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 TIPS & TRICKS
Use the Find/Replace Command in FileMaker Pro
Find out how to easily make a change throughout your database. Compiled by Stuart Gripman
The Replace command is hot stuff, sure, and you can
wield it in many powerful ways. But there are some things it just can't
do, and that's where the Find/Replace command picks up that slack. If
you've ever used a word processor, you're probably familiar with the
Find/Replace concept. In one box, you type in what you want to find, and
in another, you enter the replacement text. FileMaker Pro's Find/Replace
works much the same way, but adds some database-appropriate options.
Let's start with a basic example, then explore some of the
possibilities.
Suppose you have a database where you're storing menu
choices for the participants of an event. In the field "FruitChoices,"
each record contains some combination of the words apple, banana, and
orange, according to the choices each participant has made. Just hours
before the event, you learn that an orange shortage has unexpectedly hit
and your supplier is sending tangerines instead. For the FruitChoices
field to be accurate, you need to locate the ones with "Orange" in them
and replace "Orange" with "Tangerine," while leaving all other data
unchanged. Although a calculated Replace command could get the job done,
Find/Replace is vastly simpler. Just follow these steps:
-
Click into the FruitChoices field.
-
From the Edit Menu choose Find/Replace >
Find/Replace.
-
In the "Find what" box, type "orange."
-
In the "Replace with" box, type "tangerine."
-
From the "Direction" pop-up menu, select "All."
-
Set "Search across" to "All records."
-
Set "Search within" to "Current field."
-
Click on the Replace All button and OK in the
confirmation dialog.
You'll see a summary of the actions taken and find
that all the oranges in the FruitChoices field have turned to
tangerines! Notice the other data in the field remain unchanged. Super
cool, super easy, right? Let's complicate it a little now. Suppose your
data refers to oranges in many other fields and not just in the "FruitChoices"
field. You can simply repeat the process above, selecting "All fields"
in step 7 instead of "Current field." FileMaker Pro will find every
instance of "orange" in your data and replace it — something the Replace
command can't do.
ARCHIVE-CD can show you
how we can help you streamline
your work environment
— and expand your possibilities.
Call 800-323-1868 or visit www.archive-cd.com
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