Work with tables and fields

Tables store records. Fields define each stored, calculated, summary, or container value. Ask the coding agent to inspect the existing table and active project standards before authoring either one.

Create a table or field

Describe the data model and required behavior rather than an internal operation:

Add an Order Status field to Orders. Use the active FileMaker standards, store it as text, and restrict it to the existing Order Status value list.

For a new table, specify its purpose and expected key or housekeeping fields. The agent applies the active standards to names and structural patterns, then reports the fields it created.

Field definitions

Field options depend on the field type. ADT supports FileMaker storage types plus calculation, summary, container, global storage, auto-enter, validation, repetition, indexing, and language options where the FileMaker engine exposes them.

Ask the agent to show the existing definition before changing a field type, stored calculation, auto-enter rule, or validation rule. These changes can affect existing records and calculations that reference the field.

Rename or delete safely

A field or table can be referenced by calculations, scripts, relationships, layouts, value lists, and external integrations. Ask the agent to inspect known references and explain the impact before renaming or deleting it.

Deleting a table also deletes its fields and records. A native batch rollback cannot restore data after a separately committed deletion, so back up a production file before approving destructive schema work.

Schema locks

FileMaker rejects schema work while another session holds the schema lock. Close Manage Database, the relationships graph, and any script being edited, then retry the unchanged operation.

See Run and verify a FileMaker operation for batch and verification behavior.