavation Date, Accepted offer date, appliance package, kitchen cabinets, kitchen countertop, master bath cabinets, master bath countertops, plumbing fixtures in kitchen, etc, etc, .

All of the decor line items have drop down lists.

I do have other tables that are linked one to many or many to many. Such as an options upgrade price list, an upgraded kitchen faucet can apply to many homes.

Regarding John's question, Approach ADX files are the index, the DBF files have data limited to 256 characters or 19 digits. The DBT files are similar to FM's containers.

I'm in transit between winter home and summer home now. I will try John's suggestion as soon as I get back.

Thanks, Tony

[carlosnorvik]

Hi:

Even if this is an old topic, I wanted to share that this weekend I finished my transition from Lotus Approach to Filemaker. I only do it during free time so it took a l o n g time (I bought my FM licences in january 2009).

I had already migrated the most important files some years ago, but secondary files languished in the to do list for a long time.

I like many Filemaker features and I miss Approach's search capabilities.

 

Carlos