First database no longer sees previous entries in second database

[Andrew Went]

I'm a novice user of filemaker, and had no formal training aside from working with it myself. I reworked a database for a friend which consists of 2 related databases:Customers and Contacts. To put it simply, entries written into 'Customers' are recorded in matching fields in 'Contacts'.

This was all working fine over the last few months until my friend decided to import some extra records. He only selected 'Add new records',and neither of the 'Update Options' in the 'Import Field Mapping' window. Yet this resulted in deletion of all his existing records. He restored the 'Customers' database from an older local copy, and his records reappeared, but now the 'Notes' entries still visible in 'Contacts' do not show in 'Customers' (the two fields matched and contents were visible in both places). New notes added in 'customers' still appear in 'Contacts' notes field, so the relationship seems unbroken.

I guess I am asking 1: Did I miss something in the original relationships setup that is preventing a reverse update to a restored 'Customers'database from the records in the 'Contacts'database. 2: Is there a relationship I need to add?

3: Any ideas why his import should have caused this problem in the first place?

Sorry for the vagueness but I do a lot of different kinds of IT and lose the plot a bit with Filemaker coming back to it.

I have included a compressed database report.

Summary_-_Contacts.zip

[Vaughan]

Welcome to the world of relational databases. :

Importing records will not delete an existing set, something else has gone wrong.

Check that the imported records have primary keys (if they were imported without auto-enter options enabled then they probably won't). This will stop relationships working.

There are many things that could be going wrong, and analysing what the problem is becomes difficult when it cannot be assumed that the database has been designed well in the first place. Post your actual file with confidential data removed (but make sure it has some working data).

[Andrew Went]

Thanks for the welcome Vaughan. I've put the zipped database files in below as you asked. I thought I had found the fault in that CodeRecord and Index code were numbering differently after he replaced the 'Customers' Database, but can see that is not it from my original empty database, which also numbers differently.

KoreContacts.zip

KoreCustomers.zip

[Lee Smith]

When you import records, the found set is what has been imported. The existing records have been omitted from the found set, so you can review the data that was imported. This allows you to Delete what has been just imported, if you discover a problem. To see all of the records, Do a Show all records.

HTH

Lee

[Andrew Went]

Of course! That's probably what happened, and why the user then proceeded to trash the database and load an old copy on top of it.. Doesn't help us fix the problem but well worth mentioning to prevent a recurrence.

Just a thought - I could be as simple as this:there is only one relationship allowed between each pair of tables/fields. As can be seen from the posted database there is a relationship and it works from customers to contacts. How do I get that relationship to work 2-ways so Customers picks up stuff it finds in correctly matching fields in contacts (or are they just not correctly matched..? In which case how Customers writes to contacts at all??). Now I'm getting myself even more puzzled..

Edited October 20, 2009 by Guest

[Andrew Went]

1.Spoke to the user. Yes he didn't click 'Show all records'. (He was so sick when I asked that question cos he's an old filemaker man who goes back to version 5 and should have known better. Pressures of running a business I guess..)

2. Think I've fixed the relationship by adding a reverse relationship from 'Notes' in 'Contacts' to 'Notes general' in 'Customers'. Now everything I write in Contacts appears next time I open customers.

A note- this was not an error as such because Contacts was never designed to be a database directly accessed and edited, and therefore never should have needed to have this relationship. Just shows you though how real life situations can inform database design.

[Andrew Went]

Wrong again! Can edit from notes in either file now, but customers file still doesn't see any existing notes in customers unless they were added through it's own interface.

[Søren Dyhr]

I've put the zipped database files in below as you asked.

And provisions of user/password is made exactly where?

--sd

[Vaughan]

1.Spoke to the user. Yes he didn't click 'Show all records'. (He was so sick when I asked that question cos he's an old filemaker man who goes back to version 5 and should have known better. Pressures of running a business I guess..)

Err, no. That is such a basic error that it's scary. Like not knowing which side of the road to drive on.