Portal Stumper

[BlackHat]

Hello All!

Okay our FM install got toasted with an older iMac. We were able to scavenge the BPK setup and files and migrate to a new Mac. Since then, one of our Sales Order Portals won't function and I am at the end of the universe to solve it.

Here's the set up:

Table 1: Inventory

Table 2: Sales Orders

Text entry field name in "Sales Orders": Product ID

Portal Fields n "Sales Orders": "Product Description" & "Price"

Matching fields in "Inventory"= Descriptio & Price

We need to manually enter a product ID, hit enter and have FM 9 get Description and Price from Table: Inventory and enter them in Table: Sales Orders

Everything looks correct yet there are no values returned upon Product ID entry.

How do I re-establish that "Product ID" is the reference lookup field that, Description and Price get their data from?

It may sound simple to some but we are stumped and losing sales time.

Thanks for your help!

Hallie

[bcooney]

Are you overlooking a Sales Order Line Items table? Usually there is a Sales Order Table, a Line Items table and that looks to Inventory.

On your Sales Order, what is the name of the table that the portal uses?

Then, check the relationship from that table to Inventory.

[BlackHat]

Are you overlooking a Sales Order Line Items table? Usually there is a Sales Order Table, a Line Items table and that looks to Inventory.

On your Sales Order, what is the name of the table that the portal uses?

Then, check the relationship from that table to Inventory.

Thanks for the reply! Here's the tables in "Sales Orders"

Sales Orders

Line Items

The Portal uses the table named "Inventory"

[bcooney]

OK. That makes sense.

So, Sales Orders relates to Line Items by Sales Order ID. You are seeing Line Items in the portal.

They may call the portal TO (table occurrence) Inventory, but it's not.

Is there a Products table?

The SO line items may relate to Products by ProductID. The Description and Price fields are lookups to Products, I predict.

The relationship from Line Items to whatever the table is that holds all the product information is probably broken.

[BlackHat]

When I try and link that line item to table "Inventory" it forces me to create a new item "Inventory 2". Should I be looking to see what the line item tables in "Inventory" are linked to?

Thanks for your help!

[bcooney]

Yes. I don't think that you need to add a relationship, just fix what you have.

In the relationship graph, what is Inventory (really Sales Order Line Items) related to?

[BlackHat]

Yes. I don't think that you need to add a relationship, just fix what you have.

In the relationship graph, what is Inventory (really Sales Order Line Items) related to?

Line Items (in Sales Orders) had NO relationships. I tried adding one from Line Items [Descriptions] to "Inventory".

Still no go.

Note: The only item available for linking in "Inventory" FROM Sales Order (if I double click the "Descriptions" Portal) is "Product ID".

This may be the problem because the field in Inventory that is entered in Sales Orders is called "Product Name".

Thanks Again. We really appreciate your help. maybe we could just send you the db and pay you to fix it!

[bcooney]

Sorry, I'm not available for that.

You could save as a clone and post it here. I'll look at it. I'm sure we're missing something simple.

[BlackHat]

Sorry, I'm not available for that.

You could save as a clone and post it here. I'll look at it. I'm sure we're missing something simple.

How do we "clone" a db so we can post it? I can't find the command.

Thanks!

[LLX]

Save as (clone - no records)

[BlackHat]

Save as (clone - no records)

Cloned file is attached,

Thank you for your help!

blackhat_studios.zip

[bcooney]

You did not enclose everything that's necessary. It seems that this solution was a multi-file solution, and so each table is in a separate file. I need all the files to see what's not happening.

Can you make a copy, delete records, and then zip the entire folder and post?

It might be worthwhile to just hire a local FM consultant. Check FileMaker's website for a list of consultants in your area. The system looks like it was done by an amateur (I see matches on descriptions instead of IDs).

[David Jondreau]

I hate to say this, but your file structure needs a rewrite. Using repeating fields as line items is a poor (albeit common) design choice.