How do I filter a layout from a TO

[Mike Frog]

Hi there,

I am new to Filemaker and I'm preparing to build my first database in Filemaker, having worked with MS Access in the past.

If I have a table with Contacts that is used by 3 different departments and a Contact can only belong to one if the departments (there is a field assigning it to that department). How can I make a layout that only shows contacts from that department. If I use a find script on loading the layout, I will get the correct records, however the person can then use 'show all records' and see contacts from other departments, and we don't want that.

I have been using TO's to filter portals, and thats working great. I must be doing something wrong here, but don't know what.

Please place me in the right direction

Thanks

[bcooney]

So, you have two tables: Contacts and Departments. I can think of a few options to avoid a member of Dept1 from seeing non-Dept1 contacts:

1. Have a portal on the Dept1 form to its Contacts. User cannot see the other Dept records. So, you'll need to tightly script nav to dept.

2. Use an OnLayoutLoad on a Contact List to find the account's Contacts. On Startup, you'd capture this account's department. Do you know how to do this? Remove Show All or use Custom Menus to redirect a Show All to a script that finds by dept.

3. Explore the Graham Method. Create separate tables for each type of Contact. These "satellite" tables will only have a key field. Search for Graham in the forums, there are several posts by me and Fenton.

4. Use RLA to block view of contact records that do not match the account's department. (Try this one first).

[Mike Frog]

Thanks for your reply.

I will have a go at the RLA way for this, I have found some related articles in the forum.

My initial thought was to make a sort of sub-table via a table occurrence, to make a relation to a global field of the same department name. I could not make this work, and could not understand why.

Again thanks for your help.

[bcooney]

Your thought about subtables is precisely what the Graham method is all about. However, one doesn't technically make subtables using TOs. TOs are not tables, they are pointers to the tables.

[Josh Ormond]

You can use the GTRR script step to utilize related TO's.

You still would want to set up appropriate privileges to restrict views of other records, just in case someone accidentally (or not) ends up looking at other records.