FileMaker Pro 9: The Missing Manual

Creating a Relational Database

The tedious planning is finally over. Now comes the fun part—actually making the database. And believe it or not, this part will go much more smoothly with your plan in place. You create a relational database in three steps. First, you tell FileMaker what tables you want, and then you add the fields to each table. Finally, you add relationships. Don’t be alarmed if you forget a table or miss a field: You can go back at any time and make changes—even six months from now when your tables are loaded with data.

Relational databases start out like any other. Go to FileMaker and choose File → New Database. Name your new database, pick the folder to save it in, and click Save.

Note

If you see the FileMaker Quick Start dialog box (the window with all the Starter Solutions) when you choose File → New, turn on “Create empty database,” and then click OK. You can then name and save your new database.

Creating the Tables

When you first create a database, FileMaker shows you the Manage Database window’s Field tab (you first saw this on Defining Fields). Without your knowledge, it has already created a table for you with the same name as the database itself. FileMaker assumes you just want one table, and it’s ready for you to add fields to that table.

This time, though, you don’t want just one table, so click the Tables tab (you can see it in Figure 7-15). Your first job is to remove the table FileMaker added for you since it doesn’t match one of the entities in your ER ...