I'm still strugling with FMP, so your help is most appreciated. I've bought several FMP books including Scriptology, but I cannot seem to find my answers. The books seem to deal a lot with Layouts and doing lookups to a related file, but I see little on adding, modifying, posting or deleting records in related files (tables).

In my other life (other RDBMS app), If I wished to modify a related table, or post new records to that other table, I might do something like this.

For Table_1 with date = current date, enter new record(s) (or modify records) in Table_2

Table_1 (field1) = Table_2 (field1)

Table_1 (field2) = Table_2 (field2)

Table_1 (field3) = Table_2 (field3)

Table_1 (field4) = Table_2 (field4) ... etc.....

How does one do this in FMP?

I think part of my difficulty is the terminology. Educate me. Please give me the FMP equivalent term(s)

modify (modify an existing record in a related table)

define (as in define a temp variable)

assign (as in assign a value to a temp variable)

list

enter new record (as in enter a new record in a related table)

append (as in add new records to existing records in a related table)

for (as in starting a new stmt)

do while (as in a loop)

Thank you. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions.

Hello BarryZ.

I had a question about defining relationships in FM last week. It might help.

http://fmforums.fmsd.net/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB17&Number=16107&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=

Ken

I'll take a stab at it...

modify (modify an existing record in a related table)

Either go to the related record and make your changes, or put fields from the related file on a layout in the current file. The related fields do not have to be in a portal, but they can be. There is no "edit" or "modify" mode in FileMaker. Browse is it.

define (as in define a temp variable)

You can't define a variable on the fly. Set up global fields of various types (date, text, number etc.) and use them for storing variables as needed.

assign (as in assign a value to a temp variable)

Set Field [myGlobal, "my variable"] -- see above

list

Uh... make a list layout?

enter new record (as in enter a new record in a related table)

Either enter it via a portal, or use the method outlined by LiveOak in the thread Ken pointed you to.

append (as in add new records to existing records in a related table)

Same as above.

for (as in starting a new stmt)

do while (as in a loop)

Non-C programmers (like me) can do for while here . FileMaker has its own way of handling loops. There's no "do while" or "for" -- you "initialize" whatever fields you need before you start the loop. E.g. Set Field [global_Counter, 10]. Then you increment it during the loop, e.g., Set Field [global_Counter, global_Counter - 1]. And you use the Exit Loop If [ ] to do that.