11 Replies Latest reply on Apr 30, 2012 4:28 PM by philmodjunk

    Lookup broken after conversion to 12 from 10

    RHoff
    RHoff Apr 26, 2012 3:03 PM

      Title

      Lookup broken after conversion to 12 from 10

      Post

      I typically type in a quantity, then tab into the look-up field which is a drop down. I then start typing in the item name (must type quickly tho) and the item(s) will appear in the list... well thats the way it worked in v10... in v12 I just get warning beeps whenever I hit a keystroke while in that field, and the drop down list does not advance to the nearest corresponding item.

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        • 1. Re: Lookup broken after conversion to 12 from 10
          philmodjunk
          philmodjunk Apr 26, 2012 3:14 PM (in response to RHoff)

          How is your value list defined? What options are specifed in Manage | value lists and on the data tab of the inspector?

          What operating system? Have you change OS platforms?

          • 2. Re: Lookup broken after conversion to 12 from 10
            RHoff
            RHoff Apr 26, 2012 4:00 PM (in response to RHoff)

            Thanks for you response

            I have FM12 running on a Mac Pro OS 10.6.8... same as it was before conversion

            It looks up (lets call them) "Parts" from a related table

            Just some background - I had a fellow put this solution together for me some time ago but can't seem to contact him anymore  I'm not a developer, but I do like to work my way around the system

            • 3. Re: Lookup broken after conversion to 12 from 10
              philmodjunk
              philmodjunk Apr 26, 2012 4:19 PM (in response to RHoff)

              The behavior you are seeing happened first in FileMaker 11.

              For More Information see:     FMPA 11 Drop-Down List Bug 1

              This is one of many acknowledged bugs that can be found in the Known Bug List thread here in the Report an Issue section of the forum.

              It can also be downloaded as a database file from:    http://www.4shared.com/file/8orL8apk/FMP_Bugs.html

              • 4. Re: Lookup broken after conversion to 12 from 10
                RHoff
                RHoff Apr 26, 2012 6:48 PM (in response to RHoff)

                Thank you sir for your time...I"ll browse thru those links, and hopefully the answer will be there

                • 5. Re: Lookup broken after conversion to 12 from 10
                  philmodjunk
                  philmodjunk Apr 27, 2012 10:29 AM (in response to RHoff)

                  Unfortunately there is no "answer" really. This is something that used to work on Macs and now doesn't.

                  I've never been a big fan of the "type really fast to scroll the values by 2 or 3 letters" method anyway. I prefer more sophisticated approaches that update with each keystroke as the user enters more and more data. This can be done in Filemaker with a bit of scripting and design work.

                  http://www.4shared.com/file/plr_jbkk/EnhancedValueSelection.html

                  • 6. Re: Lookup broken after conversion to 12 from 10
                    RHoff
                    RHoff Apr 27, 2012 4:30 PM (in response to RHoff)

                    Thanks again

                    My lookup list has over 80,000 items in it, and it gets updated about once a month. The updates are converted from a Windows coma separated (converted to tab separated in text edit) file which are downloaded usually on a monthly (automatic) schedule.

                    Each record has a control ID no. as well as 12 other fields, I've added a field that I use as a "short name" (that I memorize) to type into the drop down.

                    On any given update from Windows, any one or number of records can either be modified, deleted, or added... so you see its quite complex (at least to me)

                    Cheers

                    • 7. Re: Lookup broken after conversion to 12 from 10
                      philmodjunk
                      philmodjunk Apr 27, 2012 4:52 PM (in response to RHoff)

                      The updates are converted from a Windows coma separated (converted to tab separated in text edit)

                      Hmmm, that seems like an unecessary step here to me. CSV files can be directly imported into FileMaker. They shouldn't need to be edited into a tab separated file in order to be imported into FileMaker.

                      I definitely would not try to use a simple ID number based value list of 80,000+ items--that'd drive a user crazy. I'd analyze the data in order to use conditional value lists where you select a category first then pick from a value list that only displays items from the specified category, and/or I'd use one of the enhanced valuelist selections that are in the demo file that I shared. That demo file shows off 3 different ways--an auto-complete enabled drop down and two filtered "search" portals that automatically filter down to fewer and fewer possible matches as I type more and more info into the feld.

                      • 8. Re: Lookup broken after conversion to 12 from 10
                        RHoff
                        RHoff Apr 28, 2012 7:43 AM (in response to RHoff)

                        The Windows program creates a .DAT file that I bring into "text edit" on my Mac, then do a "find" for comma's. and then a "replace with" tab.

                        Getting back to my lookup stuff: The sequence I use is as follows. I enter a quantity, then I can either single tab, or double tab to start typing my lookup. The single tab puts me into the lookup field that doesn't work anymore, it has 2 field names, the first one is - ::LU_Type, the second one (under the first one) is - ::_kf_partsID. Now if I tab twice after the quantity entry, a new window opens that allows me to enter my unique ID (which is called "short name") ... Here's part of what I see in edit mode

                        Edit - When using the pop-up window method, everything works fine... I just cant use the "description" field for lookup, I'm forced to use "short name"

                        • 9. Re: Lookup broken after conversion to 12 from 10
                          philmodjunk
                          philmodjunk Apr 30, 2012 10:30 AM (in response to RHoff)

                          To repeat, FileMaker can import data dircectly from a CSV file. You can edit the file extension to change it to .txt or .csv before importing--a much simpler change than what you are currently doing.

                          With regards to the drop down list, I've already suggested alternatives and provided you with a download link to a demo file so there's nothing more there that I can add.

                          • 10. Re: Lookup broken after conversion to 12 from 10
                            RHoff
                            RHoff Apr 30, 2012 4:19 PM (in response to RHoff)

                            Thanks once again for your time, it is very much appreciated

                            In your opinion, what is the best 3rd party manual to help one better understand (learn) FM Pro

                            • 11. Re: Lookup broken after conversion to 12 from 10
                              philmodjunk
                              philmodjunk Apr 30, 2012 4:28 PM (in response to RHoff)

                              I don't have an opinion on that as it depends far too much on the person acquiring the book--what skills and experience they bring to the book they choose to learn from.

                              You may want to go to a web site such as Amazon where you can read reader reviews on each product and choose for yourself.