Help wanted with approach and FMP
Les Crozier
I'm fairly new to database design and I'm sure that this is a silly
question. I have the same problem with both Approach & FMP, I'm sure the
solution will be the same for both!
My database has several tables and I want to use the customer details in one
to search for properties in another.
ie: "Customer requires 2 or 3 bedroom flat in area A or C or F between $150
to $250 available from 22 June"
All this can be done using a manual search, but I want to automate it for
ease of use so that entering customers number and hitting a button or F key
will produce matches.
Any help at all will be greatly appreciated.
Dave Lillico
If I understand, you want to create a join between your table and then use a
repeating panel to show the info.
ie create join on area.
when you enter the client details and area the repeating panel is filled
with accommodation in that area.
Hope this is on the right track.
Les Crozier wrote in message <6dcfgi$d4p$1...@wolfman.xtra.co.nz>...
Les Crozier
Not quite, Dave. A join can only show 30 properties, I need it to produce
several hundred taking 2 lines each.
Also, I need to search on a range of areas, prices, number of bedrooms,
dates etc, all at once. I could of course set up a stored find for each
client but we are getting up to 200 new ones per week and my staff are not
especially computer literate! So it would be best if it could be automated
for them. Is there any way that a macro can take the information from the
customer table and insert it into the find boxes in the property table?
Dave Lillico wrote in message
<888961467.24724.0...@news.demon.co.uk>...
>If I understand, you want to create a join between your table and then use
a
>repeating panel to show the info.
>
>ie create join on area.
>when you enter the client details and area the repeating panel is filled
>with accommodation in that area.
>>My database has several tables and I want to use the customer details in
John Brown
In article <6dkc6o$e5q$1...@wolfman.xtra.co.nz>, les-c...@xtra.co.nz says...
>
>Not quite, Dave. A join can only show 30 properties, I need it to produce
>several hundred taking 2 lines each.
>
>Also, I need to search on a range of areas, prices, number of bedrooms,
>dates etc, all at once. I could of course set up a stored find for each
>client but we are getting up to 200 new ones per week and my staff are not
>especially computer literate! So it would be best if it could be automated
>for them. Is there any way that a macro can take the information from the
>customer table and insert it into the find boxes in the property table?
A join is a relationship between databases and doesn't directly have anything
to do with what you can and cannot put on a view.
It sounds like you need at least three joined database:
Clients requirements
Property attributes
Client / Property links between clients and properties.
- which contains nothing but a ClientID and a PropertyID.
- Each property and client can have as many Client / Property entries
as they require.
Once a particular clients requirements are entered, you can have a macro go
through and compare those requirements to each property in turn and if a
property is suitable an entry is made in the Client / Property link
database. The suitable properties can then either be listed in a repeating
panel or report. Or conversely you could go to a propery and either list or
report or the suitable clients.
Not this is a design issue and therefor learning more about Approach or FMP
will not help you. What you need to do is learn about relation database
theory.
John
Les Crozier
OK, thanks. I think I'm starting to understand what I need to do......
erm.... I think?!
Obviously I need to do some serious reading about relational database
theory. Can you suggest any books (entry level!) that may help me?