I had this idea to create a "temporary" table in filemaker for searching among thousands of sales records. Our office has several fm users who might be performing imports, deletions, and finds in this new table; but if several people are performing their own imports and record deletions isn't that a problem? Isn't fm always updating the data in this table? For example, if user_1 imports a thousand records into the table as part of a search, and user_2 is deleting those records in order to start a new import, how does fm handle that? Are the records for each user stable?

Thanks for your help!

You could set a user ID field after importing and include that in all your searches, and only delete that user's records.

Another option I've seen deployed is allow only one user at a time: use a single-record table (file in your version) where you set a flag field before you start your imports and clear it when finished. Your script would lock out other users while the flag is set.

"... if user_1 imports a thousand records into the table as part of a search, and user_2 is deleting those records in order to start a new import..."

Searches should not require the importing of records, and imports should not require records to be deleted.

I'm not sure how the temporary table might help whate ver it is you want to do, but any process that imports and deleted records isn't going to be multi-user friendly, at least not without a lot of work (and even then it might just be a nasty ugly hack).

"... if user_1 imports a thousand records into the table as part of a search, and user_2 is deleting those records in order to start a new import..."

Searches should not require the importing of records, and imports should not require records to be deleted.

I'm not sure how the temporary table might help whate ver it is you want to do, but any process that imports and deleted records isn't going to be multi-user friendly, at least not without a lot of work (and even then it might just be a nasty ugly hack).

Actually, I'm working on an interesting technique related to this. I call it "The other separation model".

Starter hint:

Create simple table w two fields

Index ( number field)

GetVariable, calc, text, GetValue( $$array; Index)

Create record set w sequential index numbers, maybe 100 or 1000 records.

Set $$array to something.

Now view results; try performing finds and sorts.

Nobody has to import or delete.

Since each user has their own value set in $$array, they are looking at entirely different data.

This solution made sense for me and in our small office of five employees, works great. Thanks.

-J