FileMaker Pro is famous for its ease of use. However, if you plan to use this program to create a useful database solution, it is important that you resist the temptation to dive straight in and spend a bit of time planning your database. This is the only way that you can be sure that the database management system (DBMS) you end up with will be suitable for your purposes.
One of the first stages in the process of database design is the creation of tables and the categories or columns they contain. Basically, your database needs to store information and allow retrieval of this information in a useful fashion. At an early stage in the design process, you therefore need to identify every single piece of information that is important for you. This information will fall into different groups or categories. When you come to build the database, each of these categories will become a table.
Tables consist of rows and columns, just like an Excel worksheet. Columns are often referred to as fields; rows are often referred to as records. In a very simple database, only one table may be required; but this is very rare; most databases require several tables, each containing information relating to one aspect of the overall system. It is important to ensure that you do not bundle information relating to different aspects of the project into the same table when designing your DBMS since this will lead to duplication and loss of data integrity.
Version 1 and 2 of FileMaker saved all information in one table. It was only with the release of version 3 in 1995 that FileMaker offered the use of multiple tables. In its current release, version 10, FileMaker automatically creates a single table for you whenever you create a new database. The table has the same name as the database itself and contains no fields. Your first step will probably be to rename this table and define the fields you wish it to contain. To rename a table, select the Tables tab in the Define Database dialogue, click on the current name, enter a new one and then click the Change button.
To create fields, go to the Fields tab in the Define database dialogue, enter the name of each of the fields that you want the table to contain, specify the data type of the field (Text, Number, Date, etc.) then click the Create button. Always ensure that you include a primary key field in each table you create. This will be used to define relationships between the various tables in your database solution. To create a primary field, just enter a name, set the field type to number then click Create. Next, click the Options button and in the Auto-Enter tab, switch on the option "Serial Number". Finally, in the Validate tab, switch on the options "Not Empty" and "Unique Value".
No comments:
Post a Comment