I'm in need of entering a few data points in the UI of a FileMaker app that are used either for search or for computation, but that have no relation to any field in a database (and don't need to be saved). So I want to add an input field without having it tied to a table field, and it seems that's something FileMaker just doesn't do.
Two use cases:
a) I want a custom search/filter interface instead of using the FM one. My users should see two calendars, pick two dates and the data is filtered by those (between them), as well as additional criteria, which don't directly translate to field searches. I know I can use "startdate ... enddate", but I'd like a more user-friendly interface.
b) Users enter a few data points into seperate fields which are then computed and combined into one database field by script. This is technical data that is entered by copy-and-paste and needs a bit of parsing before I put it into the database. Again, I'd like a field that isn't related to the database, put a script trigger on it, and when data is entered there, it is parsed and put into the actual DB fields.
Is it possible at all to have input fields not related to a database in FileMaker ?
If not, what's the best practice? I thought about setting up a dummy table with various fields I can use, but maybe there's a better way?
You should read up on global fields. They can be in any table and are accessible from all tables. They do not retain their value after the session is closed if the file is hosted. Use a script to perform a search based on what the user types in the global field.