>          The Anthropology Department at the California Academy of
>          Sciences uses Filemaker Pro for its collection database, and
>          we have much the same problem as Linda Tanaka, in that we
>          have several hundred items that survived the 1906 earthquake
>          with their original numbers intact (two different numbering
>          systems, actually) as well as items that have previous
>          owners' numbers.  From 1959 until 1983, the department used
>          a third numbering system, and the current system was adopted
>          in 1983.
 
section deleted ..LT
 
.  Unfortunately, Filemaker
>          Pro does not have the capability to search for "---- or ___"
>          within a datafield, but that is no major obstacle.
 
Thanks to Russell Hartman and others who answered my request. I received via
my email address a very interesting point from Terry in Australia. Earl in
California sent a similar answer so I am forwarding only one. I thought you
all might be interested in the answer so I'm posting it to the list.
Also, many thanks to R. Baron and P Wehr and Mary Seddon for all the time
they spent on their answers. I am going to consider all that you have said
and let you know if Filemaker can be operated in a similar way to Q and A. I
have had problems with Symantec recently, in that I can't find an outlet in
Canada that knows about the in's and out's of any of their software. I was
given a number by their American technical support that appears to be a
software seller who handles 10,000 titles and knows nothing specific about
any of them. And to P. Wehr, I will heed your advice and be sure that what I
want to do can be handled by Filemaker. I only need to use it for a week's
worth of inventory before it gets uploaded to a much larger database. Mary
Seddon's comments refer most closely to what I am doing with this program.
 
 
Hi Linda,
 
I have been writing sophisticated databases using FmP for the past three
years. Briefly, the answer to your questions is ........Yes you can!
 
You have to in the FIND mode first add the "1st" code in the field you wish
to search for....for example AW3-45-68, then if another classification was
used, Select under FILE, NEW REQUEST and then type in the same field box
the other code...for example this time   ZAPPO-45-88-AB, now HIT the FIND
button.
 
FmP searches the complete database in the same field for all occurrences of
AW3-45-68, OR occurrences of ZAPPO-45-88-AB.  So in other words you are
searching for AW3-45-68 OR ZAPPO-45-88-AB
 
 
So..are you with me?
 
Cheers and try it,  the secret is the "NEW REQUEST" before you hit the FIND
BUTTON and type in the second request, when you are in the FIND Mode.  You
can actually search for A or B or C or D or E, as long as they are separate
NEW REQUESTS...Finally hit the find and it will search for A, or B or C or
D occurrences and return with the found set.
 
 
Terry
 
I hope this helps others who are working with Filemaker Pro! Again, many
thanks for your answers.
 
Linda Tanaka
Vancouver Museum        British Columbia  Canada
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