Re: Import Layouts across Tables in 8?
- From: Bill <bbcollins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 00:13:17 GMT
In article <1147818372.692404.313010@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"tubster" <tonyone@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Moved from 5 to 8 but with some files created in 2!
New to the FMP 8 database design of incorporating multiple tables into
one file. I have consolidated 5 files:
Master (main file)
Invoice
Receipt
Housing
Agents
Invoice and Receipts are just data repositories and their contents is
viewed within portals in Master. However, Agents and Housing were
formerly used as both standalone and linking files i.e feeding data to
Master.
2 questions
1) Is there a way that I can get some or all of the former layouts of
these 2 files (Housing and Agents) and bring them into Master without
recreating them?
2) Are these 'consolidated files' accessible independent from Master?
If so, how/where are they stored?
Maybe I have my concepts mixed up and it is better to keep Housing and
Agents separately?
Any advice much appreciated
First, how did you actually make the conversion from 5 to 8?
The recommended method is to batch convert the whole solution in one
operation, by dragging all the .fp5 files to the FMP8 icon, so that they
all open and convert together. They will still be separate files, but
will have the same relationships among them that existed in the .fp5
solution, and the same layouts, scripts, value lists, etc. Some cleanup
may be needed.
You now should have a functional solution in FMP8, that has the same
multiple-file structure and functionality of the .fp5 solution. I will
call this collection of converted files {convert.fp7}
Then, to consolidate the data tables into a single file, you have to
recreate the separate files as tables in your FMP8 master file. You may
be able to import the table schema from the separate files of
{convert.fp7} to do this, and you can then import the data. I know you
can import the table schema in FM8 Advanced, but I'm not sure you can in
FMP8. Then import the data from the {convert.fp7} files.
After you have the tables consolidated into one table, go to the
relationship graph and get the relationships set up. You can do most of
this by simply re-pointing the table occurrences of the separate tables
of {convert.fp7} to the new local tables in Master.fp7 that you just
created. However, you can also take advantage of the very significant
relationship improvements in FMP8 to make the solution more elegant,
simpler, etc.
After you have all the tables, table occurrences and relationships set
up the way you want, you can copy and paste layouts from the separate
files of {convert.fp7} to the consolidated Master file. You have to
first make a Blank layout based on the Table Occurrence of interest,
then paste the corresponding layout to that blank layout. You will
probably have to clean up some of the layout objects some, such as field
identification, etc.
You cannot copy and paste layouts directly from an FMP5 solution to
FMP8; you have to first convert as described above, then copy and paste
the layouts from the converted files to the appropriate blank layouts of
the consolidated Master.fp7 file.
Be aware: With multiple tables and Table Occurrences in one file, a
layout has what might be called a parent Table Occurrence. It is
essential that you use Layout Setup to establish the identity of the
parent Table Occurrence for any new layout, including the blank layouts
into which you will paste the converted layouts from the other files of
{convert.fp7}.
You can import scripts from {Convert.fp7} to the consolidated
Master.fp7. You may be able to import value lists also.
Imported scripts must be modified to take into account the multi-table
structure of the file. The way a script step operates depends on the
context of the Table Occurrence at the time the step operates. This
context is specified by the Layout in effect at the time. So the scripts
must contain the Go To Layout step at the start, and any time you want
to change the context Table Occurrence.
After you have gotten the consolidated Master.fp7 file the way you want,
and are confident it is working, you can trash the file references to
the other files of {convert.fp7} that were automatically set up when you
did the batch conversion from the .fp5 solution. Make sure you have all
the data properly imported from the {convert.fp7} files into the
appropriate tables of the consolidated Master.fp7 file, and then you can
trash the other files of {convert.fp7}
There are white papers on the FileMaker web site that talk in more
detail about file conversion & migration, going from a solution in an
earlier version of FileMaker to FMP7 & 8.
It is really important for you to have a good understanding of how to
design a solution in FMP 8 before you attempt the conversion & migration
of an older solution. The capabilities of FMP 8 are so much greater --
and different -- than FMP 5/6 and earlier, that it is practically a
brand new piece of software. Learn about it and take advantage of it!
Bill Collins
.
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