New FileMaker User: Help/Advice Needed For A Project

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New FileMaker User: Help/Advice Needed For A Project

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Hello all,

First of all I should say that I am a new user of FileMaker and database systems as a whole. Basically, I have a project that I am taking on for a small business we are setting up. The management of the business needs to be done using computers as none of us are very good at handling paper.  

The business is a small consultancy and I need to design and build a system that can help us manage the following information: 

• Clients (as a list with common filters and then as individual client profiles once they are selected from the list or created)
• Products and services list (with the ability to click an individual product/service and add details such as price etc)
• Projects (as a list and then as individual project ‘profiles’ with the ability to assign tasks and a member of staff from our business to it)
• Calendar (deadlines and staff meetings must feed into a calendar)
• Staff area (facility to leave notices to other staff)
• Resource Centre (ability to share files)

I have been messing around for a couple of days with FileManager Pro Advanced 12 and have got the hang of the basics. I’ve managed to create tables and fields etc with some special functions that I can use later on, I have managed to create certain database relationships too. I have also 'started off' creating the main dashboard and tried creating some of the main layouts.

One thing I am having issues with is the ability to have a layout that shows a list of the records created for a specific table. I want to make it look nice instead of it looking dull. I want it to look like the example provided called ‘Contacts’. I have attached this file and a screenshot. What is this feature even called?

How would I go about setting up the Desktop Contacts page (like in the screenshot)? I have tried replicating this but I cannot set it up to allow you to click on a row and view that individual record. 

The examples provided with FileMaker Pro 12 are similar to what I want, but instead of them being separate files- I want them to be in one FileMaker Pro file- but to access the parts from a dashboard which I have already built.  

Please go easy on me and if you can advise me on how I should go about this I will be over the moon! I can’t wait to get started and will keep scouring the example files to see how it was built.

Cheers,

Ravi