Home > Using FileMaker Pro > Adding and viewing data > Working with data in Table View

Working with data in Table View

When you view records in a table, FileMaker Pro displays data in rows and columns. Each row displays a record, and each column displays a field. In Table View’s spreadsheet-like format, you can add, modify, and delete data, create quick reports, and create charts. For information on quick reports, see Creating dynamic reports in Table View. For information on quick charts, see Creating quick charts.

Working with fields

While viewing data in Table View in Browse mode, you can create, modify, or delete fields.

Note  You must log in using the Full Access privilege set to modify fields in Table View.

 

To	Do this
Create a field	For the first field, click Create Field in the column heading for the first column of the table. To create additional fields, click + in the column heading. A new column is added on the right in the table. To cancel creating the new field press Esc before submitting the change. You can prevent new fields that you create from being automatically placed on the current layout by deselecting Add newly defined fields to current layout in the Preferences dialog box. See Setting layout preferences.
Change a field name	Double-click the column heading for the field you want to rename, then type the new name. To discard changes to the field name, press Esc before you exit the column heading. Tip  You can press Tab or Shift-Tab to edit the field names. If you press Tab in the far right column heading, FileMaker Pro creates a new column. For information about field names, see About naming fields.
Choose a field type	Right-click the column heading, choose Field > Field Type to display a shortcut menu, and choose a field type. For more information about field types, see About choosing a field type. The default field type is Text.
Set field options	Right-click the column heading, then choose Field > Field Options. See Setting options for fields.
Sort records by one or more fields	Select a column heading and optionally Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (OS X) additional headings. Right-click one of the selected column headings and choose Sort Ascending or Sort Descending. A sort icon appears on the column headings indicating the sort setting. If you select multiple columns, the order in which columns are selected determines the sort order.
Remove a field from a multi-field sort order	Select an unsorted heading to deselect the columns you are sorting by, then right-click the heading you want to remove from the sort order and choose Remove <field name> from Sort. You can Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (OS X) multiple headings to remove more than one field from the sort order.
Sort records by a predefined value list	Select any column heading, right-click, then choose Sort By Value List, and choose a value list.
Remove one or more fields from the sort order and re-sort	Sort the file by two or more fields, select then right-click the column heading you want to remove from the sort order, choose Remove <field name> from Sort. When you release the mouse, data re-sorts based on the fields that remain in the sort order. Tip  Click Sort in the status toolbar to view the current sort order.
Unsort the file	Right-click any column heading in a sorted file and choose Unsort.
Display more fields or hide fields	• Click Modify in the layout bar and use the options in the Modify Table View dialog box. See Displaying and hiding fields in Table View.  • Or, right-click a column heading, then choose Field > Hide Field to hide the selected field. To display a hidden field in Table View, right-click the + column heading, then choose a field from the list of existing fields.
Delete a field	Right-click the column heading, then choose Field > Delete Field. See Deleting table definitions, field definitions, and data. Before you delete a field, confirm that you don’t need any of the data it contains.

Working with records

While viewing data in Table View in Browse mode, you can add, duplicate, sort, or delete records.

 

To	Do this
Add a new record	In the blank record at the bottom of the table, enter the data. Click in the left margin at the bottom of the table. A new row is added to the end of the table:  • if the records have not been sorted or  • if Keep records in sorted order is cleared in the Sort Records dialog box For sorted data, a new row is added to the last row of the sorted category for the currently selected row. When you add a new record, the new record becomes the current row.
Duplicate a record	Right-click the left or right margin of the record that you want to duplicate, then choose Duplicate Record.
Copy the data in a record	Right-click the left or right margin of the record that you want to copy, then choose Copy Record. You can paste the copied, tab-separated data into a field or into Microsoft Excel.
Delete a record	Right-click the left or right margin of the record that you want to delete, then choose Records menu > Delete Record.
Delete multiple records at a time	You can’t select more than one record at a time in Table View. However, you can switch to Find mode, find the records to delete, then choose Records menu > Delete Found Records, and click Delete All. See Making a find request.
Sort records	Right-click the left or right margin, then choose Sort Records. Use the Sort Records dialog box to specify how to sort records. See Options for sorting records.
Save data as a Microsoft Excel file or PDF file, or save the current found set of records as a snapshot link	Right-click the left or right margin, then choose one of the options from the Save/Send Records As shortcut menu. See Saving and sending records in other formats.
Send email messages based on record data	Right-click the left or right margin of the record, then choose Send Mail. See Sending email messages based on record data.

Setting display options for Table View

While viewing data in Table View in Browse mode, you can resize or reorder the columns, change the background or alternate color, or restore the default display settings.

 

To	Do this
Reorder columns	Drag a column heading to a new location.
Resize a column	Move the pointer to the edge of the column heading. When the pointer changes to a double arrow, drag it to the desired size.
Set a precise column width	Select one or more column headings. Right-click, then choose Table View > Set Column Width from the shortcut menu. In the dialog box, type a width, choose units from the list, then click OK.
Edit Table View properties	Right-click a column heading or the right or left margin and choose Table View > Edit Properties.
Change the color of the background	Right-click the left or right margin of a record, choose Part Color from the shortcut menu, then choose a color. The color of the row for adding new records and the column for adding new fields will be slightly darker than the main background color.
Display a different background color for alternating records	Right-click the left or right margin of a record, then choose a color from the Alternate Color shortcut menu. If you customized the color or filled the part with an image, the part is locked.
Create a dynamic report	You can group data by a field, display subtotals for a field, or create subtotals for each group of data. If you customized the color or filled the part with an image, the part is locked.
Restore the default display settings	Right-click a column heading or the left or right margin and choose Table View > Reset from the shortcut menu. Note  Resetting Table View only changes the settings for the appearance of the table. For example, it removes any leading and trailing subtotals and fill colors that you added to the table. Resetting a table doesn’t have any impact on the data. For example, if you created fields and added records to the table, resetting the table doesn’t delete the fields and records.

Notes

•

To use the column heading to create fields in Table View, you have to select the Include column headers option in the Table View properties. To display Table View properties, right-click a column heading or the left or right margin and choose Table View > Edit Properties. See Setting up form, list, and table views for a layout.

•	You can’t use Table View to change the schema for related tables or external data sources. To change the schema for related tables, use the Manage Database dialog box.

•	To reorder, resize, or sort data in Table View, you can select multiple columns but you can't select multiple cells.

•	Table View displays fields from the body part of the current layout. If a layout contains a portal, Table View displays the data from the first related record (the first row of the portal).

•	Global fields display one value for all records. You can edit a global field in any row of the table. See Defining global fields (fields with global storage).

•	Popovers do not appear in Table View unless they are in the header or footer part, or the top or bottom navigation part.