Database Reference
In-Depth Information
GEM IN THE ROUGH: FINDING DUPLICATE RECORDS
Every database user eventually makes the mistake of entering the same data twice. Maybe you as-
sume a person isn't in your database and add him, only to discover months later that he was there all
along. If you think you've added Joan Holloway to your database twice, you could type “
Holloway
”
in the last name field to find out. But if you type
!
there (which finds all duplicate records) instead,
you'll find both Joan Holloway records as well as the two Ken Cosgrove records you didn't remem-
ber typing. Take care to compare the records carefully, though. The ! operator might also find the re-
cord for Claudia Cosgrove, but unless it finds two records for her, she's not duplicated in your data-
base.
If you want to find
whole records
that are exact duplicates, then you have to put
!
in every field
when you're in Find mode. But it isn't at all uncommon for “duplicate” records to be slightly differ-
ent. Maybe you updated the phone number in one but not the other, for instance.
Maybe you misspelled the street name the first time you entered this person and spelled it right the
second time. Finding exact duplicate records doesn't catch these kinds of duplicate records.
If you're looking for duplicate records, it's better to put the ! operator in as few fields as possible.
Try to pick fields that tend to be entered the same every time, and stand a good chance of identifying
an individual person. You can use just First Name and Last Name, for instance.
Finding by Omitting
FileMaker's normal search behavior is to
include
everything you type in search fields in the
found set. You can confirm this fact in Find mode by looking at the Include and Omit buttons
in the Status toolbar (
Figure 2-5
). Every time you start a search, the Include button is auto-
matically selected.
