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Creating a database
F
ILEMAKER PRO HELP 181
when one of the referenced fields changes and the destination field is empty. (However, if
you select Do not evaluate if all referenced fields are empty in the Specify Calculation
dialog box, the value isn't calculated when you create a record and all fields referenced by
the calculation are empty. Instead, the value is calculated when one of the referenced fields
contains a value.)
• Auto-enter calculations can be self-referencing.
• To make an auto-enter calculation self-modifying, leave the Do not replace existing value
for field (if any) option unchecked.
• To auto-enter a calculated value that’s automatically updated and can’t be changed by
entering data in the field, define a calculation field.
• For information about auto-entered data and FileMaker WebDirect, see the
F
ILEMAKER WEBDIRECT GUIDE and the FileMaker Knowledge Base.
• You can set auto-enter and validation options for external fields for ODBC tables. These
field options only affect how you work with these external fields in FileMaker
Pro. The
options are independent of any options that might be set in the ODBC data source.
Related topics
Working with formulas and functions
About choosing a field type
Inserting the current date or other variables into a field
Defining value lists
Entering preset data from a value list
Defining field validation
You can select validation options to ensure that data is entered into a field correctly. When validation
options are selected, FileMaker
Pro displays a message if you enter data incorrectly. For example,
you can set an option to require that users enter a value in a field.
Important To avoid confusion when using dates in FileMaker Pro, set field validation options to
make sure dates are always entered with four-digit years. For more information on how
FileMaker Pro handles dates with two-digit years, see Conversion of dates with two-digit years.
To choose field validation options:
1. With the database open, choose File menu > Manage > Database.
Note To set options for fields in Table View, right-click the column heading for the field, choose
Field
> Field Options from the shortcut menu, then skip to step 8.
2. In the Manage Database dialog box, click the Fields tab.
3. If your database contains more than one table, select the appropriate table from the Table
list.
4. Select an existing field or define a new one.
5. Click Options (or double-click the field name).
6. In the Options for Field dialog box, click the Validation tab.
7. Select validation options for the field.