- This set entered on 7-21-14.
7.26.14.2
When entering a calc, case matters because:
Case does not matter, but SPELLING and SPACING do.
- A CALCULATION is really just:
TEXT, arranged in a specific order.
- FileMaker won’t let you give a FIELD the same name as an EXISTING FUNCTION. You can’t have a field named:
LENGTH because there is already a calculation named LENGTH, so you could name it something like SHAPELENGTH.
- Regardless of how complex your calc is, it is made up OF THREE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS:
a. Field References
b. Constants
c. Operators
- Which are the ELEMENTS in the calculation:
Pi*Diameter?
a. Pi is the CONSTANT
b. * is the OPERATOR
c. “Diameter” is the NAME OF THE FIELD.
- FIELD REFERENCES have values that FileMaker replaces in the formula once it goes to work on your formula. First:
All the values are replaced. Then the OPERATORS tell FileMaker what to do with those values, and then FileMaker returns the result.
- What are FIELD REFERENCES?
They refer FileMaker to the data in the field you’re referring to. Since the data in those fields may change on every record, the values that get replaced in each record are different and may yield a different result.
- What are CONSTANTS?
They stay the same each time FileMaker does a calculation
- What are OPERATORS?
They tell FileMaker how to treat the values in the calculation.
