Database Reference
In-Depth Information
WARNING
Pay special attention to this command's name: “Update matching records in
found set
.” FileMaker
notes your found set when it starts the import. When looking for matches, it looks only at the re-
cords in the found set. If you have a customer with a matching first and last name, but that customer
isn't in the found set, FileMaker will either skip that record or add a new duplicate. In most cases,
you want to do a Records→Show All Records operation before starting this kind of import.
Figure 21-18. When you turn on “Update matching records in found set” FileMaker lets you use a
new symbol between source and target fields. Person ID at the bottom of the list has a “<->” sym-
bol beside it. This symbol tells FileMaker to match records based on ID. In other words, when it
imports the first record, it finds a record in the found set with the same ID. FileMaker then updates
that record's data based on the import file. If FileMaker doesn't find a match, it skips the import
record. It's safest to use a key field for import matching.
To get the new symbol in the field mapping list, just click the spot between fields. FileMaker
now toggles between the three possible symbols: “Import,” “Don't import,” and “Match.” (If
you forget what each symbol means, the Field Mapping area in the window reminds you.)
Again, if you'd rather have FileMaker import every record in the import file, adding new re-
cords when no match is found, turn on “Add remaining data as new records.”
