Calculation seems simple (of course) but isn't working..

[kath]

Hi all. This is my first attempt at asking for help here, so here goes.

I'm trying to build (what I think is) a simple calculation field and I'm running into some trouble.

I'd like to sort through a series of records for the dates when a student was absent, filter whether on that date they were absent or tardy, and calculate the number of times in a given month they were absent. Seems simple enough-- what I've tried for a calculation is below and perhaps reveals how little I truly understand FM. Suggestions welcome.

ValueCount ( FilterValues ( List ( absence::absent_or_tardy) & (MonthName ( absence::date_absent ) = "September" ) ; "absent") )

Thank you.

[Vaughan]

Have you tried generating a summary report for this, rather than a calculation field?

If you had a calculation field, how would you imagine the results would be displayed?

[kath]

Vaughn -

Thanks for your reply.

I have a field date_absent that includes dates for all absences and tardies throughout the year. My sense is that a summary field could count the total number of dates in this field, but not count only those in a specific month. Perhaps there is a way to do this with a summary field I am not aware of?

The calculation result I am looking for is a number representing the number of absences for a specific month for that student.

Any further ideas? Anyone else? I'm sure the solution is embarassingly simple. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Thanks much.

[Tim W]

Hi Kath,

I would use relationships to accomplish this task.

Please see the attached file for an example.

Thanks,

Tim

Mod_Student_Record_081609.zip