Defining container fields

Contents > Creating a database > Defining database fields > Defining container fields

Defining container fields

Use container fields to store any file:

graphics, movies, photos, bitmaps, sounds up to 4 GB in size

multimedia file types supported by QuickTime 6

documents, including Microsoft Word and Excel files, PDF files, and so on

OLE objects (Windows only)

You can reference container fields in calculation formulas or summary fields.

To define container fields:

1.	With the database open, choose File menu > Manage > Database.

2.	In the Manage Database dialog box, click the Fields tab.

3.	If your database contains more than one table, select the appropriate table from the Table list.

4.	For Field Name, type a name for the field.

See About naming fields.

5.	For Type, select Container.

6.	Click Create.

7.	To set options for the field, click Options.

See Setting options for fields.

8.	Continue to define fields, or click OK.

Notes

To put a static graphic (like a logo) on a layout, create, paste, or import the graphic directly onto the layout, or use a global container field. Either option will use less storage space than storing the same graphic with every record.

You can't find or sort records based on a container field, but you can define a text field to describe or identify the contents of the container. Then, you can find or sort records based on the information in the text field.

To specify how data in a container field displays (for example, whether the image is cropped or scaled), see Formatting and setting up field objects in Layout mode.

If you are using FileMaker Pro Advanced, you can copy field schemas from one file and paste them into the same file or some other file. For more information, see Copying and pasting field schemas (FileMaker Pro Advanced).

Related topics

Inserting graphics into fields

Inserting QuickTime movies and multimedia into fields

Inserting files of any type into fields

Specifying formats for container fields

Deleting data from container fields

Creating file paths

Contents > Creating a database > Defining database fields > Defining container fields