[Macpilot]

Hello folks.

I got a new job, and I am trying to build a nice database of our customers that I can also link to another file for the purposes of invoicing/billing the same customer.

So the idea is to be able to start typing a customer ID number, or customer last name, and all their info pops up into the invoice, instead of having to manually enter all of it by looking at the original database. And it should be able to track entries, so I can pull up a name and see how many invoices I billed, etc.

So what I did was import and Excel file into FM Pro 7 and I was able to figure out how to match the fields, and make custom layouts.

My problem is I can't grasp this whole "relationship" thing, I think the documentation that came with this $300 application sucks. It is definitely not user friendly and is aimed towards the person with a bunch of database experience already. I have no idea what a "portal" or "table" is. I understand what a field is. I know, pathetic.

The Apple Store "Geniuses" could not help me. They had no clue. The "free" video training of course only contains the first three chapters, which don't get into relationships or anything beyond creating a file.

So how do I go about doing this? Are relationships what I am looking for to solve this problem?

Does anybody know how to do this?

Thanks!

[larkost]

Have you done through the "FMP 7 Tutorial" pdf that comes with FileMaker 7? It covers everything you are asking about in much better detail than I could possibly do so in this forum. And chapter 10 is about relationships. It is not comprehensive, and when you start to do more creative things you are on your own, but I don't think you are anywhere near that level. The tutorial does a walk-though and even has sample databases associated with it.

I have the download version here, and it is included in a "English Extras" folder.


As a hint, you will need to separate your imported data into multiple tables.