Experienced FileMaker users will notice the use of new terminology to describe relationships and how they are made in FileMaker Pro 7. In previous versions, you could create a database simply by defining fields. You now define three distinct elements by selecting different tabs in the Define Database menu (Figure 6.1):Tables, which you can think of as database modules, can hold the same size and variety of data you previously placed in separate files or can contain just a single field (Figure 6.2). In fact, you can even create a table with no defined fields at all.
Figure 6.2. A single database can contain several tables.
Fields, which are table specific. The interface for creating a field has changed slightly, but you can still create the same variety of fields as before.Relationships, which can be created between tables in a single file, or between tables in one or more external files. You can still create as many relationships as you need, but you do so in a new graphical interface called the Relationships graph (Figure 6.3). Because of the new structure, you don't actually create a named relationship. Instead, you relate one "Table Occurrence" to another.
Figure 6.3. The Relationships graph is a visual method of creating and displaying relationships between tables.
A Table Occurrence is an instance of a table in the Relationships graph. There is no practical limit to the number of separate table occurrences you can create in a single database, or any limit to how many times you create a new instance of a single table. Table occurrences are connected to each other in the Relationships graph by an operator that defines the type of relationship that exists between the two tables in that specific instance.Another major change from earlier versions that you should consider as you design your structure is layout creation. In a database with multiple tables, each layout is "based on" a particular table in the database. The field data displayed in a layout are from the designated table. Data in fields contained in other tables, even other tables in the same file, can only appear on a layout if the second table is related to the one the layout is based on. The only exception to this is in the case of fields set to global storage, which are available across all table occurrences within a file. TipYou can tell the difference between internal and external table occurrences. The name of the table occurrence appears in regular roman type if it is from a table within the file, and in italic if it is external. To make this distinction even clearer, you can select a table occurrence and use the color wheel to change its color (Figure 6.4) so it will stand out in the Relationships graph. This strategy is a great way to color code table occurrences from the same source table as well.
Figure 6.4. You can apply a different color to each table occurrence.
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TipYou can tell the difference between internal and external table occurrences. The name of the table occurrence appears in regular roman type if it is from a table within the file, and in italic if it is external. To make this distinction even clearer, you can select a table occurrence and use the color wheel to change its color (Figure 6.4) so it will stand out in the Relationships graph. This strategy is a great way to color code table occurrences from the same source table as well.
