Some layout basics with parts & fields

I haven’t used other databases; but, from what I’ve heard, FileMaker has the easiest Layout tools by far. It takes very little time to take a bunch of data, such as a tabbed-text file (see last month’s column) and turn it into a usable and visually pleasing DB.

Of course, first you have to create the field definitions. In most cases that’s pretty straightforward. The main thing is to be sure that you have the type chosen properly for your data, i.e., Text, Number, Date, etc. The Options can get a bit complicated; I’ll go into that next month. I’m in a Layout Mode, which is where you should be, too.

There are a few ways to create Layouts, and a few tricks to speed things up. Upon creating a new layout, when in Layout Mode, it’s good to choose the right kind; Columnar, Page, Envelope, etc. I usually choose Blank, so I can do whatever I want. Dragging a Field over from the Tool Bar is a way to get started. A dialog box asks what field it should be. You choose any field, in either that DB file, or any related DB file.

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