Scheduling with FileMaker

[jasonwood]

Howdy folks!

I would like to use FileMaker to create a scheduling system. For arguments sake, lets say I was a chiropractor, and I needed a system in which I could schedule my clients for different times. Obviously, there would have to be layouts/reports to provide an overview of what time slots are available, what's taken, and so on.

I am quite famiar with most of the technical aspects of FileMaker databases, I just can't seem to develope in my mind how this would all fit together.

I would think that I should have one database file "Appointments" and each one would have a date and a start/end time. Now how would I report on this in a calendar format so I could see an overview of my schedule/availability?

To make it a little bit trickier, let's say there are two chiropractors that work in my office, so there could be two appointments at the same time, as long as they were with different chiropractors.

PS: I'm not a chiropractor.

Thanks!

[Vaughan]

Hi Jason, how about you tell us what you *really* want to build so we don't start spending our valuable time helping you to design a system you don't really want.

(This happened with another poster a few weeks ago: several people put in the hard yards only to be told "Oh that was just an example, that's not what I really want help with...")

[jasonwood]

What I REALLY want is to know how a business could develop a FileMaker database to track appointments. The fact that I'm not a chiropractor doesn't really change my scenerio!-)

Here's how my thinking has led me so far...

First I have a database of appointments (date, startTime, endTime, doctor, patient)

Then I have another database with a record for each day of the year. The databases are related based on the date. Then I put a portal with a number of rows in this database. I can sort by start time so that it shows my appointments on that day in order. The ony problem is that it (obviously) doesn't show spaces where there are not appointments (so that I can see visually where I can fit in more appointments, or breaks!)

I am trying to figure out what is the best way to achieve this.

Hope this clarifies things!

[Vaughan]

Jason, the needs customers differs so much that it would be very hard indeed to create a sulotion to suit everybody -- you'd end up making something that suited nobody. About the best that can be done is to create a general "shell" and customise it for each client.

When designing, DON'T think in terms of databases you need. Think in terms of information needed to track.

You might have to track:

the patients (name, address etc)

the doctors (name etc)

the appointments (day, time, duration perhaps)

Now analyse the information to see if join files are required:

Can a customer have more than one doctor at a time?

Can a doctor have more than one customer at a time?

Can an appointment have more than one patient at a time?

Can a patient have more than one appointment at a time?

... and so on. It's a big job, and not one I've ever tackled.