Acknowledgments The Fundamentals p. 1 What Is a Database? p. 3 Paper Databases versus Computer Databases p. 5 Limitations of paper databases p.

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Preface p. ix

Acknowledgments p. xv

The Fundamentals p. 1

What Is a Database? p. 3

Paper Databases versus Computer Databases p. 5

Limitations of paper databases p. 5

Advantages of computer databases p. 6

When should you use a database program? p. 7

Flat-file and Relational Databases p. 8

Introducing FileMaker Pro p. 9

FileMaker concepts p. 10

Getting "The Big Picture" p. 16

Business uses for FileMaker Pro p. 16

Home uses for FileMaker Pro p. 17

Summary p. 18

FileMaker Pro Basic Operations p. 19

Starting Up p. 19

Quitting p. 24

File-Handling Procedures p. 24

Opening, creating, and closing databases p. 25

Saving files p. 29

Making a backup copy of a file p. 32

Automatic backups p. 34

Issuing Commands p. 37

Using Tools and Palettes p. 40

Using Toolbars p. 44

Getting Help p. 45

Help for Windows users p. 45

Help for Macintosh users p. 47

Summary p. 49

What's New in FileMaker Pro 6? p. 51

The FileMaker Pro 6 Product Family p. 51

Changes Introduced in FileMaker Pro 6 p. 52

Global changes p. 52

Browsing features p. 54

Find features p. 54

Layout/design features p. 55

ScriptMaker features p. 55

Importing and exporting features p. 56

Changes Introduced in FileMaker Pro 5.5 p. 57

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Browsing and data-entry improvements p. 57

Networking enhancements p. 57

Connectivity and importing/exporting p. 58

Design/layout enhancements p. 58

ScriptMaker enhancements p. 59

Web Companion changes p. 59

Database Design Basics p. 61

Creating Your First Database p. 63

Create a New Database p. 65

Define Fields p. 66

Set Field Options p. 71

Design the Work Layout p. 73

Creating a new layout p. 73

Setting field attributes p. 77

Placing the fields p. 79

Adding the finishing touches p. 88

Design the Home Layout p. 94

Editing the Home Layout p. 95

Create the Data Entry Buttons and Scripts p. 105

The script definition process p. 106

The Work and Home layout scripts p. 107

Design a Report Layout p. 113

Resizing the fields p. 117

Formatting the header p. 118

Formatting the footer p. 119

Modifying the Business Phone Directory script p. 119

Generating a report p. 120

Set Startup Actions p. 121

Tips for Using the Database p. 122

Summary p. 123

Defining Fields p. 125

Setting Field Definitions p. 125

All about field types p. 128

Setting Field Options p. 146

Auto-Enter options p. 148

Data validation options p. 156

Repeating fields p. 160

Indexing and storage options p. 167

Modifying Field Definitions, names, and Options p. 169

Changing field names p. 170

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Setting options for existing fields p. 173

Changing a field's type p. 173

Changing or deleting options for a field p. 175

Summary p. 175

Layouts p. 177

Layout Basics p. 177

Creating New Layouts p. 180

Standard form layouts p. 182

Columnar list/report layouts p. 184

Table View layouts p. 192

Label layouts p. 194

Envelope layouts p. 199

Blank layouts p. 200

Designing Your Own Layouts p. 201

Understanding layout parts p. 201

Adding a layout part p. 204

Modifying layout parts p. 206

Adding items to a layout part p. 210

Formatting fields and other objects p. 222

Using the measurement and alignment tools p. 222

Moving and resizing fields and objects p. 225

Setting field formatting p. 225

Adding and modifying text p. 234

Duplicating formats p. 235

Applying the finishing touches p. 236

Duplicating, Renaming, Reordering, and Deleting Layouts p. 239

Duplicating a layout p. 239 Reordering layouts p. 240 Renaming a layout p. 241 Deleting a layout p. 241 Summary p. 242 Setting Preferences p. 243

Setting Application Preferences p. 243

Setting General preferences p. 246

Setting Layout preferences p. 247

Setting Memory preferences p. 248

Setting Modem and Dialing preferences p. 249

Setting Plug-Ins preferences p. 251

Setting Document-specific Preferences p. 254

General document preferences p. 254

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Summary p. 258

Working with Databases p. 259

Working with Records p. 261

Browse Mode Basics p. 261

Switching to Browse mode p. 261

Using Browse mode controls p. 262

Working in different views p. 270

Data Entry and Editing p. 273

Creating new records p. 273

Entering data p. 274

Editing records p. 294

Deleting records p. 296

Using the spelling checker p. 297

Summary p. 297

Searching for and Selecting Records p. 299

Find Mode Basics p. 299

Switching to Find mode p. 300

Using Find mode tools and functions p. 300

Finding Records p. 301

Matching all criteria: AND searches p. 303

Using symbols in search criteria p. 303

Matching one criterion or another: OR searches p. 304

Matching different kinds of text p. 306

More about Find Requests p. 308

Creating additional Find requests p. 308

Repeating and editing Find requests p. 308

Deleting Find requests p. 309

Matching Special Items p. 310

Matching values in a range p. 310

Matching the current date p. 310

Searching for empty fields p. 311

Searching for values greater or less than a given value p. 312

Searching for duplicate records p. 312

Searching for invalid information p. 313

Finding records that don't match the criteria p. 313

Working with Found Records p. 314

Omitting records from a found set p. 314

Swapping found sets with omitted records p. 316

Extending and constraining the found set p. 317

Copying found sets p. 317

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Replacing values in a found set p. 319

Working with all records again p. 324

Summary p. 324

Sorting Records p. 327

About Sorting p. 327

Creating a Sort Order p. 331

Sorting on one field p. 334

Sorting on multiple fields p. 336

Modifying Sort Specifications p. 337

Sorting Data in Portals p. 337

Additional Sort Options p. 340

Sorting via contextual menu p. 340

Using a value list to set a sort order p. 340

Setting an international sort order p. 342

Sorting by Summary fields p. 342

Unsort: Restoring the original record order p. 346

Summary p. 346

Using the Spelling Checker p. 347

Setting Spell-Checking Options p. 347

Checking Your Spelling p. 349

Spell checking on request p. 349

On-the-fly spell checking p. 352

Installing a Dictionary p. 353

Working with User Dictionaries p. 355

Creating a user dictionary p. 355

Adding words to a user dictionary p. 356

Merging user dictionaries p. 360

Spelling Tips and Tricks p. 362

Creating a spelling list from an existing database p. 362

Restricting spelling checks to a subset of fields p. 365

Summary p. 366

Reports p. 367

Report Design Essentials p. 367

Designing a report layout p. 368

Selecting records to include in the report p. 369

Sorting the found set p. 369

Printing or previewing the report p. 370

Modifying and Reusing Layouts p. 372

Working with layout parts p. 372

Duplicating a report layout p. 374

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Summary p. 376

Printing p. 377

The Steps in Printing p. 377

Decide What to Print p. 378

Specify a printer and print settings p. 383

Print p. 394

Troubleshooting p. 400

Effective Printing Tips p. 402

Laser printers p. 402

Ink-jet printers p. 403

Dot-matrix printers p. 403

Summary p. 404

Putting FileMaker Pro to Work p. 405

Calculations and Computations p. 407

About Calculation Fields p. 407

Arithmetic operators p. 409

Logical operators p. 409

Text operators p. 411

Creating an expression p. 411

Creating a Calculation Field p. 412

Using FileMaker Pro's Built-In Functions p. 415

Validation by Calculation p. 421

Calculation Logic p. 422

Summary p. 423

Automating FileMaker Pro p. 425

Using ScriptMaker p. 426

Listing scripts in the Scripts menu p. 429

Running a script p. 430

Modifying a script p. 431

Printing scripts p. 433

Importing scripts from other databases p. 434

Script Step Reference p. 436

Script step options p. 436

Script step definitions p. 438

Attaching a Script to a Button p. 496

Advanced Scripting Procedures p. 498

Decision-making in scripts p. 499

Using loops in scripts p. 499

Environment considerations p. 499

Executing other scripts from within a script p. 500

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Using AppleScript p. 502

Summary p. 504

Exchanging Data p. 505

Moving Data between Programs p. 505

About importing and exporting p. 506

Understanding file formats p. 507

Importing Data from Other Sources p. 510

Format selection p. 510

Data clean-up prior to importing p. 511

Opening a foreign data file to create a new database p. 519

Importing data from a digital camera p. 521

Importing data from a folder p. 525

Exporting Data p. 527

Format selection p. 527

Data clean-up p. 528

Exporting records p. 529

Moving Data Using Drag-and-Drop p. 531

Exchanging Data with PCs p. 532

Moving data to and from FileMaker Pro for Windows p. 532

Understanding the compatibility issues p. 533

Exchanging Data with Microsoft Office p. 536

Using Excel Data in FileMaker Pro p. 536

Importing FileMaker Data into Excel p. 538

Creating Merge Documents in Word p. 540

Summary p. 542

Creating and Using Templates p. 543

The FileMaker Pro 6 Templates p. 543

Installing a Template p. 545

Reinstalling a Fresh Copy of a Template p. 546

Saving a Database as a Template p. 547

Working with a New Template p. 550

Summary p. 550

Mastering FileMaker Pro p. 551

Linking Databases: Relationships and Lookups p. 553

Lookups versus Relationships p. 554

Going Relational with FileMaker Pro p. 563

Defining a relationship p. 564

Placing related fields in a layout p. 566

Self joins p. 569

Working with Lookups p. 572

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Performing a relookup p. 575 Additional Relationship/Lookup Options and Requirements p. 578

Summary p. 580

Using FileMaker Pro in Workgroups p. 581

Running FileMaker Pro on a Network p. 581

Hosts and guests p. 583

Notes on cross-platform database sharing p. 588

Protecting Databases and Setting Privileges p. 589

Creating passwords p. 590

Creating default passwords p. 592

Creating record-level passwords p. 593

Passing out passwords p. 595

Modifying passwords p. 595

Creating and deleting groups p. 595

Setting, changing, and examining privileges p. 598

Working with a protected file p. 599

Summary p. 602

Web Publishing with FileMaker Pro p. 603

Publishing Methods and Views p. 603

Instant Web Publishing p. 605

Publishing a database with Instant Web Publishing p. 605

Testing your published database p. 615

Instant Web Publishing limitations p. 615

Interacting with a database published with Instant Web Publishing p. 616

Custom Web Publishing p. 620

Steps for Custom Web Publishing p. 620

Using the Web Security database p. 621

Publishing Static Pages on the Web p. 621

Summary p. 624

Advanced XML Database Connectivity p. 627

Exporting and Importing XML p. 628

Exporting XML data for use in other applications p. 628

Importing XML Data into FileMaker Pro p. 631

Summary p. 637

Expanding FileMaker's Capabilities Using Plug-Ins p. 639

Plug-in Licensing and Use p. 640

Installing the Troi Plug-Ins p. 640

Plug-in Examples p. 641

Troi Dialog plug-in p. 642

Troi File plug-in p. 644

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Summary p. 647

Developing Databases for Others p. 649

Simplify the Interface by Using Menus p. 651

Creating a Navigation Menu p. 654

Providing Instant Access via Buttons and Scripts p. 656

Consider Screen Real Estate p. 656

Protecting a Template p. 657

Creating Help Systems for Your Databases p. 659