hey all. i have an inventory table containing 15,000+ records with each record categorized by department in a "department" field. each department has a separate layout which corresponds to the needs of that particular department. depending on what layout the user is on, only the records tagged for that department need be displayed and/or be searched. i don't want records from different departments appearing on the wrong department layout (i hope you can follow me so far).

 

i understand this will probably involve a script that searches and omits based on the department tag for each inventory record, however it's imperative that the records not tagged for that particular department not be accessible on the respective layout, even if the user searches for the record via the asset id, even though they're all located in the same table. 

 

some users have permissions that only allow them to access particular layouts. if they try to gain access to a layout that isn't in their department they are prompted and access is denied. other uses have access to all the department layouts, or only certain departments.

 

what is the best method for filtering and "locking" these unwanted records, and then allowing the user to view the records they are permitted to view?

 

help/advice appreciated! cheers

Read up on Record Level Access .

Concerning the issue on accessing certain layouts there's an article "Privilege Set Reporting" writen by Michael Rocharde which you can find on filemakerhacks.com.

Mayby this can of help.

I figured it out before I checked this board again! The only issue I'm having is still limiting records to certain layouts when users with Full Access privileges are using the system. Will read up on that article. Cheers!