On 2008 Sep 3, at 9:14, rogeradams wrote:
Hi Forbes and Steve,
Thank you both for your kind responses. This list is a gem. The
help and advice that can obtained is wonderful.
Yes, and it is people like Forbes and Steve and Beverly Voth than
make it so.
I must confess that when I originally tried this several years ago,
I became very frustrated and settled for flat files as I had more
important things to worry about. Now that I have more time, I have
now decided to make a serious attempt to learn FM 7 using this as a
learning template before possibly upgrading to FM 9.
You are in luck, then, as FMP 9 will work directly with files created
by FMP 7. You'll find that they all share the same ".FP7" file
extension. Why, then, you may be wondering, should you upgrade to FMP
9? It's because it provides you with a smoother-working set of tools
and more capabilities. For instance, you can "stack" some things on
top of tabbed index cards on the same swath of screen real estate,
much as your web browser allows you to click on a tab and have an
entirely different web page come up. FMP 7 won't let you do that.
However, it sounds as if that's a bit beyond what you're trying to do
at present, so FMP 7 will probably be just fine for your current work.
Ok. What I am trying to achieve is a database(file?) from which I
can draw the following reports:
1. A basic list with names, addresses, membership type (founder,
invested, joining) and membership basis (showing
resident, non-resident and resigned) and contact information only
2. A founder members list showing the dates they resigned (If
they resigned)
3. All-Time Members List (a historical record showing joining,
investiture and resignation dates using radio buttons
in the membership type field to identify each type)
4. A separate resignation list with dates of resignations
5. Current Members List (showing member ID, first name, last name
(membership basis e.g. joining, invested and
resigned, using radio buttons in the membership basis field
for each type). There should be no resigned
members on this list.
Is the above possible? If I have one file, can you suggest what I
need to do to achieve the above objectives?
Yes, all of this is doable.
What you should do is have one screen (layout) for data entry on
which you show ALL of the attributes you want to associate with any
given person. At a minimum, you will want 2 date fields (and I ALWAYS
use 4-digit dates, because I learned my lesson in Y2K), 1 each for
"Joined" and "Left" (or whatever you want to name them).
Then I'd suggest a calculated field called "Founder" (number result)
that would be based on the formula
If ( Joined < Date ( 9 ; 11 ; 2001 ), 1, "" )
except that you'd substitute the appropriate month, day, and year of
the organization's founding in the formula. Next create a value list
entitled "One", which will contain exactly 1 value, the number "1".
Format the "Founder" field as a check box based on the value list
"One". It will thereafter show a check for anyone whose "Joined" date
is earlier than the one you specify in the "Founder" formula.
Now, this is a more roundabout way of establishing a "Founder" flag
than you would have had to go thru, but I use it because it
illustrates how a number of FMP features and fields work together to
produce the desired results.
But the main thing you wanted to know was how to generate several
different LISTS from the information you're storing. This is exactly
the sort of thing databases are good at. What you must do for each
separate type of list is perform a Find for the KIND of people you
want on that list. If you want to find the founders, do a Find for
anyone with a check in the "Founder" box. If you want to find people
who are current members, do a Find with an "=" sign in the "Left"
field. (That'll pull in people who haven't left yet.) If you want an
all-time members list, do a Find All.
THEN, after you've found the records you want, go to a SEPARATE
screen (layout), whence you'll print them out. At the top of this
screen, in a "Header" part, have a "Title" field of type Text, with
global storage (which means it occurs only once in the whole
database, rather than once per record), into which you can type the
title of the report. This layout will have only the fields that you
want to appear on the printed report, not every conceivable field in
the whole table. And its body part will probably be only 1 or 2 lines
high, rather than huge, like the data-entry screen.
This should be enuf to get you started. As you've observed, this list
is a good place to get advice, but if you feel bashful about coming
back here too often, feel free to contact me directly at
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
I'm retired, and FMP is my hobby, so I love doing this kind of thing.
