How do I just show software records from an Inventory table in the Software table?

[fm_toxy]

Hi.

Having been a lurker for some time, picking up useful solutions to problems within my own database, I am now up against a simple problem that I can't solve.

Using the conditional value lists example that comment put up some time ago, I can happily add relevant data to sections of my database, but I now want to peel of a certain section of info, so to add further data in another table.

How do I go about doing this?

I have a test example consisting of presently 6 tables:

Inventory

Postal

Items

Make

Objects

Software

along with 2 sets of conditional valuelists:

One to drill down the Country, County/State, Borough

And the other to add Items with their Object, Make, Model

from the Inventory, I can add items and calculate their Machine Names, what office they reside in and present various flags of essential data for the record to be complete.

What I want to do is: from a separate Table [software], I want just the software to appear in the one value list, so that I can add further data, like Licence Limit, Licence Number, Serial Number, Support Contract, etc. to that Record.

Eventually I would then want to add a portal that displays just the machines that the software resides on - but first things first!

I enclose a copy of the test example that I'm working with at the moment.

Chris

inventory_w-valuelists.fp7.zip

[fm_toxy]

Slightly closer - ahem [it's been a long day ]

I now have the valuelist vl_JustSoftware displaying all values into the field SoftwareName on the Table Software without the entry disappearing after you select it.

I now just need to it filter down to the two entries that are just software.

Second submission enclosed and a Graph to show what's going on.

inventory_w-valuelists3.fp7.zip

[dansmith65]

I have attached a revised version of your test file, modified as I would recommend. I also included a copy of the naming standards I use to explain why I named Table Occurrences and Value Lists the way I did.

( my standards are a subset of the FDC standards available here: http://www.filemaker.com/downloads/pdf/FMDev_ConvNov05.pdf )

Your revised test file is now setup for users to view records from both the "INV__Inventory" layout and the "SOF__Software" layout. From these layouts, I believe the value lists should work as you want them to.

Read through my standards file (the relevant sections: Table Occurrences, layouts, and value lists), then let me know if you have any questions, or if this solved your problem.

inventory_w-valuelists3DS.zip

[fm_toxy]

Thanks for the quick reply - the naming conventions are going be another foreign language to learn then...

I can't quite see why I would want the software portal appearing in the Inventory Table as that's not what FAST is after in their reports for compliance, but I'll experiment with this.

[Mind you, their db won't allow you to register a software licence seat against a machine that it's installed to... but that's another story]

I'll have a play with this over the weekend.

Any other suggestions are most welcome!

Chris

[fm_toxy]

Ok.

It's 13.30 on a Sunday and I've been unstitching your solution for a while now. Six hours I think...

It may well be a great solution - certainly from a developer standpoint - but until I understand it and a can replicate it - it isn't.

So, to the questions:

Inventory::_kc__PortalSoftware

Is this a compound key? If so, what is a compound key? It was the only thing that matched up in your dev doc that you also attached, when I did a search for "_kc__"

found under section 3.3.4 Field Notation Reference

As far as I can tell, from various sources, a compound key is derived from adding two foreign keys together to make a unique key. But the calculation or formula that's in the field, is anything but.

It just seems to be a true/false statement for hiding/unhiding the Portal inv_SOF__Software__PortalSoftware

----

I have also found that the portal doesn't update with the relevant licence information for the relevant software.

If you didn't test it, why did you put it in?

Presently, it's a bell / whistle that I don't need and so, doesn't answer the question.

[it might work, if I stick a join table in between, but that is beside the point]

----

SOF__Software::Constant1 = 1

Why?

No explanation as to why or what it achieves.

SOF__Software::ConstantSoftware = "Software"

Why?

Taking the quotes out makes the SOF__Items valuelist on the Software Table become unpopulated.

Well, that's a sort of explanation, but I don't have anything to confirm it with. I've stuck that into the comments box.

----

So perhaps, I didn't ask the *right questions*

I have therefore added a further field to the Software Table.

The AssetTag is relevant to me as it confirms that I have added a correct entry to the Software Table [no AssetTag? Not in the Inventory! Go back and put the AssetTag Number that you should find on the silver sticker on the box of the item. No sticker? Put one on the box and do your job properly! etc...].

Since the related data should come from the Inventory Table.

That was part of one of the warning flags that I included in the Inventory Table.

Following your present method, I can add many extra pieces of software [without AssetTags] to the Software table, that don't exist in the Inventory table.

That's not good.

I now have data that doesn't match.