Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Number
Number fields are those that you intend to do some kind of math on. If you're creating in-
voices, you'll need number fields so other fields can tally up the invoice total. You can type
letters and even symbols in a number field, but if you do, FileMaker may change your data in
unexpected ways. For instance, if you create a field to store a Part Number and then put data
like 234A111, FileMaker will treat that entry as the numeric value “234111,” so it's usually
safest to store data with letters and symbols in text fields.
Numbers can be very large or very small. And to help people who use FileMaker for scientif-
ic or mathematic solutions, here are some limits for number fields:
▪ Numbers must be greater than -10
400
and less than 10
400
(it's actually
9.99999999…e399, because -10
400
itself isn't included). If you're counting something
reasonable—say, the number of protons in the universe—you'll be just fine.
▪ You get 800 significant digits in all. In general though, any nonzero value is a significant
digit. That is, the digit contributes to the number's precision. For example, the leading
zeros in the number “00042” are
not
significant. That's probably all you need to know
about significant digits. If you're still curious, ask a high-school algebra student.
▪ Only the first 400 digits are indexed in all, significant or otherwise. So if you're search-
ing for numbers, then you have a little less precision to work with.
You can enter numbers in FileMaker as you would in most any program. Type the number
and any symbols that define it, like a negative sign or a decimal point. You can also use
sci-
entific notation
. For example, if you have a burning desire to count the air molecules in your
living room, you can put 6.02E23 into a number field, which is a lot easier to type than
60,200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. Of course, the exponent part (after the E) can be neg-
ative if really small numbers make your socks go up and down.
Number fields can't contain paragraph breaks. If you try to hit Return, FileMaker will beep
at you.
NOTE
Number fields can also contain Boolean values. See
General
to learn about them.
Date
Unlike text or number fields, you can store only valid Gregorian dates in date fields. Data
entry has to be as month, day, and year, but you can use several different punctuation marks
as separators. That is, you can type: “2/25/1975,” “2-25-1975,” or “2.25.1975.”
