Database Reference
In-Depth Information
The count appears in the summary row below each Trailing Group.
FileMaker sorts and groups the records for you, so you can get the information you need
from the ad hoc report without fuss. As with the dynamic report in the previous section, the
records must be sorted by the Trailing Group you chose for the summaries to show up. So if
you switch back to Form View and sort your records another way, you won't see the Trailing
Group Report when you return to Table View. Select Sort Ascending from the Lease Dura-
tion column pop-up menu to sort the records, and the trailing groups reappear.
If you switch to Layout mode, you'll see that the layout
doesn't
have a new part added to it.
Nor does the Count field actually appear on the layout. That's why this type of report is tem-
porary. It's meant to let you get a quick, bird's-eye view of your data and then get right back
into your other tasks (or to the meeting on time and with the data you were told to have at
your fingertips).
You can get creative with your ad hoc reports by adding multiple trailing groups at the same
time. In a small database like the one you're working on, you may find that nearly every re-
cord gets its own group. But in a database with lots of records, you can use this technique to
get fine-grained reports very quickly. Remove a Trailing Group by clicking the column head
menu associated with that group. Choose “Remove Trailing Group by Lease Duration,” and
the group no longer shows up.
Creating Charts in Table View
Text-based reports, whether they're meant for print or screen, are not the be-all and end-all of
data analysis. Most people find information easier to read in the form of a chart over a bunch
of numbers. So FileMaker gives you a quick method for creating charts from Table view. To
see it in action, on the Lease Agreement layout, start in Table view.
1.
From the Lease Value column head's pop-up menu, choose Chart
→
“Chart by
Lease Value.”
The Chart Setup dialog box appears showing a column chart of the data in the Lease
Value column.
2.
Click “Save as Layout,” and then accept the name suggested by the “Save as
Layout” dialog box. Click OK
.
FileMaker creates a new layout showing a chart of all your lease agreement values
and switches to the new layout so you can see the chart.
FileMaker creates a column chart by using the context of Lease Agreement and the
Lease Value field. If FileMaker created it too large to see all at once, you can resize it
