FileMaker Pro is famed for its ease of use. However, if you are to use this program to create a useful database solution, it is important that you resist the temptation to dive straight in and spend some time planning your database. Only then can you be sure that the database management system (DBMS) you end up creating is suitable for your purposes.
One of the first tasks in the process of database design is the creation of tables and the columns they contain. Basically, your database needs to store information and allow you to retrieve this information in a useful fashion. At an early stage in the design process, you need to identify every single piece of information that is important for you. This information will naturally fall into different groups or categories. When you come to build your database, each of these groups will become a table.
Tables are made up of rows and columns, just like an Excel worksheet. Columns are known as fields; rows are known as records. A very simple database may contain only one table; but this is very rare; most databases need several tables, each containing information relating to one aspect of the overall system. It is important to ensure that you don’t simply bundle information relating to different aspects of the project into the same table when designing your DBMS since this will lead to duplication and loss of data integrity.
Version 1 and 2 of FileMaker saved all information in one table. It was only with the release of version 3 in 1995 that FileMaker offered the use of multiple tables. In its current release, version 10, FileMaker automatically creates a single table for you whenever you create a new database. The table has the same name as the database itself and contains no fields. Your first step will probably be to rename this table and define the fields you wish it to contain. To rename a table, select the Tables tab in the Define Database dialogue, click on the current name, enter a new one and then click the Change button.
To create fields, go to the Fields tab in the Define database dialogue, enter the name of each of the fields that you want the table to contain, specify the data type of the field (Text, Number, Date, etc.) then click the Create button. Always ensure that you include a primary key field in each table you create. This will be used to define relationships between the various tables in your database solution. To create a primary field, just enter a name, set the field type to number then click Create. Next, click the Options button and in the Auto-Enter tab, switch on the option “Serial Number”. Finally, in the Validate tab, switch on the options “Not Empty” and “Unique Value”.
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