Move field contents

[vandalfsens]

I'd like to move field contents from one field to another and then make that happen in every record...

I'm using FileMaker Runtime 6.0v4.

I'm logged in at the highest access level but the additional layouts are grayed out and not available to me...

[AHunter3]

I'd like to move field contents from one field to another

 

Why, if you don't mind me asking? Do you want to move the entire contents of Field A to Field B? And by "move" you mean that Field A ends up being empty?

 

 

and then make that happen in every record...

I'm using FileMaker Runtime 6.0v4.

 

Show All Records

Go to Record [First]

Loop

... Set Field [Field B, Field A]

... Set Field [Field A, ""]

... Go to Record [Next, Exit After Last]

End Loop

 

 

== OR ==

 

Show All Records

Replace Field Contents [Field B, Field A]

Replace Field Contents [Field A, ""]

 

I'm logged in at the highest access level but the additional layouts are grayed out and not available to me...

 

 

a) No you're not, by definition. If any layouts are greyed out, you are not logged in as the highest access level. Unless by "greyed out" you mean something different than what I would mean by it. Do you mean that when you go to those layouts you see a =No Access= sign on an otherwise grey empty layout?

 

b) What does layout have to do with moving all the values of one field to another?

[vandalfsens]

Thank you for your reply!!!

OK, I'm assisting a client move from Shopkeeper POS (running g6.0v4 Runtime) software to Paygo (Filemaker 9)

 

Upon inventory export, Shopkeeper takes the Product ID and UPC fields and puts them together in one cell in my file...and the numbers are too inconsistent or messy to do a "text to columns" function in Excel.

 

Shopkeeper support tells me that the only way around it is to copy the UPC field contents to another unique field, such as Misc5, and do this for all records.

 

By "grayed out" I mean the layout options are not clickable, it's not that I receive a message that tells me I do not have access privileges or anything, which I'm used to seeing in FM9.

-Shawn

[AHunter3]

a) are you actually, literally, running this thing "Shopkeeper POS" in the runtime 6.0.4 that it came with, or have you converted it to FileMaker 9 format and are opening it in FileMaker 9?

 

b) I assume since it is an off-the-shelf (yes?) solution some other developer created, that you do not, in fact, have the developer's password and hence are indeed NOT logging in with "the highest access level" password. If you are, you will be able to do ⌘-Shift-D and examine and change the field definitions, you will be able to go ⌘-L and be in Layout Mode and scroll through every single layout, and you will be able to open the scriptmaker and edit scripts. If you are not, you may be prevented from doing one or more of those things.

 

c) What does your Product ID and UPC merged-together exported field actually look like? Can you post about 10 records' worth of what that field's data looks like? I can parse the heck out of text in a textfield. If there's any pattern that would enable us to use text-parsing functions, we can split the data into two fields after exporting it, even if you can't write a script or create a field definition within the Shopkeeper POS sw.

[vandalfsens]

It appears to me that FM 6.0v4 Runtime is "embedded" in Shopkeeper because I cannot find a stand-alone FM app like I do with Paygo and FM 9.

 

I am not logged in as developer, I am logged in with "0" access in Shopkeeper which is the highest level access. Perhaps it is not enough.

 

The string that is pulled from Shopkeeper has an inconsistent format because the Product ID is different for every item and a mixture of numbers and letters. Then there is a space and then the standard UPC code. If the Product ID wasn't so inconsistent I would do a Text to Columns split in Excel.

 

I am exporting the inventory as a .tab and then opening in and saving in Excel, I am not trying to convert an old FM file into FM9.

 

I'm not at the client's location currently but hope to be tomorrow sometime, will try to get you some screen shots or similar.

[AHunter3]

If there's always a space between Product ID and UPC code, and there's never a space within Product ID itself, you're home free, and quite easily.

 

Left (CompositeExportedField, Position (CompositeExportedField, " ", 1, 1)-1)

 

is your Product ID;

 

Middle (CompositeExportedField, Position (CompositeExportedField, " ", 1, 1)+1, Length (CompositeExportedField))

 

is your UPC Code.

[vandalfsens]

OK, great-

NOW I'm in over my head a little. Is this a script you just gave me and how do I implement?

Thank you,

Shawn

[AHunter3]

I had in mind that they would be be field definitions for a pair of brand-new calculation fields.

 

a) Export your data from Shopkeeper to tab-delimited text or whatever.

 

b) Open it in FileMaker. FileMaker will convert it to a database (leaving the original file behind on your Desktop). If Excel doesn't automatically split Product ID from UPC Code, I assume FileMaker won't either, and they will remain in a single field in FileMaker. If so:

 

c) Create one new field, of type "calculation", of result type "text", call it ProductID, defined as:

 

Left (CompositeExportedField, Position (CompositeExportedField, " ", 1, 1)-1)

 

 

... where "CompositeExportedField" is the field that ShopKeeper spit out that contains both the Product ID and the UPC Code;

 

d) Define a second new field, field type "calculation", result type "text", defined as:

 

Middle (CompositeExportedField, Position (CompositeExportedField, " ", 1, 1)+1, Length (CompositeExportedField))

 

 

where, again, CompositeExportedField is your field containing both the Product ID and the UPC Code.

 

Once you've done all that, you're equipped to import data into your other system. You can import Product ID and UPC Code separately now that they exist as separate fields.

[vandalfsens]

Found it by accident!!!!!

 

When I opened the file in FM, I noted that the field containing both sets of data was actually segregated in "sub-fields" of 1 2 3 and 4. The product id is in 1 and the barcode in 2

 

Somehow I found "show repeating" and changed it to "2 to 2" instead of "1 to 4". The product ID is available in another column so I think I'm set!

 

Will let you know for sure.

-shawn