Database Reference
In-Depth Information
FileMaker can handle the most common data types—and quite a few lesser-known ones—by
a straightforward process. You tell FileMaker which file contains your incoming data and
then show it how you want to match the incoming data (the source) with the fields in your
file (the target). This procedure is called
field mapping
, and it's the only time-consuming part
of any import. See
Figure 21-12
for a preview of the Import Field Mapping dialog box.
This window lists all the fields in the source file on the left, and the fields in your table on
the right. FileMaker transfers the data, field by field and record by record, into your database.
The first field in the Source Fields list goes into the first field in the Target Fields list.
Unfortunately, FileMaker can't always tell which fields match. You might be importing re-
cords from a system that uses different field names, for example. How is FileMaker sup-
posed to know that
t_fname
is the First Name field in your old contact manager software?
Worse still, many data formats have no field names, so all you have to work with is the data
itself.
