Populating a repeating field w/ script

[comment]

I am blind here - can you post a file?

[christoff]

I was preparing a demo for u, this was an exact copy of what i was doing but with any irrelevant tables / layouts / scripts / value lists removed...

and when i had finished, the demo worked perfectly! Obviously I was very happy until I realised I have no idea why the demo works and my other one doesn't...

...3 hours later...just worked it out...

on the Invoices layout I had a portal going to LineItems and another portal going to Payments and the Payments portal is messing with the LineItems portal, coz when I remove it the LineItems portal works fine...must be a limit to how many portals you can have on a layout...

i would never have worked this out had I not prepared that demo for you, so you still helped!

[comment]

When you call the Go to Portal Row[] step, Filemaker goes to the specified portal row of the active portal. If there is no active portal, it will select the portal that is furthest to the back of the layout.

One way to select a portal is to go to a field that exist only in that portal. For example:

...

Go To Layout [original layout]

Go To Field [LineItems::DateOfUsageStart]

Go To Portal Row [Last]

should have worked for you (note the absence of 'Select' in the last step).

[christoff]

I tried what you suggested and it was going to the correct row but not bringing up the drop down calender...but then I had a moment of pure genius and just repeated the line and it works!

Go To Layout [original layout]

Go To Field [LineItems::DateOfUsageStart]

Go To Portal Row [Last]

Go To Field [LineItems::DateOfUsageStart]

so I've applied the same method to a few different scripts and now it works and this means I can have all the portals back on that the layout which is a great result. Thanks again Comment for your time mate.

[Søren Dyhr]

No, I don't think it must be so

Probably not, but what kind of role have you then to give to the quote, if the "hackling" always gets the final word, why then keep quotes in a database at all?

Why keep track of wishful thinking or failed prophesies at all - does fatalism belong to databases?

--sd

[comment]

I didn't say you MUST keep them after an invoice has been finalized. Though I suppose most people would keep them at least for a reasonable period, for legal reasons and for reference.

Quotes are not exactly "wishful thinking" - they are business propositions. I know some firms that periodically analyze their quotes against consummated deals, in order to better utilize their marketing efforts.

[LaRetta]

I know some firms that periodically analyze their quotes against consummated deals, in order to better utilize their marketing efforts.

As do I.

[Søren Dyhr]

But in you previous posts Michael have you been given the impression that such statistics quality not necessarily is tied to a rigid flow in the proceedings, how could this out of sync make any sense - if the invoiced not in some sense is a genuine subset of the quoted.

It's as if just a random pattern is established - then is it working ... but I could then suggest another approach to recognise patterns. Write all data availiable on a list, hang it on the wall ... remove yourself from the list physically. Then at a distance close one eye and begin to move you index finger into the one eye remaining open, while still looking at the list across the room.

It's obviously the same kind of data mining the monkey with the dart's tossing, did to select shares to either add or remove from the portfolio.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/208997,CST-FIN-curious14.article

The point I try to raise here is that integrity in the data should be attempted into some sort of business rule, where it's obvious what role each document should have. Keeping quotes up for just quotes sake statistically doesn't make much sense to me.

Some connection to what actually is purchased must have some weight, and not just what customers might be in want of if just it could be supplied. Think of a hot afternoon in a bank, people are cueing up, should the bank begin to sell ice-cream? Should the core business be taken with the notorious grain of salt, if something else is temporarily in demand?

The aim of data-mining should reveal both what to have on the shelves when and why as well as how much of it!

--sd

[LaRetta]

Keeping quotes up for just quotes sake statistically doesn't make much sense to me.

Some connection to what actually is purchased must have some weight, and not just what customers might be in want of if just it could be supplied.

You must be kidding. Knowing what Customers want (by itself) is invaluable. I am now totally convinced that you have never worked in a manufacturing/retail environment and you have no concept of how data translates to valuable information.

Unaccepted quotes can tell a business 1) the prices might be too high, 2) the product is not currently in favor, 3) it was presented in poor combination, 4) the business itself might not favor certain products, styles, 5) the time of year was poor and a thousand other answers.

The NOs of this world say MORE than the YESs.

[Søren Dyhr]

I am now totally convinced that you have never worked in a manufacturing/retail environment

Correct, I have worked as sound-engineer and with management of rentals the technically matters only. So your input does indeed bring me some perspective ... I'm aware of how some tools in the warehouse attracts special kinds of business, but compared to being a freelance as I am - is the decision which pieces to let the promoter provide and which to purchase to bring with me, is down almost to completely a technical choice.

Bringing a "wardrobe" of esoteric technical stuff, boils down to such simple things as - who's going to carry them for me? Since the provided in my case is a service, would I restrict myself to a personal bag of tricks only. The invoicing is in no way detailed at all, I would not charge differently dependent on what I carry with me.

So I'm not kidding - I have to think up how data mining is done, here in form of making daft suggestions ...from where I can get corrected.

Now to your excellent points, where does it say that invoices not are a subset of the quotes, in the meaning that sometimes are numerous quotes issued without anyone seeing the bate ... then do you say other sales is then generated despite of those quote issued?

This seems to suggest it's done with blinkers each disipline - and it's then purely a managerial task to interpolate these facts ... if we take this to the service industry - wouldn't it lead to a lot of "Sorry we're out of Waldorffs" - where the obvious way to handle it, is to think up replacements - or as here in Clease's case think of the ingrediences?

Shouldn't data-mining be in charge of reordering when shortage, instead of human whims and interactions based on how good the actual interpolation is done - how well the report is read? Which part of the process is the one worth involving a conscience. Take you bodily functions, you have very little control over the heart and lungs function, but the arms and legs are pretty much the conscience's domain

--sd

[LaRetta]

I do not want to hijack this thread. And you and I can get into these discussions. So I'll respond but I must then let it go.

where does it say that invoices not are a subset of the quotes, in the meaning that sometimes are numerous quotes issued without anyone seeing the bate ... then do you say other sales is then generated despite of those quote issued?

Quotes are speculations/proposals and are generated from interaction between a customer and sales rep – two people. A quote cannot happen if it is mailed to a business from a customer. And a quote is worthless if generated by a Salesman but NEVER presented to a customer. Two people exchange ideas, barter prices, discuss product combinations for shelf space and endcaps; look sometimes years ahead and forecast needs (ie, let’s remember that in 2012, we have that convention and we’ll want 1200 additional floor displays so lets quote it now).

Invoices can be generated by a customer contacting the business. There may not (and many times won’t) be a quote. Invoices can be generated by the online website from retail customers, an invoice can be generated by a store calling the Manufacturer out of the blue and simply ordering (they know exactly what they want). Sometimes an invoice is generated because of many quotes discussed but the invoice may be totally different than any specific quote.

Quotes provide a vision of what customers are thinking, wanting, forcasting. They also provide a vision of what sales rep has tried to get the customer to envision and (when tied back to Invoices, tells the business whether the rep has succeeded). Even if something isn’t sold, it tells the business that the rep was actively working an account (although it may indicate that the rep was pushing the wrong products, approach etc). For many businesses, quotes speak volumes.

As to whether quotes should be a separate table from Invoices, it all depends upon how a business uses Quotes. If quotes usually become invoices, then they can go together. There is less chance of problem if one simply changes the status of a record from Quote to Invoice (instead of duplicating or importing the lines). But if quotes are used for in-depth negotiation and forecasting where most never become invoices then (I feel) quotes should be separate.

Data modeling is a great passion of mine and I must nip myself in the bud or I simply won't stop. So I respectfully now will drop from this thread.

[comment]

I am not sure what your point is. Invoices (in the model being discussed) are not a subset of Quotes, because not every Invoice is also (or has ever been) a Quote.

However, that doesn't mean there cannot be any connection between the two: an Invoice can be linked to any Quotes that led up to it - either directly by project, or indirectly by customer. So it's possible, for example, to analyze the sales-to-quotes ratio per customer, or per salesperson.