First post so bear with me of this isn't clear.

 

I am putting together a DB that will have between 20-30,000 parts and I will have several classification fields from general to more specific.  Lets use cars for example.  Maybe with the following classifications. Type, # doors, color, gas mileage,etc.

 

What I am trying to accomplish is to be able to search on any 1 or combination of the fields to add them to lets say a BOM.  So I want to be able to see all white cars if that is my only search criteria, as well as being able to find sedans, 4 doors, white, 15-20 mpg if needed.

 

I am wondering if a multi-key field is the best way to do this or if there is a better way.  My concern with the multi-key field is that i will have a large text field with up to 12 combinations of the various classification fields to cover all possible search selections.

IE: 

Type

type#doors

type#doorscolor

type#doorscolormaleage

And then have to do this for every possibility.

 

I can do that but my concern is that with the 20-30K parts that this will negatively effect the DB speed and increase the size considerably.  I consider myself an intermediate FM person and am hoping for some advice from more knowledgeable folks so I can try to avoid and future problems that this Multi-Key approach may cause.

 

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

 

I don't see why you would consider a multi-key field here - not because of any performance issues, but because of ... well, what exactly would be the advantage of that? Perhaps you had a multi-predicate relationship, using multiple matchfields, in mind?

 

Anyway, if you don't need it for some specific reason (for example to show the results in a portal), adding a relationship just to replace a find is just littering the file with unnecessary resources.

FM's native QuickFind can search on any number of fields.

FM's native QuickFind can search on any number of fields.

 

With the caveat that searching for 2 (doors) will also find 20 (mpg).

that is really the issue.  getting more than I want from the search.  I really want to be able to avoid the 20 mph when I search for 2.  I have played around but cannot seem to come up with a solution that works.  

 

Is there a way to make the search only retrieve the "EXACT"  search request without getting the 20 when I enter 2? 

Sure, you just have to script it yourself.  When you create the search request in your script use the "==" prefix so that the request looks like "==2".

You'll have to create as many requests as there are fields you want the user to search one.

 

Sounds more complex than it is, it is really simple to put together.

I really want to be able to avoid the 20 mph when I search for 2.

 

I am afraid you misunderstood my point. This is not about being exact with the criteria, 2 or 20. It's about which fields the criteria is applied to. There are ways to make exact searches - but your question was about using multikey and you still haven't explained what goal this is supposed to accomplish.

Ok

 

I'll try the == approach.  Thanks for the insight, and hopefully that will do it