Very new to FM, need help

[TLIEB]

I'm working with Filemaker Advanced Pro 11.0v3. I work for a very small company and the person who set up Filemaker is no longer with the company. I have no experience with Filemaker at all, but I have some programming background so I've been asked to look into an issue with Filemaker to try to see if what we want to do is even possible.

 

The scenario is this - we have one particular layout where several different people would be modifying a single record over the course of a few days. It's basically a shift log where they report what they've done on that shift or on a particular job. I've been asked to try to figure out if we can make it so that once a particular field has data in it, that field is no longer editable, i.e. the first shift crew enters their progress and the second shift crew cannot change what first shift has entered. But - the supervisor would still want to be able to go in and make changes in case anything is entered in error.

 

I've done a lot of reading over the last few days on these forums as well as the Filemaker forums and the Filemaker documentation. I get the sense that it's something that can be done, I just haven't been able to quite figure out exactly how to make it work. 

 

As far as I can tell, currently everyone here is set up with full access. I'm assuming I'll have to make a separate privilege set for these users. Can anyone point me in the right direction on what the best course of action would be? 

 

Thanks in advance for any advice or pointers!

[Kris M]

Security is the way to go with this..

Define a new privelege set and look into edit privelege set>>Records>>custom priveleges. Selected the table you want to restrict and set Edit to limited and voila! the calculation engine is exposed so you can restrict the edit of a record in the selected table based on the boolean result of your calculation.

[Fitch]

1. Everyone should have their own login account. Set up security privileges like this:

http://fmforums.com/forum/topic/89980-create-but-not-edit/?p=412901

2. Make a related table for the log. Each shift creates a new record in the log table.

[comment]

No one should have full access except you (and possibly your apprentice developer).

 

You may have some retraining to do - particularly getting people to log out when they're done, so that the next shift doesn't keep entering/modifying data under the current login.

[TLIEB]

No one should have full access except you (and possibly your apprentice developer).

 

You may have some retraining to do - particularly getting people to log out when they're done, so that the next shift doesn't keep entering/modifying data under the current login.

 

I get that, but I really have no input on the matter. I'm not and won't be the Filemaker admin, I'm just looking into this one particular question for one of our CSR's

 

Security is the way to go with this..

Define a new privelege set and look into edit privelege set>>Records>>custom priveleges. Selected the table you want to restrict and set Edit to limited and voila! the calculation engine is exposed so you can restrict the edit of a record in the selected table based on the boolean result of your calculation.

 

Does this work on individual fields within a record? 

 

Sorry to sound like such a novice, but I really am.

[bruceR]

It isn't clear what you're asking.

OK; you're not the developer. Then who is?

Who is going to make the changes?

[TLIEB]

It isn't clear what you're asking.

OK; you're not the developer. Then who is?

Who is going to make the changes?

 

Sorry for not being clear. I would probably be making the changes in this case but only for this. We do not currently have an admin/developer for Filemaker.  I was asked to try to figure this out simply because I have some background in programming.

[comment]

 I would probably be making the changes in this case but only for this.

 

It doesn't really matter. The point is that only the developer (which at this point is you, since you're the one making structural changes) should have full access. When you're done, pass the full access to someone else and keep a copy of the full access credentials in the company safe.

 

I mentioned this chiefly so that you're not tempted to give full access to the supervisor/s, who need to have more privileges than the shift workers - but by no means full access.

[Kris M]

Works on all fields for a record in the table.

 

I don't think their is a way to control down to an individual field level with the built in security system.

 

K

 

[bruceR]

Did you look at the "Edit Privilege Set" section of Security?

Did you look at the column "Field Access" for Custom Record Privileges?

 

Have you got a description of what you have been asked to do?

[TLIEB]

Did you look at the "Edit Privilege Set" section of Security?

Did you look at the column "Field Access" for Custom Record Privileges?

 

Have you got a description of what you have been asked to do?

 

I've looked at that section, but I wasn't sure it would do what she's looking for. I think, in essence, I was trying to get a feel for if it was something that could even be done so I don't waste my time trying to do something that's not even possible. 

 

What she would like is to have any field in a particular layout become un-editable once it has data in it, so that different people can keep adding to the same record filling in more fields but they can't edit what has already been entered. The layout is already set up so I have no control of how it's designed, I'm looking at it after the fact and trying to find a solution that might work.

 

I'm learning a lot by the answers here and part of my challenge is that apparently the way things are set up here is not the recommended way of doing things or the norm. There are no individual log-ins and everyone has full access. Obviously this is not a good way of doing things. There is no one here currently who has any real experience with Filemaker other than as a user so I don't have anyone to go to to try to figure out why things are set up the way they are. 

[comment]

What she would like is to have any field in a particular layout become un-editable once it has data in it, so that different people can keep adding to the same record filling in more fields but they can't edit what has already been entered.

 

What I am learning from this is that your problem goes deeper than just accounts and privileges. You didn't explain what those fields are, but It seems a safe bet to say that these should be individual records in a related table, rather than multiple fields in the same record.

 

There are ways to allow entry into a field only once.  However, the problem with any such method is that it actually works.  This means no edits to the entered data - not even legitimate corrections of data entry immediately upon exiting the field. IMHO, whoever asks for such thing has not truly thought it through.

 

The other thing is that anyone half knowledgeable in Filemaker, having full access, can circumvent any barrier you set up. Though I understand that at this point you wish that were your problem...