multiple items counted in list

[Balazs Rozgonyi]

Hi all, I'm building up a system for my small business to see if this would be good for me. I've got stuck at this problem here.

I'm renting out video equipment and I started a database where every item is listed in a table with an individual ID. When somebody rents put something they got a sheet with all the items so they can check they've got everything. But this forces me to add a new ID for small things like power cables. I want individual numbers on big things but I want an ID that goes for the power cable, and I can mark that two of them are included. I can do that by adding the same ID. Now I need my list to list these not individually, but like "2x power cable". I guess I need to count somehow and then put the calculation on the list sheet, but can somebody point me to the right direction?

[LaurenKuhlman]

Make a self-relationship to your item table and then call ValueCount ( FilterValues ( primaryKey; List ( ) ) inside a calc.

This is a little vague. I can help if you can provide more information. Is there a rental table and a join between rental and item so that there is a join record for each time and item is rented?

How are you storing the rental information?

Thanks.

Edited July 16, 2009 by Guest

[Balazs Rozgonyi]

okay, here it's how it works.

I have tables: items, boxes, productions, quote, rental and a few other helpers.

Items keep every item. Boxes "group" items together by boxes. Production is some data by productions, including quote and rental data.

When somebody walks in i start a new production and make a quote. There I select the boxes he wants (that is not yet perfect, usually threre is one main item in a box with all accessories). Then when we agreed I create a rental list with everything on it - the script puts down every item from every box. Here I need duplicated items not shown as duplicates but like 2xitem.

Thanks in advance!

[comment]

All you need is a report summarized by ItemID. Delete the body part, and place a summary field in the sub-summary part. The summary field can be count of ItemID (or of any other field that cannot be empty), or sum of quantity (provided you auto-enter a default quantity of 1).

[Balazs Rozgonyi]

ok, thank you so much. I have no FMP here now, so I can not really see how would this work. Would I be then able to do a list like:

1x monitor 17"

1x case

2x power cable

1x video cable

and so on? Am I correct that to have this working all I need is to have the IDs same on the power cables?

[comment]

Yes. Note that in version 9 the report will be visible only in preview mode or when printed.

[Balazs Rozgonyi]

Hi. I'm trying this for a while but I am surely miss some crucial part from your explanation. You want me to create a summary field, select Item ID to summarize, and then create a layout which is summarized by that field? because Item ID is not a number so it can not be summarized, but would this work? or shall I create a "quantity" filed in boxes (that would be nice) but how I summarize that? I can just get around the whole thing by creating and manually filling Quantity, but then how does those cables come up individually in Items? I dont even need that - I can have an Item page by every item, and have that display how much I have altogether from a kind of thing - then just add a new one for a new box. But then that creates new questions..

[comment]

because Item ID is not a number so it can not be summarized

A summary field defined as 'Count of' can reference a text field.

shall I create a "quantity" filed in boxes (that would be nice) but how I summarize that?

That's up to you, really (I am not entirely familiar with your workflow). If you define the Quantity field to auto-enter 1, and the summary field as Sum of Quantity, it will work the same way - the difference here is that you can manually override the quantity.