Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.databases.filemaker > #2964

Re: Can't Use a Portal

Show all headers | View raw

On 2018-01-18 20:14:37 +0000, Charles H. Sampson said:
> Helpful Harry <HelpfulHarry@BusyWorking.com> wrote:
>> On 2018-01-18 02:14:46 +0000, Charles H. Sampson said:
>>> Charles H. Sampson <csampson@inetworld.net> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> I'm working from a Pogue book for FMP8. I've puzzled out a number of
>>>> things about FMP16 but maybe it's time to buy a new version of the book.
>>>> Right? Or is there a better resource online?
>>>> 
>>>> Whatever. Here's today's problem. I've created a portal but I can't seem
>>>> to do anything with it. The Pogue book goes on and on about creating
>>>> records in the related table through the portal. I can't do that but
>>>> that's not what I want to do anyhow. I want to add a reference to a
>>>> related record that already exists. Is this possible? Am I thinking
>>>> incorrectly?
>>> 
>>> It's clear that I am extremely confused. I'll try to describe what I
>>> want to do.
>>> 
>>> I want to have a portal from a table (called A) to a related table
>>> (called B). The portal is in a layout attached to A. By "attached to" I
>>> mean that in the dialog I get  by clicking on Layout Setup, A is
>>> selected in the pull-down labeled "Show records form:". I want to create
>>> records in B by typing into that portal. I can't do that. As I said
>>> elsewhere, when I go into Browse mode the portal appears simply as a
>>> white box.
>>> 
>>> Some detail: I have created a simple database that tries to implement
>>> the above. The tables are related through text fields named Link. I have
>>> discovered that the behavior described above can be worked around when I
>>> put the field Link on the layout attached to A, I create the records in
>>> B using a layout attached to  B, and then enter the link value on the
>>> layout attached to B. That's a workaround, but it's definitely not what
>>> I want to do. It's clumsy and it's ugly to have the link value appear
>>> twice on the layout attached to A.
>>> 
>>> As I said elsewhere, I think I can do this in FMP8. However, it appears
>>> that my old G5 has given up the ghost, so I can't test that theory.
>> 
>> I may have found your problem.
>> 
>> Does that manually created Table B record show up in the Table A
>> record's Portal?
>> 
>> If it does, then you've probably fallen foul of the awful way
>> Relationships are defined in newer versions of FileMaker Pro (and the
>> fact you can't easily name Relationships!).
>> 
>> In the define Relationships window there are actually two options to
>> "allow the creation of records" - one below each table. You need the
>> option under Table B's side (probably the right-hand side).
>> 
>> It was much easier and less confusing in earlier versions of FileMaker
>> Pro. Newer versions have a lot of ridiculously silly nonsense which
>> makes many things more difficult than they need to be or should be.
> 
> That's basically it, Harry. A serious case of RTFM and I apologize to
> you and Erik/Ursus for wasting your time.

Sensible questions are never a waste of time.  :o)

It's the spam and the loonies that are a waste of time. Thankfully few 
of either in this newsgroup.




> When I went back to my Pogue book for FMP8, it explained about clicking 
> these boxes and transferring that explanation to FMP16 wasn't difficult.
> 
> If I ever knew about this, I have forgotten it. I must have known at one
> time because the databases that I imported into FMP8 were so far removed
> that I had to use the technique of creating and importing tab-separated
> files, so I couldn't have used FMP8 to automatically set up the
> relationships correctly during those imports. I must have done it
> myself.

I'm not sure when it changed since I jumped over a lot of versions: 
FileMaker 5 to FileMaker 15 (with a short stop at FileMaker 7, and a 
quick visit to FileMaker 11 just to convert some old databases).

There used to only be one box to tick to enable the creation of related 
records via a Portal, but the silly new versions now have two boxes - 
one for each Table in the Relationship. That must be because you can 
now put the same Relationship / Portal onto any Layout which is 
"attached" to either Table. Basically it seems to have become a two-way 
link (TableA <-> TableB) whereas before it was one-way (Parent -> 
Child).

It also now automatically names the Relationship. You can only create 
your own name if you make a duplicate of an existing Relationship. 
Naming the Relationships sensibly used to make it a lot easier to find 
the correct one.  :o(

Maybe FileMaker Pro is heading down the over-complicated route that 
makes Access so awful to *attempt* to use, or maybe they're even trying 
to replicate Access to make it easier, more enticing to switchers. 
Unfortunately, as is often the case, that's at the expense of easy 
usablity and the established user base.

Helpful Harry  :o)

Back to comp.databases.filemaker | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

Can't Use a Portal csampson@inetworld.net (Charles H. Sampson) - 2018-01-10 18:40 -0800
  Re: Can't Use a Portal Helpful Harry <HelpfulHarry@BusyWorking.com> - 2018-01-11 18:22 +1300
    Re: Can't Use a Portal csampson@inetworld.net (Charles H. Sampson) - 2018-01-13 11:45 -0800
  Re: Can't Use a Portal Erik Appeldoorn <ursus.kirk@gmail.com> - 2018-01-11 09:56 +0100
    Re: Can't Use a Portal Helpful Harry <HelpfulHarry@BusyWorking.com> - 2018-01-12 09:10 +1300
    Re: Can't Use a Portal csampson@inetworld.net (Charles H. Sampson) - 2018-01-13 11:45 -0800
  Re: Can't Use a Portal csampson@inetworld.net (Charles H. Sampson) - 2018-01-13 11:45 -0800
    Re: Can't Use a Portal Helpful Harry <HelpfulHarry@BusyWorking.com> - 2018-01-14 09:16 +1300
  Re: Can't Use a Portal csampson@inetworld.net (Charles H. Sampson) - 2018-01-17 18:14 -0800
    Re: Can't Use a Portal Helpful Harry <HelpfulHarry@BusyWorking.com> - 2018-01-18 16:01 +1300
      Re: Can't Use a Portal csampson@inetworld.net (Charles H. Sampson) - 2018-01-18 12:14 -0800
        Re: Can't Use a Portal Helpful Harry <HelpfulHarry@BusyWorking.com> - 2018-01-19 13:46 +1300
          Re: Can't Use a Portal ursus.kirk@gmail.com - 2018-01-19 09:14 +0100
            Re: Can't Use a Portal Helpful Harry <HelpfulHarry@BusyWorking.com> - 2018-01-20 10:16 +1300
              Re: Can't Use a Portal ursus.kirk@gmail.com - 2018-01-20 17:27 +0100
                Re: Can't Use a Portal Helpful Harry <HelpfulHarry@BusyWorking.com> - 2018-01-21 10:17 +1300

csiph-web