Roger,
If you really want training for FM7, there are some great books which
can be had for really cheap. Go to Amazon and enter "FileMaker 7" to
find a bunch of really useful options. Just click on the "Used & new"
links next to the prices to get them at a fraction of the regular price.
Or, you can join the rest of us and just bite the bullet for FM9. Way
better option.
And you already have the official training for it! ::-)
j.
On Sep 10, 2008, at 9:37 PM, rogeradams wrote:
Hi Everyone,
I am using FM 7 and, following my question (see below) on the
compatibility of the FM9 based training manual with FM 7, I have
invested in the Filemaker Training Series which arrived a couple of
days ago. It now transpires that the training CD modules are NOT
compatible with FM7 and that I now find my only option to use the
training programme is to upgrade to FM9 at an expense of about AUD
200.
Upon querying FM Australia, I was informed that there is no
alternative way to use the training programme.
I find this totally unacceptable.
The reason why I am writing to the List is to make users aware of
this problem and to ask if anyone has a CD of the FM7 training
series which I could purchase from them so that I can continue with
the training programme.
Many thanks for your help.
Kind regards
Roger
.On Sep 3, 2008, at 11:04 PM, Richard S. Russell wrote:
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.
--
Jonathan Fletcher
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Project Foreman
NewMedia Construction Co.
