Building a Database Using FileMaker Pro V5

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1 1. Starting a New Document 2. Creating Fields 3. Adding Information to Database 4. Same Data - A Different View 5. Additional Layouts 6. Finding and Sorting Information 7. More Advanced Features Preface: FileMaker Pro (V5) is Ministry licensed software available to teachers for educational purposes on recent versions of the Curriculum Planner CD-ROM. Although a more recent version of FileMaker Pro (V6) is available, it is not available in most boards - ideas presented on these pages likely will be compatible with both versions. Files created with V5 cannot be read using the older versions such as V4.1 which is used in many boards. Files created with V4 can be migrated upward to V5. These worksheets deal with some fundamental features of FileMaker Pro; there are many additional features of the program beyond what is covered here. As you work through these pages: Ask for help whenever you have difficulties; When in doubt, try it out; Once you make a change to a FileMaker document, it is automatically saved; If you use the Undo Feature, it will only undo the last change that you made in your work. Background Information Database - organized collection of information about related items Record - set of related information organized into fields Field - category of information A database to catalogue my wine collection (both bottles) might include a separate record for each type of wine. It would be organized into fields which might include the type of wine, colour, number of bottles in stock, cost per bottle,scanned pictures of the label, date of purchase, etc... George MacRae Page 1

2 1. Starting a New Document Planning Ahead Saving the Document Creating the Document Creating Fields Planning Ahead When you create a database, it is important to plan ahead by considering What is the purpose of the database? How will it be used? What fields will be required to fulfill this purpose? How should these fields be arranged on the screen to provide for the intended use(s)? Creating the Document To create a new empty database: Start FileMaker Pro (From the menu, select, Programs, then choose ) Click on, to turn on this option ( ) Click on OK. Saving the Document You will immediately be asked to save the document that you are creating: Name your document by filling in File name in the dialogue box. Remember this Name! (You might call this document Weather) Use the dialogue box to choose a location for the file: Save this to your Personal Space on the Server Do NOT save it to your floppy diskette (working with a FileMaker File on a floppy disk often leads to damaged and lost files. Save it to your personal space on the computer/network. Click Save on the dialogue box to complete the task. The program will automatically save your work as you progress. Creating Fields The program will display the Field Creation dialogue box, as shown. The next steps will vary depending on the type of field being created. The process works as follows: Enter the Field Name where indicated; Select field type by clicking on the appropriate radio button; Click on Create; There may (or may not) be additional steps depending on the type of field that you have chosen. Exercises on the following pages will walk you through the process of creating a variety of different types of fields to familiarize you with their purpose and the creation process! George MacRae Page 2

3 2. Creating Fields Text Time Summary (Summarized Information) Number Container (Objects) Global (Common Information) Date Calculation Text A text field is designed for storing simple text - text may be a simple word, phrase, a paragraph or longer passages. Enter Visual Observation in the Field Name area; Click on Text under the heading Type;. Click on Create. Number A number field is designed to let you store numbers - by putting numbers in a number field, you may later do calculations with them or accurately sort numerical information. Enter High Temperature in the Field Name area; Click on Number under the heading Type; Click on Create; Create a second Number field called Low Temperature in the same manner. Date A date field is designed to let you store specific dates - you will see later that FileMaker Pro is very particular about how information is added to a date field. Enter Date in the Field Name area; Click on Date under the heading Type;. Click on Create. Time A time field is designed to let you store specific times of day - as with date fields, FileMaker Pro is very particular about how information is added to a time field. Enter Time in the Field Name area; Click on Time under the heading Type;. Click on Create. Container A container field is designed to let you store special things like pictures, sounds and even video. Enter Visual Picture in the Field Name area; Click on Container under the heading Type; Click on Create. Global Field A global field holds a value that is used for all records in a file - it might be used to hold a fixed value to be used in calculations in all records; it might hold a graphic (logo?) that is used in several layouts. Once you put/change information in a global field, it will change in all records displaying this field. Calculation A calculation field can perform calculations using values from other fields in the record. Enter Temperature Range in the Field Name area; Click on Calculation under the heading Type; Click on Create.; A new dialogue box will be created (see next page) that permits you to specify the calculation. In our example we wish to subtract the low temperature for the day from the high temperature for the day in order to calculate the temperature range... George MacRae Page 3

4 Creating Fields (cont d) Calculation (continued) The next few steps are tricky. Follow these instructions very carefully. Double click on High Temperature (notice that this puts the field name High Temperature in the centre area of the dialogue box) Single click on the subtraction button in the dialogue box. (This should place a subtraction sign after High Temperature) Double click on Low Temperature (to put the field name Low Temperature after the subtraction sign) Since you want the result to be a number, make sure that the word Number appears in the pop-up menu after the words Calculation result is, then click on OK. High Temperature - Low Temperature Summary A summary field performs calculations using data from a single field in every record. e.g., the average value entered in a certain field, or the total value of all the entries in a particular field. Enter Average High Temperature in the Field Name area; Click on Summary under the heading Type; Click on Create.; A new dialogue box will appear that lets you specify what to summarize... In our example Click on Average of and High Temperature as shown; Finally click on OK. To complete the task of creating fields, click on Done in the Define Fields dialogue box. George MacRae Page 4

5 3. Adding Information to a Database At this stage, you have created 8 empty fields for our Weather database. This means that you have created a structure designed to hold information, but as yet you have not added any information. The next task is to put appropriate information into the database. To enter data, click in the appropriate box and type or paste it in. Click in the box to the right of Visual Observation and type in Overcast with light showers. Click in the box corresponding to High Temperature and Type in 22. (Do not enter anything but numbers into a number field) Similarly enter 17 for Low Temperature. Enter the date October 15, 2003 into the Date field. Dates MUST be entered using the format mm/dd/yy or mm/dd/yyyy, so you would actually type 10/15/03 or 10/15/2003. Enter the time 2:35 PM into the Time field. Times MUST be entered as hours, hour and minutes, or hours, minutes and seconds and should look like 10:20:11 AM Entering Information into a Container Field To place a picture in the Visual Picture field copy the picture from another application using the Copy Command right click on the Visual Picture field box select Paste Command from the Pop-up menu that should appear. Copy the Picture Overcast into the Clipboard Right click on the Visual Picture Field Select Paste from the Pop-up menu What About Calculated and Summary Fields? Nothing to enter! These fields are filled automatically by the computer by performing operations on the data that you have entered in other fields!. Add Another Record Select New Record from the Records Menu Enter the new data as above! Add new records to the Weather Database using information from the table; You may use pictures from any source. Finding a picture on the Internet... Try using Internet Explorer and going to the site Click Images, type in overcast, press Google Search; When you find a picture that you like, click on it, then click on View full image Finally right click on the picture, and select Copy Date Time Visual Observation High Low Oct. 16 1:30 PM Light clouds with occasional showers Oct :15 AM Partly overcast with sunny periods 12 8 Oct :40 AM Sunny 8-3 Oct :30 PM Sunny with cloudy periods 11 2 Oct. 20 3:30 PM Sunny with cloudy periods 12 3 George MacRae Page 5

6 4. Same Data - A Different View! Moving and Sizing Objects The appearance of the screen can be drastically changed using a variety of simple techniques. Changing the appearance of the screen is done using the Layout Mode. (While working in the Layout Mode, the actual data within the database will be hidden from view. Do not worry - it will come back!) From the View Menu, select Layout Mode; New tools appears on the right hand side of the screen and new items will appear in the top menu. Highlight the Arrow Pointer Tool; The cursor will take on the shape of an arrow which may be used to drag objects to new locations on the screen (just as in AppleWorks) You may also use the arrow-shaped cursor to resize fields by highlighting a field (by clicking once on it), then dragging a corner (again, just like objects in AppleWorks) Use these techniques to change the positions of fields and headings in the database s Body to emulate the Layout shown here! (Body is the middle part of the screen) See the next page for additional information about customizing this layout... George MacRae Page 6

7 Same Data - A Different View! (cont d) To view the effects of the changes that you made; choose Browse from the View Menu; to continue making changes, select Layout from thie View Menu Terminology Note Parts of a Layout The layout screen is divided into three distinct parts: Header: Information in the header will appear at the top of the screen. It is useful for titles, column headings, etc. Body: Most of the fields are displayed in the body. Footer: Information in a footer will appear at the bottom of the screen. It is often used for page numbers, copyright notices, etc The vertical sizes (height) of these parts can be adjusted by dragging the line separating the parts. Removing Objects To remove an object (e.g., Field Name or Field) from a layout, highlight it by clicking it once with the Arrow Pointer, then press the Backspace key. (You must be in the Layout Mode to do this.) Remove the Field Name Temperature Range and the Corresponding field from this layout. Adding New Text Select the text tool to change the cursor to an I-bar. Drag the I-bar cursor to create a text box of the width that you require, then type in the text. Add the text Daily Weather Observations in the top space of the screen (designated by the word Header)..You may need to increase the size of the header section to do this as per the instructions in the...aside... above. Add the text This data was processed at to the appropriate position in the body section of the screen, then slide the Time field beside it to complete the sentence. Formatting Text If you can format text (size, colour, font, style) using a word processor, you may use similar procedures to format text in this database program. Simply select the text you wish to format, then use the format menu to choose Front, Size, Style, Text Colour, etc. Change the colour of the text Daily Weather Observations to red; Increase the size of this text to make it look more like a heading; Check to see that it is centred; Make this text bold. Note: you can change the format of all text in a field simultaneously by using the Arrow Pointer tool to select the field then use the format menu to make the changes to the entire field. George MacRae Page 7

8 Same Data - A Different View! (cont d) Colouring the Background If you have followed the instructions up to this point, your database layout should look something like this. In the next steps, you will use the fill tools as shown at the left. The upper set are for filling in objects, the lower are for lines and borders. To colour the Header section, click on the word Header, then select an appropriate colour from the fill tools on the left. To colour the Footer section, click on the word Footer, then select a colour from the fill tools on the left. Similarly to colour the body, click on Body the follow the same procedure. Admiring Our Work (Viewing a Form) So, let s see how our database looks with all of these changes. To view the database with its data visible, Select Browse from the Mode Menu. Note that you see one record sandwiched between the header and the footer. To see another record click on the record selector: the top portion moves to the previous record; the bottom portion moves to the next record. Moving the sliding bar leafs quickly through the database. The numbers tell you where you are - in the picture above we are looking at record 1 of 6 records currently in the database. In the Next Section you will learn how to create additional layouts. George MacRae Page 8

9 5. Additional Layouts Creating a List (Columnar Layout) Often it is important to see information together, laid out in a table-like format. Databases allow us to rearrange information to provide more useful views. In this exercise, you will create a table using only some of the data in the database. Select Layout in the View Menu; Select New Layout/Report from the Layout Menu; Click on Columnar list/report as the first step in creating a list of layout; In the space called Layout Name at the top ( where it says Layout #2), type in Table View; Click on Next >; The next screen will cue you to Choose Report Layout - Columnar List/Report has been preselected, so you need only click Next >; On the next screen, we indicate which fields that are to be included in the list (columnar report); Highlight Date by clicking on it, then click on the Move button; this should place the field name in the column on the right; Repeat this step, in order, for each of the following fields: High temperature Low Temperature Visual Observation Click Next >; You will now see a dialogue box that would allow you to sort the list by any of the fields that you have chosen for the report; Click Next> leaving the list unsorted; George MacRae Page 9

10 Additional Layouts (cont d) Next you will see a screen that allows you to Select a Theme - This lets you choose from a variety of appearances for your layout - the list of Layout Themes shown in the left hand panel each look different in terms of background colour, text colour, size and style. To see what each looks like, click on a name in the list and you will see feedback in the panel on the right. Select a theme that appeals to you from this list, then click on Next > ; This will produce a screen where you specify elements to include in the header and footer. By selecting from the six drop down menus you may choose items such as Page number, Current Date, etc... to show on the final list! Once wanted elements have been selected click Next >; The next screen provides an option of creating a script - skip this step and click Next >; The next screen provides a choice of viewing the product in preview or layout mode (preview is preselected) Accept this option by clicking Finish ; Admiring Our Work You should now see a final version in Preview mode (Preview mode shows what you would see if you printed out this view of the database). To view the data in the original format (layout), you must click on the Layout Selection button then click on Layout #1; to change back to the Table format, again click on the Layout Selection button and choose Table View. You may create many different layouts for different purposes when working with FileMaker Pro. You may enter or alter data in any layout, but to do so you must go back to the Browse Mode George MacRae Page 10

11 Finding and Sorting Information Finding Information In databases with many records, you may find and display certain records only. For instance, in an address book database, you might want to find the phone number for a specific person. To find information quickly, choose the View menu, select Find, enter the information that you are seeking, then press Find in the left sidebar - only records meeting your search criteria will be displayed. To view all of the records again, choose the Records menu, and click on Show All Records. Sorting Information You may display information in a particular order; perhaps you wish to use the weather database to arrange the display in order of increasing high temperatures. Choose Sort from the Records menu; click on High Temperature, click on Sort, To sort the High Temperatures in descending order, follow a similar set of steps, except click on Descending Order in the Dialogue box. More Advanced Features The exercises on these sheets have been designed to give you some experience and skills in creating databases. There are many more advanced features that you may wish to learn about that go beyond the scope of these exercises. Some other features are: Inserting page numbers in documents automatically; Creating buttons that perform tasks easily e.g., moving from one layout to another, sorting information, creating new records... Creating Radio Buttons, Pop-up Menus, etc. that allow students to enter information into a database by clicking on a list without typing the information e.g., the database that you filled in on the first day in this course. Creating relationships that permit one database to selectively display information from another; Creating scripts that can automate tasks; Creating special parts that allow the creation of reports performing complex calculations on subsets of the information in the database. Classroom Projects Databases can be used by students to Find information using teacher created databases; Store information that they have researched as part of a classroom project; Design ways to display information for a variety of purposes. They can relate to any subject in the curriculum. A few examples of databases that can be used with students include book reviews and reading lists (to monitor and track student reading) information about Canadian cities containing fields such as name, province, population, geographic features, etc. information about simple machines with fields related to name, picture, uses, mechanical advantage, etc. celestial objects database with fields containing information about planets and stars and their physical attributes Classification of plants (or animals or just about anything that can be classified by attributes) George MacRae Page 11