Hi Steve,
Many thanks for your very prompt response. I have been playing (not
very seriously) around with FM for several years and could only create
flat files. I have now decided to try to learn much more about
relationships and this is my first attempt. As you can see, I am on a
steep learning curve.
The answers to your questions:
1. The file (database) contains the tables listed
Data entry
All-Time List of Members
Founder Members
Resignation List
Current Membership List
2. Are you suggesting that I can have one table and draw the
information for each report from that? I think that I need a deeper
tutorial on this.
3. I tried creating the relationship but only succeeded in creating
one from the data entry to the same table, which is how I discovered
that this was very wrong. I did this because only the data entry
table appeared on both sides of the relationship tab - no other table
appeared in the dropdown menu.
4. My sincere thanks for the heads up on the tutorial website. I
will investigate further, meantime any suggestions you may have ideas,
they would be most welcome.
With kind regards
Roger
On Sep 3, 2008, at 3:03 PM, Steve Cassidy wrote:
On 3 Sep 2008, at 07:07, rogeradams wrote:
I have created the a file containing the following databases:
Roger
You are gonna have to get your terminology straight. It's very
difficult to follow what you are doing here. In FMP 7 terminology (I
note you are using Filemaker Pro 7), there a database is known as a
File. Files contain Tables. Do you mean that you have created one
file (database) containing these five tables?
Data entry
All-Time List of Members
Founder Members
Resignation List
Current Membership List
Well, if that's what you have done, then I think you might be
advised to reconsider your aims before trying to set up
relationships. To my way of looking at things (which some might
consider pretty slanted) you only need one table for this lot --
Members. The other stuff (founder, resigned, current) consists of
various attributes of these members and can be handled by flagging
in fields or similar.
I am trying to make these relational but when I try to create the
relationship I can only see the data entry file in the popup list
in the relationship tab. I created a relationship between two
data entry files but this only caused deletions to occur in the all-
time members database when I deleted resignations from the current
members file. It seems pretty obvious that this is the wrong way
to do things.
Yes, if it doesn't work as you want it to, then it's the wrong way
to do things. But since I can't follow what way you are doing
things, I can't really help. I expect others will have the same
problem.
You 'created a relationship between two data entry files'? Did you
in fact create a relationship between two occurrences of the data
entry table on the relationship graph? If so, then... well, you may
have set up a self-relationship. It sounds as if you are
inadvertently running before you can walk.
How can I get the other databases to appear in the popup field in
the relationship tab?
Other databases? Or other tables? A TABLE in the current database
will automatically appear in the table popup in the relationship tab
(the relationship graph) on creation; there's no adding to do. (An
occurrence of the table will also automatically appear on the
relationship graph...) If you want to add a table to the graph from
a separate file (database) you need to choose Add A File Reference.
Any help much appreciated.
Have you considered looking at some tutorials? You are using an old-
ish version, but the FMP 9 tutorials should run mostly fine with FMP
7:
http://www.filemaker.com/support/product/documentation.html?csr=STAB_Docs
Steve
