Title
multiple databases and layouts
Post
I am new to FileMaker Pro. I recently converted and ooooold access database to FM. Because of the way the information was related in the old database, I now have multiple databases. I have two questions...
When I am in one database, and create "layouts" based on the information in another database. Is said information from the other database now stored in this one? I'd like to only have one database.
When trying to merge (import) in data from another database in order to simplify. I run into a problem. The information I am trying to import, has multiple pieces of information based on one file component. So my main indentifier is UNITID. In the database I am trying to import, I could have up to 30 pieces of information based on an individual UNITID, and it will only import one of them. I am unsure of how to accomplish what I need.
THANKS!!!!!!
I think that you mean that you have many files to your one database. A "database", in FileMaker context, is a group of one or more files each of which can contain one or more tables--all linked in relationships.
I see no reason that your new database should consist of more than a single file with multiple tables defined inside that one file. You can import multiple times from your source files by opening a FileMaker File, Selecting Import Records | File from the File menu and specifying "New table" as the source table and your import will import the data into a new table defined to store the imported data. You can then go to Manage | Database and further modify the design of this table as well as link it to other tables in relationships.
Sorry, but your description of what you have is a bit vague and thus I am not 100% sure that I know what it is that you are trying to accomplish. Best guess, is that UNITID is a field in your Access tables that uniquely identifies a specific entity in your database. In one table, it is probably set up in Access as its primary key and this field then matches to foreign key fields in other related tables in the Access database.
What is not clear is if you have multiple files of data that belong all in one table or multiple files that represent a set of tables--one would be the parent table with this field as primary key and the others related "child" tables with UNITID as the foreign key (Match Field) for which you will need to establish a relationship link in Manage | Database after you have imported the data.
Either import operation is quite easy to do once you know how. To import more records into an existing table, Open your FileMaker file, go to a layout based on that table and select Import Records. (The layout you select, selects the table that will receive the imported data). To import records into a new separate table, use the same Import Records menu option, but it does not matter what layout you select and you pull down the target table drop down and select the "new table" option so that the import creates a new table for your data.