Tutorial

18 FileMaker Pro Tutorial
Narrow your search
Sometimes, you might need to find records that match certain
criteria while at the same time excluding others (for example, finding
all of the records that were added in a given year except for those
added in February, or finding all customers who reside in New York
state except for those in New York City). You can perform these
types of finds by using a combination of multiple find requests
and omitting certain records.
Because FileMaker Pro processes multiple find requests in the
order they are created, it is possible to create very specific, layered
searches in this manner. Omitting records in a search does not delete
them from the database.
To find the records of members who paid their fees in the first
six months of 2004, except for those who paid their fees in February:
1. Choose View menu > Find Mode.
2. Type 1/1/2004 in the Date Paid field.
3. In the status area, click the Symbols pop-up menu. Select range
from the list, or type an ellipsis.
4. After the ellipsis, type 6/30/2004.
5. Choose Requests menu > Add New Request. Notice that the status
area shows that this is the second request.
6. Type 2/1/2004 in the Date Paid field.
7. In the status area, click the Symbols pop-up menu and select range
from the list, or type an ellipsis.
8. After the ellipsis, type 2/29/2004 in the Date Paid field.
9. Click Omit in the status area to select it.
10. Click Find.
Your search returns five records for five members who paid
their fees within the first six months of 2004, except the month
of February.
Sort your found set
Once you have a found set of records to work with, you might want
to sort those records. For example, you might want to display the
records in alphabetical order, or sort them from newest to oldest.
To sort records in alphabetical order by the members’ last names:
1. Go to the Layout pop-up menu and choose the List of Members
layout. This layout will make it easier to see the results of the sorting.
2. Choose Records menu > Sort Records.
3. If any fields appear in the Sort Order column on the right side
of the dialog box, click Clear All.
4. In the list of available fields, select Last Name and click Move.
Omit checkbox