search vs relationship: speed

[macavity]

Hi! Given the alternative, which is the faster way to find records when working on a server with pretty hefty tables:

a) using a global field to set up an ad-hoc relationship

or

a scripted search in an indexed field using a variable?

[jamesducker]

Try it and see. The performance will depend on your situation. My hunch is that ( will be quicker, but maybe not if you have to change layout and if the layout you change to has lots of unstored calculations or summary fields on it.

If you do scripted operations that require changes of layout, make a layout based on the desired table that is blank (no fields on at all). You'll usually find that it is quicker to search on the blank layoit than on one where the server has to go off and find data.

James

[macavity]

I'd not thought of creating an extra layout for the search, but I'll do it. Thank you for a helpful reply!