User manual

5-8 FileMaker Pro User’s Guide
Defining global fields
A global field contains one value that’s used for all records in a file.
(You can’t use a global field for finding data.) Use the value of a
global field:
1 as a fixed value to be used in calculations in all records in a file
1 to declare variables in If, Else, End If, Loop, End Loop, and Exit
Loop If script steps
1 for fields that rarely need to be updated. For example, use a global
field to put your company logo and address on several layouts. You
can quickly update a global field without having to update each layout.
To define global fields:
1. Choose File menu > Define Fields.
2. In the Define Fields dialog box, for Field Name, type a unique name
for the field.
See “About naming fields” on page 5-3.
3. For Type, select Global, then click Create.
4. In the Options for Global Field dialog box, select options.
5. Click OK.
6. Continue defining fields, or click Done.
If you’re working with global fields in a shared file, see “Working
with shared files” on page 13-2. For more information about global
fields, choose Help menu > Contents and Index, click the Index tab, and
type global fields.
Setting options for fields
You can set options for:
1 entering default data into a text, number, date, time, or container
field
1 checking data against validation requirements
1 making a repeating field
1 creating an index
1 indexing and storing data
Some field options help ensure the accuracy of your data. For
example, if you type Frnc instead of France into the Country field,
you won’t find that record when you later search for all customers
from France. To be sure that all country names are entered correctly,
you can define a value list containing the names, then select the
Member of value list validation option for the Country field. When you
enter data into the field, the data must match a value in the list. See
“Defining a list of values for data entry” on page 7-3.
To set options for summary fields, see “Defining summary fields” on
page 5-6.
Defining automatic data entry
To automatically enter a default value into a field for each record:
1. Choose File menu > Define Fields.
2. In the Define Fields dialog box, double-click a field name.
To Do this
Choose a data type for
the field
For Data type, choose a type from the list. See “About
choosing a field type” on page 5-4.
Make the field
repeating
Click the Storage tab, then select Repeating field with a
maximum of n repetitions. Type the number of
repetitions, then click OK. See “About repeating fields”
on page 5-11.
Choose a data
type for the field
Select to make the field repeating