Stored vs. Unstored Calculations....

[ViciousTruth]

Hey all,

I have a layout with a bunch of unstored calculations on it, many of which reference other tables. All in all there are about 55 unstored, plus another 20 or so summary calculations.

My question is: what can I do to improve the performance of this layout? I know that once the database goes live and record count increases, performance is going to take a hit when users visit this layout.

One of the ideas I've had so far is to put check boxes in front of the 5 work types (Insul, Air Sealing, Windows, Doors, Misc) so that the user can turn on/turn off the rows which are not being used; if a job only consists of Insulation and Windows, then none of the other rows calculations would be evaluated. Would this help?

Many of these calculations are cascading which I know puts a hit on performance...

Any suggestions on dealing with this would be much appreciated!

Here is a screen cap of the layout: http://i46.tinypic.com/2ahbeiq.jpg

[bcooney]

One approach is the have _static fields that are set to the calcs anytime they are modified. Then this dashboard layout looks at the static fields (which are stored).

Depending on how fresh the data needs to be, you could have a server script populate the static fields and show an As Of date on the layout. You could provide an Update button which would reset the statics.

Or, hide/chop up this layout as much as possible to reduce the amount of fields displayed at any one time.

[ViciousTruth]

One approach is the have _static fields that are set to the calcs anytime they are modified. Then this dashboard layout looks at the static fields (which are stored).

BC, could you elaborate on this concept? I think I get what you are saying, but I'm not sure how to go about implementing it...

[James Marshall]

I've noticed quite a difference in performance when I divide up a dashboard like this into tabs. It loads a lot more quickly.

James

http://www.soliantconsulting.com/blog/category/filemaker/

[bcooney]

Well, for each field that is unstored, you would have a twin that is a number not a calc. During a script that modifies the unstored, add a Set Field (stored to unstored) step. Use the stored fields in your dashboard.

But perhaps just limiting the number of fields that display at any one time will be enough.