Defining global fields (fields with global storage)

Contents > Creating a database > Setting options for fields > Defining global fields (fields with global storage)

Defining global fields (fields with global storage)

A field that uses global storage contains one value that's used for all records in the file. Fields defined with global storage are also referred to as global fields.

To define global storage options for a field:

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.	Click Options (or double-click the field name).

Click the Storage tab, then select Use global storage (one value for all records).

6.	To create a repeating field, enter a value greater than 1 for Maximum number of repetitions.

Click OK.

8.	Continue to define fields or click Done.

Notes

You can use a global field:

as a fixed value in calculation formulas across all records in a file, or in conditional script steps, such as If, Else, End If, Loop, End Loop, and Exit Loop.

for fields that rarely need to be updated. For example, use global storage to put your company address on several layouts. You can quickly update the value in a field with global storage without having to update each layout.

as a match field for a relationship.

You can use variables instead of global fields for temporary data storage. See Using variables.

You can't use a global field to find records.

If your file is shared, only the host's changes to global field data are saved. Changes are saved only when the file is closed.

If a file is shared, some calculations that include global fields are evaluated on the host instead of on the client. The host performs the evaluation in the following situations:

when a find request is searching an unstored calculation field whose calculation includes a global field.

during a find request on a table with access privileges that restrict access to certain records, and the calculation that determines record access includes a global field.

the evaluation of any other record access calculation that includes a global field in order to determine whether to display related data. For example, a record access calculation to determine the rows to display in a portal or the values to display in a related value list will occur on the host if the record access calculation includes a global field.

To accurately evaluate these calculations on the host, FileMaker Pro transfers all the global field values in the current table from the client to the host. If you know that certain global fields will never be used in unstored calculations or record access calculations, you can improve database performance by creating these global fields in a separate table. This will prevent unneeded global field data from being repeatedly transferred to the host.

For more information about calculations that evaluate on the host instead of the client, see Solving calculations on a host machine.

Related topic

About match fields for relationships

Contents > Creating a database > Setting options for fields > Defining global fields (fields with global storage)