Just checking to see if I'm missing a calc or something easy.

When exporting data, is there a way to customize the column headers
instead of the default field name?

Currently, I have numerous reports that go out to manufacturers &
distributors with sales data. Of course they all have their own data
requirements, so fields I export must be called what "they" want. i.e.
Lets say I use QTY for quantity. I actually have to change the column
header for this field on 6 different exports: Quantity Dispensed / Qty
Sold / Dispensed Quantity / etc...

I have been using calc fields:
Quantity Dispensed = QTY
Qty Sold = QTY
etc...

But this is getting old and taking up a lot of space in my field
list... ok, so it's an OCD thing, but it is getting rather cluttered.
Is this the only way to avoid having your field name displayed? I know
no one wants to see my pK_Client_ID as a column name.

Thanks all!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Reality is the leading cause of stress...
....amongst those in touch with it.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
WinXP Pro 64Bit / FMP Adv 8.5v1
VoicesInMyHead
a.k.a. The Voices
No, we're not... Yes, we are...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

VoicesInMyHead <voices.imh (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote:

I'd make a record for those field names and use a sort field to make
sure it comes out first.
--
http://clk.ch

Voices,

This is one reason why I absolutely loathe the "pK_" et. al. naming
convention. FileMaker would be better served by letting developers color
code database elements, organize them into folders, tag them with mini
icons, or something like that within the FileMaker interface itself.

Your options are to:

- Create a dummy record with the field names you want; kludge it so it sorts
at the top; do the export; delete the dummy record

- Create a dummy table. Import into the dummy table; export the dummy table;
delete the dummy table.

- Create mirror fields as you are currently doing

- Give frequently-exported fields the name the end user wants

- Pre-pend the appropriate field headers post-export.


"VoicesInMyHead" <voices.imh (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

Maybe have a second database that exists only to hold the records in the
required field names after they exported from the original database. That
would mean, export of QTY1, Qty2, Qty3... switch to the other file and import
those into fields with the appropriate headers then export again with the new
headers then delete all the imported records. The whole thing could be done
with a script so it works mostly invisibly.

Another option would be to export without headers, then run a script or batch
(depending on the OS) to prepend a line of headers onto the file. In a Windows
batch file, it would be something like:
copy headers.txt + fmpout.txt finalout.txt

Kent


VoicesInMyHead wrote: