Database Reference
In-Depth Information
So say your company has a semi-regular promotion that creates discounts for a limited peri-
od. You don't have to write two different scripts, one with the discount and one without and
then worry about some kind of test to make them available on a button or in the script menu
at the proper times. Write one script, making sure the discount creation steps are separate
from the main process. Then you can turn on the pertinent steps when the promotion starts
and turn them off when it's over, with very little fuss.
The Database Design Report
Sometimes you inherit a large database from somebody else, and you simply don't see how it
comes together. (OK, be honest. Sometimes you create a large database and can't quite re-
member how it's all put together.) While FileMaker's point-and-click display makes it easy
to build databases, teasing things out later is a different story. You can look at a script, field,
layout, table occurrence, or even an entire table in FileMaker Pro and have no idea whether
the database actually uses or needs it.
If you've shelled out for FileMaker Pro Advanced, however, you've got help. Its built-in in-
ternal analysis tool, the Database Design Report (affectionately called DDR), gives you an
overview of your database, where you can easily see how database items are connected and
other details, all in one place. You run the report, tell it what kinds of things you're interested
in, and FileMaker presents the information in a series of web pages.
Unlike the reports discussed in Chapter 15 , the DDR is a report about the structure of your
database, not about the data inside. It tells you what tables and fields you have, which fields
are used on each layout, and so on, but nothing about the information in your records and
fields.
Generating the DDR
The Database Design Report window lets you tell FileMaker exactly what you want it to re-
port on. You get to pick which files and table occurrences to include, what kinds of things
you want to report on, and what format you want the report to use. You also get to decide
whether you want to open the report right away or just save it for later use. To get started,
choose Tools→Database Design Report. Up pops the Database Design Report dialog box
( Figure 13-11 ) .
The Available Files list in this window shows every open file. To include a file in the report,
turn on the checkbox by its name. FileMaker assumes you want every file at first, so you
may have to do more turning off than on.
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