I'm not sure if I should be using repeating fields or what, but here
is the problem.....
I've created a db which houses all ot the parts I can order from a
warehouse.  This database contains the wholesale price, the
description ect....  I have another DB called Order.  In this data
base I have a "item ID" field which is a repeating field.  The other
fields..Wholesale, and description are look up repeating fields.  Now
when I enter a Item number the description and price are looked up. 
I've created a calculation field that calculates the the "order
amount"  * wholesale.  This field is also repeating.  Every thing
works as it should, except..How can I sort repeating fields.

I chose to use repeating fields because that was the only way I could
create one record for the 100 items I ordered that day.  I did not
want to create 100 records for one purchase order.

So if I can't sort the "item ID" field, what is another way to create
the database.

Thanks for the help
Brian

Hi Brian,

this is definitely not a situation in which you should be using repeating
fields. For the same reasons you mention I have used repeating fields in the
past and many times have I come to regret that decision. It was not until
recently that I started removing repeating fields altogether from my files
and replacing them by separate files. It's a little more work to set up
initially, but it will save you many headaches further down the line.

Check out this explanation by Bridget Eley to see how to set it up :

http://groups.google.com/groups?as_umsgid=B8FA9592.5595%25bridgeteley@ihug.c
om.au

Regards,

Peter


"Derek McCormic" <catvfinder@bellsouth.net> schreef in bericht
news:41ac3d1f.0308021452.18171715@posting.google.com...
> I'm not sure if I should be using repeating fields or what, but here
> is the problem.....
> I've created a db which houses all ot the parts I can order from a
> warehouse.  This database contains the wholesale price, the
> description ect....  I have another DB called Order.  In this data
> base I have a "item ID" field which is a repeating field.  The other
> fields..Wholesale, and description are look up repeating fields.  Now
> when I enter a Item number the description and price are looked up.
> I've created a calculation field that calculates the the "order
> amount"  * wholesale.  This field is also repeating.  Every thing
> works as it should, except..How can I sort repeating fields.
>
> I chose to use repeating fields because that was the only way I could
> create one record for the 100 items I ordered that day.  I did not
> want to create 100 records for one purchase order.
>
> So if I can't sort the "item ID" field, what is another way to create
> the database.
>
> Thanks for the help
> Brian

Thanks so much for you help Peter.
The link you provided does look like easier way to do it.
Thanks again
Brian

"Peter" <nomail@homeorwork.tnx> wrote in message news:<bglg40$fv8$1@reader11.wxs.nl>...
> Hi Brian,
> 
> this is definitely not a situation in which you should be using repeating
> fields. For the same reasons you mention I have used repeating fields in the
> past and many times have I come to regret that decision. It was not until
> recently that I started removing repeating fields altogether from my files
> and replacing them by separate files. It's a little more work to set up
> initially, but it will save you many headaches further down the line.
> 
> Check out this explanation by Bridget Eley to see how to set it up :
> 
> http://groups.google.com/groups?as_umsgid=B8FA9592.5595%25bridgeteley@ihug.c
> om.au
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Peter
> 
> 
> "Derek McCormic" <catvfinder@bellsouth.net> schreef in bericht
> news:41ac3d1f.0308021452.18171715@posting.google.com...
> > I'm not sure if I should be using repeating fields or what, but here
> > is the problem.....
> > I've created a db which houses all ot the parts I can order from a
> > warehouse.  This database contains the wholesale price, the
> > description ect....  I have another DB called Order.  In this data
> > base I have a "item ID" field which is a repeating field.  The other
> > fields..Wholesale, and description are look up repeating fields.  Now
> > when I enter a Item number the description and price are looked up.
> > I've created a calculation field that calculates the the "order
> > amount"  * wholesale.  This field is also repeating.  Every thing
> > works as it should, except..How can I sort repeating fields.
> >
> > I chose to use repeating fields because that was the only way I could
> > create one record for the 100 items I ordered that day.  I did not
> > want to create 100 records for one purchase order.
> >
> > So if I can't sort the "item ID" field, what is another way to create
> > the database.
> >
> > Thanks for the help
> > Brian

Hi Brian,

you're more than welcome. Good luck with it !

Peter

> Thanks so much for you help Peter.
> The link you provided does look like easier way to do it.
> Thanks again
> Brian

Is there any reason to use repeating fields? I didn't look into it much but
parts of our DB were programmed by a 3rd party who used repeating fields
which just caused nightmares because you couldn't do quick finds in find
mode to fix errors. Everything was slowly converted back to use ordinary
fields.

I just can't see the point of repeating fields.

LiFe.

"Peter" <nomail@homeorwork.tnx> wrote in message
news:bglg40$fv8$1@reader11.wxs.nl...
> Hi Brian,
>
> this is definitely not a situation in which you should be using repeating
> fields. For the same reasons you mention I have used repeating fields in
the
> past and many times have I come to regret that decision. It was not until
> recently that I started removing repeating fields altogether from my files
> and replacing them by separate files. It's a little more work to set up
> initially, but it will save you many headaches further down the line.
>
> Check out this explanation by Bridget Eley to see how to set it up :
>
>
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_umsgid=B8FA9592.5595%25bridgeteley@ihug.c
> om.au
>
> Regards,
>
> Peter
>
>
> "Derek McCormic" <catvfinder@bellsouth.net> schreef in bericht
> news:41ac3d1f.0308021452.18171715@posting.google.com...
> > I'm not sure if I should be using repeating fields or what, but here
> > is the problem.....
> > I've created a db which houses all ot the parts I can order from a
> > warehouse.  This database contains the wholesale price, the
> > description ect....  I have another DB called Order.  In this data
> > base I have a "item ID" field which is a repeating field.  The other
> > fields..Wholesale, and description are look up repeating fields.  Now
> > when I enter a Item number the description and price are looked up.
> > I've created a calculation field that calculates the the "order
> > amount"  * wholesale.  This field is also repeating.  Every thing
> > works as it should, except..How can I sort repeating fields.
> >
> > I chose to use repeating fields because that was the only way I could
> > create one record for the 100 items I ordered that day.  I did not
> > want to create 100 records for one purchase order.
> >
> > So if I can't sort the "item ID" field, what is another way to create
> > the database.
> >
> > Thanks for the help
> > Brian
>
>

LiFe <mqdomnospam@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Is there any reason to use repeating fields?

Repeating fields are a leftover from the times when Filemaker had no
relational capabilities. Unlike multiple-line text fields they allow for
line-by-line calculations and aggregate functions. Nowadays you don't
really need them. Yet they have not completely disappeared because there
are two advantages over relational solutions which may come into play if
you don't need those relational capabilities: they don't require an
extra file, and the results of calculations can be stored and indexed.
A repeating field may be as good as a related file if:
- there is an immutable fixed number of repeats (like 12 months in a
year)
- the order of the repeats is given beforehand (again like the months of
a year)

A second way to use repeating fields is as storage containers. A number
of related items can be stored in one global repeating field, which may
contribute to the clarity and maintainability of your solution.

-- 
Hans Rijnbout
Utrecht, Netherlands

Thanks for that...

Some benifits you described there are reasonable but I think they loose
their validity with some of the hinderances of repeating fields like
inability to do finds that arn't scripted.

LiFe.

"Hans Rijnbout" <j.b.rijnbout@chem.uu.nl> wrote in message
news:1fzbv7m.1796lxkjbcd9wN%j.b.rijnbout@chem.uu.nl...
> LiFe <mqdomnospam@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Is there any reason to use repeating fields?
>
> Repeating fields are a leftover from the times when Filemaker had no
> relational capabilities. Unlike multiple-line text fields they allow for
> line-by-line calculations and aggregate functions. Nowadays you don't
> really need them. Yet they have not completely disappeared because there
> are two advantages over relational solutions which may come into play if
> you don't need those relational capabilities: they don't require an
> extra file, and the results of calculations can be stored and indexed.
> A repeating field may be as good as a related file if:
> - there is an immutable fixed number of repeats (like 12 months in a
> year)
> - the order of the repeats is given beforehand (again like the months of
> a year)
>
> A second way to use repeating fields is as storage containers. A number
> of related items can be stored in one global repeating field, which may
> contribute to the clarity and maintainability of your solution.
>
> -- 
> Hans Rijnbout
> Utrecht, Netherlands