User manual

Creating a database 5-5
• For information about working with data in fields, see “About
entering data in records” on page 2-6. For more information about
field types, choose Help menu > Contents and Index, click the Index
tab, and type field types.
Defining text, number, date, time, or container 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 a field type, then click Create.
See “About choosing a field type” on page 5-4.
4. To define options for the field, click Options.
To Do this in the Options for Field dialog box
Automatically Click the Auto-Enter tab, select the options, then click OK.
enter values into See “Defining automatic data entry” on page 5-8.
the field
Make sure data is Click the Validation tab, select the options, then click OK.
entered into the See “Defining field validation” on page 5-9.
field correctly
Make the field Click the Storage tab, then select Repeating field with a
repeating maximum of
n repetitions. Type the number of repetitions,
then click OK. See “About repeating fields” on page 5-11.
Select options for Click the Storage tab, select the options, then click OK. See
indexing the field “About storage and indexing options” on page 5-11.
5. Continue defining fields, or click Done.
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. (See “Defining field validation” on page 5-9.)
For more information on how FileMaker Pro handles Year 2000
issues, see www.filemaker.com.
For more information about defining fields, choose Help menu >
Contents and Index, click the Index tab, and type defining fields.
Defining calculation 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 Calculation, then click Create.
4. In the Specify Calculation dialog box, build a formula.
Click where you want the item to appear in the formula box, then do
the following:
To add a Do this
Reference to a field In the field list, double-click a field name.
To display field names from related fields, choose a
relationship from the relationship list. (See “When to
create relationships between files” on page 8-4.)
Mathematical or In the keypad, click an operator. (Quotation marks and
text operator parentheses are copied to the formula as a pair, with the
insertion point blinking in the middle).
Comparison or For Operators, choose an operator from the list.
logical operator
Constant value Type the value. See “Constants” on page 11-2.
Function In the functions list, double-click a function. In the
formula box, replace the placeholder parameter with a
value or expression.
Tip You can also type the formula directly into the box. For more
information, see chapter 11, “Using formulas and functions.”