ISO FileMaker Magazine: FileMaker Video Tutorials, Templates, Help & More

Considering FileMaker, there are a few questions which are frequently asked and rarely need to be. The questions typically sound similar to "Can FileMaker show such and such data?"

The answer is almost always (99.9%) "Yes". In fact, it doesn't really matter if you're using FileMaker or some other database. It all boils down to how you structure the data with regards to extracting what you need to view.

In the current version of FileMaker (8.5 as of this entry) your ability to extract data is based around the way you set up your table occurrences and relationships. Because you can have as many table occurrences as necessary, you can extract data in a variety of ways.

Sometimes, it's hard to abstract when working with technology, especially when it's quite easy in the real world. Here's a simple analogy. When you go to the grocery store, you may be looking for something specific. Let's say a particular apple.

Internally, your mind has decided you want an apple that is light green, medium in size with little to no bruises.

What are your field names?

Color, Size, Quality

Since each apple is clearly unique, you add on an ID field.

ID, Color, Size, Quality

How do you extract the apple you want?

Simply use as many keys as necessary to find what you want.

If you want all small red apples then you need a relationship which uses the key values of color and size.

Want all bruised green apples? Use color and quality.

Extracting data subsets is REALLY that easy. It's all a matter of using the right keys.

Keep this example in mind and you'll find that whether you're using a lookup, a portal or a related field, the art of extracting data is as easy as choosing an apple!