Hi

I am currently creating a database that contains many addresses. To allow
these addresses to be entered as quickly as possible I have been attempting
to emulate a feature I wrote for another database system many years ago.

In the FileMaker database I have set up I have 2 tables, one called
Contacts, which contains peoples names and addresses, with a separate field
for each address line, and the other called Defaults, this table contains
just one record, which among other things contains fields to hold short cuts
to various lines of address used when entering data in the Contacts table.

So in the single record in the Defaults table there are fields such as:
def_a='Exeter'; def_b='Brighton'; def_c='Colchester' etc etc using every
letter of the alphabet and the digits too. When you come to enter data in
the Contacts file, entry of the letter 'a' in the first line of the address
automatically should cause 'Exeter' to appear when you move from the field.
I have set up the database so that every contact record has the single
default record has a related record, so has access to it at all times.

Unfortunately some obstacles have prevented me from getting this to work
correctly, the main problem being that obviously I don't always need to use
the short cut method for address entry, and its difficult to get the two
methods of entry working together. I don't really want to use pop up lists
as this just increases the time required to enter data.

I hope my explanation above is clear. I am fairly new to FileMaker so
perhaps my way of going about this is entirely wrong.

--
Jeff Wright

Jeff,

You don't state version so I assume the latest.

On layout goto your field, double click it and select the check-box that
starts with auto-enter. It's not quite what you need, but with the correct
set-up it will do.

I don't think what you currently want can be done.

I disagree with your view on pop-up lists. First of all it is either a
pup-up menu or a drop-down list.
These work pretty nicely, unless they are really huge. But you just can TAB
into your pop-up field and start typing. You can place the same the same
field just next to it, WITHOUT the pop-up / drop-down. With the first TAB
you will enter the connected field, that has the default values. When you
do't want a default just TAB again and you can enter whatever you like. You
can even place them on top of each other, or make the first really small.
This will then expand when you enter the field. Not quite the same, but this
also just might do.

Ursus

"Jeff Wright" <jeff (AT) jeffwright (DOT) demon.co.uk> schreef in bericht
news:el39p0$62l$1$830fa7b3 (AT) news (DOT) demon.co.uk...

Sounds like you can use auto-enter calcs in FM7/8. Format the field in
field definitions as an auto-enter calc with the option to replace
existing content. The calc might be something like:

case(
ThisField = "a"; "Exeter";
ThisField = "b"; "Brighton";
ThisField = "c"; "Colchester";
ThisField)

With this, exiting the field (ThisField) will either result in one of
the shortcut names or, if there is more than a matching single-character
entry, it will just keep whatever was entered.

Of course, you'll need to incorporate your own ingenuity to make this
calc work with your relationship, but this hopefully gives you a
starting point.



Jeff Wright wrote:
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Howard Schlossberg (818) 883-2846
FM Professional Solutions, Inc. Los Angeles

FileMaker 8 Certified Developer
Associate Member, FileMaker Solutions Alliance

A further refinement would be to keep your second table relate it to
the first by LookupLetter = ThisField and instead of the literal text,
simply have:

If(Length(ThisField) = 1; LookupTable::City; ThisField)

It's a lot less typing and you can change the codes easily.

G

Howard Schlossberg wrote:

Excellent, just what I wanted.

Many thanks to all!

--
Jeff Wright

"Grip" <grip (AT) cybermesa (DOT) com> wrote