About naming fields

Field names must be unique within a table. Follow these guidelines when naming fields:

  • Do not use any of the following symbols and words in the field name:
    • ,(comma), +, -, *, /, \, ^, &, =, ≠, >, <, ( ), [ ], { }, ", ; (semicolon), : (colon), :: (relational indicator), $ (variable indicator)
    • AND, OR, NOT, XOR, TRUE, FALSE, or the name of any FileMaker Pro function
  • Don't begin a field name to be used in a calculation formula with a space, period (.), or number.
  • Use _ (underscore) in place of a space to avoid restrictions in ODBC, exporting, web publishing, and other operations.
  • If you're exchanging data with another application, check the field naming restrictions in the file formats supported by that application.
  • If you're using ODBC or JDBC to share FileMaker Pro data, avoid using SQL keywords in field names.