Database Reference
In-Depth Information
GEM IN THE ROUGH: EXPLORE STARTER SOLUTIONS
FileMaker's starter solutions are grouped in general categories, like Business, Education,
and Personal. They cover common database uses, like Invoices, Expense Reports, Event
Management, Product Catalog, and Contacts.
These starter files are a good showcase of FileMaker's features, but because they're general-
ized templates, they aren't meant to meet
your
specific business needs. Even if you think
about starting small, these files may need a lot of retrofitting to work well as your business
grows. However, poking around in these files is a great way to spark ideas about features
you want to learn how to create, as well as get a handle on some good ways to organize your
data and create layouts.
So feel free to take a look at a few starter files and then come back to this topic to learn how
to make a solution that's tailored to your business rules and procedures. Here's how:
a. To create a new database from a starter solution, choose File→New From Starter
Solution.
b. The Starter Solution dialog box appears. Every solution template is listed automatic-
ally, but you can filter the samples by clicking any item in the list at the left of the
dialog box.
c. Click the Content Management sample in the template window and then click
Choose.
d. You see a standard Save dialog box with the name of the sample you chose in the
Save As field.
e. If you want to change the file's name, type the new name and then select a location
for saving the file.
f. Finally, click Save. The new database appears onscreen.
You can start entering data and exploring the file right away. As you move through the
chapters in this topic, you'll be able to understand what you're seeing under the hood of
these starter solutions.
5.
Drag the Last Name field up so it's in line with and a bit to the right of the First
Name field
.
The dynamic guides come into play again: As you drag, FileMaker shows a baseline
indicator on the Last Name field to help you line it up with the First Name field.
