Accessing external data sources

You can connect to and work with data in external data sources in much the same way that you work with data in the current, active FileMaker Pro file. For example, you can:

• create table occurrences in the relationships graph for tables in other FileMaker Pro files, your team's Claris Studio data source (Claris Pro only), and ODBC data sources

• work with data from other files in FileMaker fields and layouts

• add supplemental fields to Claris Studio tables (Claris Pro only) or ODBC tables to perform unstored calculations or to summarize data in the external tables

• add, change, and delete external data interactively

• create relationships between fields in FileMaker tables and fields in Claris Studio tables (Claris Pro only) or fields (also called "columns") in ODBC tables

• construct SQL queries for importing via ODBC. See Querying an ODBC data source from FileMaker Pro.

• migrate data from a Claris Pro table to your Claris Studio data source (Claris Pro only)

Notes 

• There are other ways to link with ODBC data sources besides using FileMaker Pro as an ODBC client application. You can write SQL queries to use FileMaker Pro as a data source (FileMaker Pro only). See Sharing FileMaker Pro data via ODBC or JDBC (FileMaker Pro only), FileMaker ODBC and JDBC Guide, and FileMaker SQL Reference.

• For an overview of the various ways of working with ODBC data sources, see Using ODBC and JDBC with FileMaker Pro.

• You cannot modify the schema of your ODBC data sources using FileMaker Pro.

• You cannot modify the schema of your Claris Studio data source using Claris Pro.

• If table names change in an ODBC data source, you can use the Manage Database dialog box to relink to the ODBC table. See Restoring links to ODBC data sources.

• ODBC data sources are also referred to as external SQL sources (ESS).

Related topics 

• Adding and selecting table occurrences