Value List conditional

[andreluiz]

Hi Fellows,

It is possible to use differents value lists relationed?

For example:

Two Fields - Category and Group:

Category: First Value List

Group: Value List related to the first value list(Category)

Example:

Category: (Value List of 3 items)

Finance

Marketing

Sales

If Category is "Finance"

The value list to field Group is accounts

If Category is "Marketing"

The value list to field Group is Promotions

It is possible?

Thanks in advanced,

Andre Luiz

From Brazil

[Fenton]

What you need to do is have a table somewhere which has 2 fields, let's call them Target and Value.* In the 1st record of this table, the Target field would contain "Finance" and the Value field would be "some account". In the 2nd record, Target would also = "Finance" and Value = "some other account", etc. for all possible values for Finance.

Then you'd create a similar set of records for Marketing, with "Marketing" in the Target field, and all possible values for Marketing in the Value field, in subsequent records.

This would be what I call a "reference" table; I would likely add the suffixes, "_Ref_VL" to its table name. This tells me it's a reference table used only for value lists. You could use it for other value lists also; any relational value list with fixed values (ie., not just drawing values from a regular "data" table) could use this table.

So, when you choose "Marketing" in a field in your regular data table, a relationship from that field to the Target field of this reference table would produce all the values in the Value field which had "Marketing" in the Target field.

* I don't believe the field name "Value" is reserved by FileMaker (at least not yet). Some words are, like "Other"

** OR (comment proved :-) You can have the field on the layout twice, named as an Object, with 2 different value lists attached, and use the Go To Object step to move focus to one or the other.

Edited February 27, 2009 by Guest
I'm an idiot

[comment]

You can have the field on the layout twice, named as an Object, with 2 different value lists attached, and use the Go To Object step to move focus to one or the other. But it only surrounds it with a black box; it does NOT make the value list drop down. If anyone knows a way to do that, please do tell; I've tried and failed.

I don't know - I tried exactly what you said and it seems to be working.

PickVL.fp7.zip

[andreluiz]

Dear Fenton Jones,

Thank you for your reply.

I will try immediatily.

PS: Sorry for my mistakes - I´m from Brazil and didn´t write 100% ok in english.

Thanks again,

Andre Luiz

From Brazil

[andreluiz]

Could you help me?

I tried what Fenton teach, but what I have is: (example)

Category:

Finance

Marketing

Group:

Finance some value

Finance some other value

Marketing some value

Marketing some other value

What I need is:

If I choose Finance in the first field (Category) than the second field (Group)will show only the Finance values.

It is possible?

Thanks,

Andre Luiz

From Brazil

Hi Fellows,

It is possible to use differents value lists relationed?

For example:

Two Fields - Category and Group:

Category: First Value List

Group: Value List related to the first value list(Category)

Example:

Category: (Value List of 3 items)

Finance

Marketing

Sales

If Category is "Finance"

The value list to field Group is accounts

If Category is "Marketing"

The value list to field Group is Promotions

It is possible?

Thanks in advanced,

Andre Luiz

From Brazil

[Fenton]

Man, sometimes I am such an idiot. Comment is right of course, it works perfectly to use Go To Object. I have no idea what I was trying before (for quite a while), but I could not get it to work. This was a while ago; but I'd convinced myself it would not work. Strange.

The other technique, a value list table, could also be used. So now 2 techniques. You can decide which is best for what you're doing.

Categories_VL.fp7.zip

[andreluiz]

Dear Fenton,

Thank you very much.

It will help me a lot!

Best Regards,

Andre Luiz

From Brazil