I am a complete beginner. At work we have several jobs that are listed by a number. They are organized by year. 09.120 would mean job 120 in the year 2009. Sometimes we have jobs we put in bids for back in 06 but we want them to also have a new 09 number if the work was approved in 09. Therefore we give it a new number like 09.120. In Filemaker we list it in the field "JOB #" and in the field data would be 09.120 see also 06.120

The problem is when I do a search for either number it wont show up. It only shows up if I were to type in the field string exactly. I cant search for 09.120 and have it show up. I need an "any" search field. I know this is very basic and appreciate any help.

When turning into findmode, first write:

==06*

then create a new request

==09*

...and then finally issue the find!

--sd

To produce an OR search, you will need a second find request. So your find would be something like:

Enter Find Mode[pause]

... let the User type in the first criteria of "09.120"

New Record/Request

... let the User type in the second criteriaq of "06.120"

... user then hits [ENTER]

Perform Find []

But I must tell you now that your setup in using the numbers is not optimum; after all, you can use a date field to tell you the year and the number of records in that year can tell you second portion of the number. If you are using this numbering scheme to bind your relationships, you will probably be in trouble.

Even if not, it seems like you are over-complicating your numbering. If you wish to have your structure reviewed, post an example of your structure in Relationships and let Developers who understand relational theory give you ideas on streamlining your solution. Just a consideration. :wink2:

I just saw Søren's post. In truth, if we were looking for any year but item 120, I'd put *120. But I don't really understand what is there because it seemed that we were searching a text field for two strings ... 09.120 and 06.120.

Again, this whole numbering process feels twisted to me.

The problem is when I do a search for either number it wont show up.

To begin with, make sure the field is defined as type Text. This should solve your immediate issue.

In the long run, you should consider splitting year and job number into separate fields, and perhaps duplicating a record instead of tagging it with multiple values.

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CLARIFICATION:

I assume that when you say "search for either number" you mean "either [color:blue]09.120 or [color:blue]06.120".

Edited July 23, 200916 yr by Guest