Am I correct in surmising that, Filemaker can not auto-enter serial numbers for newly imported records, if the import script step was set to "Perform without dialog"? 

No, you are not correct.

BTW, the perform without dialog has no effect on a script, it only bypasses the dialog boxes.

If you instead mean if you don't check 'perform auto-enter' during the import then yes, if you do NOT check 'perform auto-enter' during an import then an auto-enter serial will NOT be created.  :^)

I thank you all for your replies, and I apologize for the tardiness of this response.  

 

Perhaps I did not make myself clear.  As LaRetta alluded,  when I select the option "Perform without dialog" in the script, then the user will not be presented with the the option to "auto-enter serial numbers".  It seems that the dialog which gives the option to "auto-enter serial numbers" only appears during script run time, not when I write the script.  

 

As you can imagine, I'm attempting to automate data importation - without the need for user input, but I can't seem to get the serial numbers to increment.   Am I missing something?

You must go through with the import before being presented with the dialog to check 'Perform auto-enter' . Check it and THEN save the script.

It is NOT intuitive or user-friendly and that dialog should be included with the other checkable options instead of tacked on the end. FM's import/export is stuck in the 70s.

Sounds like a Catch-22.

 

 

"Sure there's a catch", Doc Daneeka replied. "Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy."

I think the issue was that my import file is is specified with a Variable file path.  While writing the script I was not presented with the option to auto-enter serial numbers.  

 

As a work around I specified a second (local) source file in the File Path List giving the Full path, and was given the option to select to 'auto-enter serial numbers'.   I then went back and deleted the second path reference, and my preference to 'auto enter serial numbers' now worked using a Variable path name.   

Ah.  Indeed.  And I've had this happen more than once so I should have thought of it.  You also need a record in the table if you want to update ... oh so poorly written that whole import/export FM module.  Thanks for letting us know how it was resolved!