Searching with the Symbols List


Within Find mode, the Symbols List (a drop-down menu in the left-hand status area) offers 15 choices for quickly fine-tuning your search (Figure 5.5). Combined with the status area's Omit checkbox (for more information on Omit, see page 62), the Symbols List can be a major help when trying to find a series of records amid hundreds (Table 5.1).

Figure 5.5. Click on the Symbols List drop-down menu to access 15 choices for fine-tuning your search. See Table 5.1 for details.


Table 5.1. Using Find's Symbols/Operators Drop-down Menu

USE

TO FIND

TYPE IN FIELD

NOTES

<

Less than value to right of symbol

<200

 

Less than or equal to value to right

200

 

>

Greater than value to right

>200

 

Greater than or equal to value to right

200

 

=

Exactly value to right

=Pomona

Exact match and other values (e.g., will find Pomona Ave.)

...

A range of dates, times, numbers, text

... or .. (two periods)

Includes beginning and ending values; displays in AZ, 110 order

!

Duplicate values

!

Finds any duplicate field entriesgreat for mailing lists

//

Today's date

//

 

?

Invalid dates, times, or calculations

?

Finds format errors that can create calculation problems

@

One unknown or variable text character

@omona

A one-character search that will find Pomona and Romona

*

Zero or more unknown variable characters

P*a

No character limit: "P*a" finds Pomona but also Pia, Paula

" "

Text exactly as it appears

"Pomona"

Ignores letter case, so it will find "Pomona" and "pomona"

==

Field contents

=

Useful for finding empty fields


To use the Symbols List in a search

1.

Switch to the layout of your database that contains the field or fields you want to search. Choose View > Find Mode, or use your keyboard: (Windows) or (Mac). A blank version of the selected layout appears.

2.

Click on the field you'll be searching. Now click on the Symbols drop-down menu in the left-hand mode status area and select the appropriate symbol or operator (Figure 5.5). (See Table 5.1 for details on how each operator functions.) In this example, we want to find all the homes selling for less than $200,000. Select the first operator in the pop-up list, then type in 200,000 (Figure 5.6).

Figure 5.6. Combining data you type in directly (200,000) with the drop-down menu's symbols (<) lets you quickly define a search for all entries of less than 200,000.


3.

Click the Find button in the status area or press (Windows) or (Mac). FileMaker then displays all the records meeting that criteria (Figure 5.7).

Figure 5.7. After completing the search, FileMaker displays all records matching the <200,000 Find request.


Tips

  • Use Find's Symbols list for multiple-criteria search requests, as well as for simple searches. (For more information on multiple-criteria searches, see page 69.)

  • If your search request criteria include finding the current date, time, user name, an item from your index, or the last record, click on the field you'll be searching, choose Insert, and pick any command between Current Date and From Last Record. (For information on indexing, see Storage options on page 104.)

  • The Symbols List also includes ...range, which you can use to search for records that contain items between two values (Figure 5.8).

    Figure 5.8. Use the Symbols List's ...range choice (a) to insert an ellipsis between two values (b) to find every instance between those values (c).




FileMaker Pro 8 for Windows and Macintosh(c) Visual Quickstart Guide
FileMaker Pro 8 for Windows & Macintosh
ISBN: 032139674X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 184
Authors: Nolan Hester

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