On 2007 Oct 16, at 10:11, Peter Payne wrote:
Two quick questions. One, how can I force the value of a globe
field to be "saved" so that its shown when other clients connect? I
can't figure how to I it in fm9.
The value of a global field is initially determined by the value it
has in the HOST file.
Let's say you have the file "Stuff.FP7" and it lives on the computer
Adam. In it is the global field "SomeText". You open up "Stuff" on
Adam and enter the text string "Hot Zot" in the field "SomeText".
Now your client Bo fires up FileMaker Pro and opens "Stuff" over the
network. Bo looks at "SomeText" and sees the value "Hot Zot" sitting
there. This does not sit well with Bo, who changes it to "Cool Tool".
Next your client Cam fires up FileMaker Pro and opens "Stuff" over
the network. Cam looks at "SomeText" and sees ... what? Wanna guess?
You might think it's "Cool Tool", since Bo had just entered that. But
no, it's still "Hot Zot", which is the value the global field
CONTINUES TO HAVE on Adam. Cam too thinks this is a bad value and
changes it to "Munchy Crunchy".
Bo and Cam do their work and finally quit FileMaker Pro.
The next day they fire it up again and open "Stuff". What value to
they see in "SomeText"? Not "Cool Tool". Not "Munchy Crunchy". It's
back to "Hot Zot", the value that CONTINUES TO EXIST on Adam.
So, if you want them to see anything else, you have to change the
value of "SomeText" on Adam, the host computer. Or you can write a
start-up script for "Stuff.FP7" that enters a customized value in
"SomeText" every time the file is opened, including when it's opened
by a client.
If you want a value of "SomeText" that CAN be changed by any user
(and STAY changed), you will have to do it WITHOUT resorting to a
global field.
In fact, I do this very thing with a field called "Officer List".
It's a listing of the executive director, staff, board of directors,
and advisory board of the organization that owns the database. The
field itself exists in a file called "Universal", in a table called
"U", which has exactly 1 record. It's defined as a straight text
field, not a global. All the other files in the system are connected
to Table "U" by means of a relationship in which the calculated field
"One" (= 1 and indexed) in each table is linked to the equivalent
field in "U". Consequently, every other table in the system has
access to the field "Officer List". And, because it's just a plain-
text field, anyone who's dialed in to any other file in the system
can change the value of "Officer List" at will, and the change will
apply to all other occurrences of the field immediately.
