Before working with a database it's important to first understand what a database actually is. By definition a database is the collection of like information with common underlying attributes. You are actually already familiar with the concept of a database, and you might not even know it. For example, you've probably seen databases in the form of things like address books on your computer where one record in the database equals one individual whose information you're trying to store, and in this case the like information that you're storing would be different individuals in a different context and the underlying attributes are actually things like phone numbers, email, instant message, address, and those types of things.
Every one of the contacts will all have information or potentially have information for those. So you want to create an area where you can store all of that when necessary. You're probably also familiar with databases from your web experiences. For example, lynda.com is a huge database that stores all the different links to all the different movies you might want to watch, and you can go on and search that database by telling it what author you might be interested in or what type of application you're interested in, and it will direct you to the location of those movies. The role of a database is twofold.
First, the database physically stores the data along with the database files so that all the data lives together in one place. But in addition to storing the data, it also contains information on how to identify the data within the storage mechanism. A good example of this is a spreadsheet. If we take a look at the spreadsheet here you will see that this one stores information on individuals. You'll also notice that when you look at the spreadsheet the information is organized into columns and rows, each column represents a different attribute about one of these individuals, each row represents a different iteration of the data that we are sorting.
So you see, for example, we have columns for First, Name, Last Name, Start Date, Title, and Status, and then in this second row we see that we've got a different piece of information in each one of those cells wherever a row and a column intersect. But in FileMaker databases the rows are actually represented as something called a record, and that's the terminology that I am going to use throughout the rest of this title. So then a record is a grouping of a bunch of different pieces of information or attributes that all describe one instance of the information that's being managed.
So that one instance in a spreadsheet is represented as a row, and in FileMaker we call that a record. And in a spreadsheet an attribute of one of these rows is represented as a column, but in FileMaker we call these Fields. At any intersection we will see here that Pamela has a last name of Dreyfus. So in that case in FileMaker database we are going to be storing that information inside of a field. So hopefully a little background on databases that you might already be familiar with will help you understand the concepts that we are going to discuss as we move along in this title.
Author
Released
5/29/2012- Comparing flat vs. relational databases
- Creating databases from templates
- Determining what tables you need
- Understanding relationship types
- Defining key fields and creating relationships between tables
- Creating fields
- Using new FileMaker 12 container fields
- Creating, duplicating, editing, and deleting records
- Importing and exporting data
- Managing layouts and layout objects
- Applying new FileMaker 12 themes to layouts
- Finding records and working with found sets
- Building reports and charts
- Authoring calculations
- Creating and triggering scripts
- Working with relationships in scripts, calculations, and charts
Skill Level Beginner
Duration
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Introduction
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Welcome1m
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Using the exercise files1m 7s
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1. Getting Started
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What is a database?2m 49s
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Exploring the interface8m 10s
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2. Database Creation Essentials
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Adding tables by importing3m 10s
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3. Creating Tables
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4. Creating Relationships
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Understanding key fields4m 19s
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5. Working with Fields
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Defining fields7m 22s
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6. Working with Container Fields
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7. Working with Records
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8. Importing and Exporting
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Importing data9m 8s
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Exporting data5m 10s
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9. Creating Layouts
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Introducing layouts4m 51s
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10. Working with Layouts
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Understanding layout parts6m 31s
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Previewing the new Inspector1m 22s
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11. Formatting Layout Objects
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Applying Screen Stencils4m 3s
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Applying gradients2m 25s
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Understanding object states2m 18s
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Setting field behaviors3m 58s
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Using the Tab Control feature11m 17s
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Setting the tab order5m 1s
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12. Finding Data
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Saving find requests5m 55s
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13. Sorting Data
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Sorting with one criterion4m 40s
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Sorting with related fields2m 23s
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Sorting using buttons4m 31s
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14. Value Lists
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Introducing control styles5m 40s
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15. Printing and Saving
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Printing merge letters5m 20s
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16. Reports
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Adding charts to reports10m 23s
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17. Calculation Essentials
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Introducing calculations2m 46s
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Using number functions10m 29s
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Using text functions12m 35s
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Using get functions5m 26s
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Using logic functions11m 39s
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18. Script Essentials
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Creating multi-line scripts8m 39s
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Using the New Window script step10m 58s
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Using script parameters4m 28s
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19. Script Triggers
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Using object-based triggers10m 49s
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Using layout-based triggers6m 40s
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20. Using Relationships
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Using related fields6m 32s
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Conclusion
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Goodbye1m 16s
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Video: What is a database?