Let's say you have a simple list layout with a bunch of merge fields
displayed. For the first merge field displayed, there are multiple
records with the same value. Is there a way to tell Filemaker to only
show the value for the first record with that value, and then not
display the value again until there's a different value?

Yes, by using a subsummary part.

You can't drop those into the middle of a text block like you can with a
merge field. But, they are designed for printing headings over groups of
records that have been created by sorting.

Bill

<jbpollock (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

Actually, I had tried using subsummary parts but they weren't working
the way I thought they would, probably because I'm not using them
correctly. I had added 2 subsummary parts and put the fields I
wanted to sort by in those parts. But when I tried viewing the results,
they weren't what I expected:

1) When viewed as a form, it shows only one single record at a time
(which I expected from form view);

2) When viewed as a list or table, it's not sorted at all and the
subsummary field doesn't show up; and

3) When viewed in Preview Mode, it shows all records underneath my first
subsummary field, but not subsequent records.

What I really want is something that looks like the following, all on
one single page:

Subsummary field 1
Subsummary field 2
record
record
record
subsummary field 2
record
record
Subsummary field 1
subsummary field 2
record
record
subsummary field 2
record
record

If anyone has any suggestions for this, I'd appreciate this. Part of
the problem is that the Filemaker help bits on using subsummaries is
pretty thin.

A subsummary PART (there are no such things as subsummary fields) is a
section of a layout that FileMaker will show between groups of similar
records. They are based on "break" fields.

The groups are created when you SORT records. For example, if you lined up
all the children in a high school by age, then all the 14 year olds would be
together at one end, and all the 18 year olds would be grouped together at
the other end. FileMaker similarly can detect -- when a file is sorted --
the groupings created by that sort and will insert a subsummary part between
them. In this case, it would be a Subsummary by Age.

1) Subsummary parts only work in Preview mode.

2) You must sort by the fields the subsummaries are based upon for them to
appear. If you want you "levels" of subsummary data, then you have to sort
by two fields (in the same sort).

3) If a given level of subsummary doesn't contain any data, it won't appear.

For example, you want a list of addressed sorted by State and City. There
are no addresses in Alaska, so that state does not appear:

Alabama
Aliceville
Address 1
Address 2
Anniston
Address 3
Ardmore
Address 4
Address 5
Address 6
Arizona
Cottonwood
Address 7
California
Arcadia
Address 8
Bel Air
Address 9
Address 10
Address 11
Concord
Address 12
Address 13

This example contains three parts:

- Subsumary by State
- Subsummary by City
- Body Part

Hope this helps clear up the issue a little

Bill


"John Pollock" <jbpollock (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

Sorry for using the term "subsummary field". I just meant it to mean
the field that I intended to summarize by.

Aha. That was something I was missing.

That was the other piece I was missing. I didn't realize I had to
do a sort once to get everything to show up, and now it works properly.
That was a very clear explanation - thanks!

But question: if you can only view subsummaries in Preview mode, how can
you make that work smoothly for a novice viewer? For instance, suppose
I create a button script that takes the user to the layout I want,
auto-sets the mode to Preview Mode, and sorts the records. At that
point, the user will be stuck in Preview Mode from that point on unless
they know to go to the "View" menu and change the mode back to "Browse",
especially since other navigation buttons I've placed on the layout
being previewed won't work in Preview Mode. Is there a better way?

Cheers,
John

In article <TR2if.2786$hL3.1497@trndny05>, jbpollock (AT) gmail (DOT) com says...
At the end of your script ... after its in preview mode, reveal the
status area, add a 'pause script', followed by a goto some other layout
& hide the status area again.


This will cause your app to pause while the preview is up, with the
status area visible you will have a 'continue' button.

(Set Allow User Abort Off for the script to remove the cancel button.)



-Dave

Brilliant; works a treat! I also threw in a custom dialog box telling
the user to look for the "continue" button. Thanks again for the quick
response!

Cheers,
John