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Creating a database
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ILEMAKER PRO HELP 184
• You can use variables instead of global fields for temporary data storage. See Using
variables.
• To enter or change the value in a global field, in Browse mode, select the field and enter the
new value.
• You can't use a global field to find records.
• If your file is shared, only the host's changes to global field data are saved. Changes are
saved only when the file is closed.
• If a file is shared, some calculations that include global fields are evaluated on the host
instead of on the client. The host performs the evaluation in the following situations:
• when a find request is searching an unstored calculation field whose calculation
includes a global field.
• during a find request on a table with access privileges that restrict access to certain
records, and the calculation that determines record access includes a global field.
• the evaluation of any other record access calculation that includes a global field in order
to determine whether to display related data. For example, a record access calculation
to determine the rows to display in a
portal or the values to display in a related value list
will occur on the host if the record access calculation includes a global field.
To accurately evaluate these calculations on the host, FileMaker Pro transfers all the global field
values in the current table from the client to the host. If you know that certain global fields will
never be used in unstored calculations or record access calculations, you can improve
database performance by creating these global fields in a separate table. This will prevent
unneeded global field data from being repeatedly transferred to the host.
Related topics
About match fields for relationships
Defining repeating fields
You can store more than one value in a text, number, date, time, container, calculation, or global
field by making the field a repeating field.
For example, you can create a text field named Color that stores the colors available for each
product you sell. If you make Color a repeating field, you can enter all the colors for each product
into the Color field.
Note Instead of using a repeating field, it is often easier to use a related table and a portal to sort or
insert data, or create a summary report.
To define a repeating field:
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 6.
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 the field you want to repeat, or define a new field.
5. Click Options (or double-click the field name).
6. In the Options for Field dialog box, click the Storage tab.