This set entered on 5-23-14.
- 20.14.2
- p 371. UNDERSTANDING TABLE OCCURRENCE GROUPS. Since DATA TUNNELING involves relating existing TABLE OCCURRENCES in MULTIPLE NEW WAYS, you can easily create a TANGLED MASS OF ARROWS. How do you solve this?
Because you can create as many TABLE OCCURRENCES as you want, you solve this problem by creating an ENTIRELY NEW GROUP OF OCCURRENCES.
- What is the name given to an ENTIRELY NEW GROUP OF OCCURRENCES?
TABLE OCCURRENCE GROUP, or TOG
- What are the benefits of creating a new TABLE OCCURRENCE GROUP?
You can assemble and connect the new TABLE OCCURRENCES for the TOG somewhere else in the GRAPH, without COMPLICATING THE EXISTING GROUP.
- How much does the database grow every time you add a new TOG?
TABLE OCCURRENCES ARE NOT TABLES. You can create as many TOGs as you want without making your database any bigger. The GROUPS ARE FOR CONVENIENCE ONLY, each showing you a “SNAPSHOT” of your database FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE.
- TO FIGURE OUT which TABLE OCCURRENCE you need to use to make the new layout (Figure 8-17) work, think about what you need it to do: you’re looking at an EXPENSES RECORD on the EXPENSES LAYOUT and you want to:
attach it to a a Line Item.
- You need to get to the new ASSIGN LINE ITEMS layout (p 371), via a button, perhaps. After you choose the LINE ITEM, FileMaker puts:
a VALUE in the LINE ITEM ID field, right there on the ORIGINAL EXPENSE RECORD.
- Every step of the way, the INTERFACE takes place from the viewpoint (context) of:
an EXPENSE RECORD.
- Since the new layout is ALL about modifying an EXPENSE record, you need to:
ATTACH it to an OCCURRENCE of the EXPENSES table.
- The other tables you need are:
JOBS
INVOICES
LINE ITEMS
- Since those tables already have RELATIONSHIPS to all the other tables in your database, but in order to keep a manageable, organized RELATIONSHIP GRAPH, you need to:
use a TOG, with NEW Table Occurrences for JOBS, INVOICES, LINE ITEMS, and EXPENSES.
- The new GRAPH with the new TOG lets you work with:
TWO DISTINCT SETS OF RELATIONSHIPS SEPARATELY.
- Since the two TOGs SHARE NO RELATIONSHIPS, FileMaker can:
put the relevant Table Occurrences in the ASSIGN EXPENSES TOG, and SEPARATE everything else in the UNRELATED tables group
- There is a DOWNSIDE to this approach of multiple TOGs
Since each LAYOUT is attached to a SINGLE TABLE OCCURRENCE, if you CREATE A NEW GROUP, you NEED a NEW LAYOUT to use it. Small price to pay for the simplicity granted to the database’s users.
