Just thought of it. Keep your csv files as a further backup. Can never have enough backup. Copy them to a CD or flash drive for storage. Maybe even a copy of this first Base file you created.
My profound gratitude for your help.
A 10k+ records Filemaker 13 table copied to Base through Calc was successful, but I do not know how to convert a much needed 8 digit numerical field to a primary key. The new Base table does have both a new Primary key and the old numeric file fields.
How do I make the old numeric field the Primary Key field?
WIll I still the automatic new Primary Key Field.
It appears to be possible in 'Create Table in Design View" but not in 'Copy Table
Thanks for the advice. do keep backups on a local disk and on Carbonite.
Sorry didn’t think of setting one of your fields to primary key. Can be done in a table copy as long as your field (let’s call it YourKey) is unique (no duplicates). First copy existing table then paste. In dialog give a name wanted, select Definition and data and Create new primary key.. is un-checked. Click next. In Apply Columns dialog, select all fields EXCEPT for the unwanted primary key. Click next. More…
In Type formatting dialog, right mouse click the field you want set as the primary key (YourKey) and click on Primary Key. A key symbol will appear to left of field name. Click Create button and you should have your wanted table with the key wanted.
Thanks to your help I have most of my tables in Base now. The learning curve is pretty steep but I am getting there.
Couple of error boxes I am concerned about pop up.
"Value too long in statement - - - " I did
“Wrong data type: Java.lang.NumberFormatException. Continue anyway?” I did
Those errors are going to cause data loss in the specific record(s) or fields. Value too long means the field wasn’t big enough for the data to fit. The incorrect data type can be a variety of things depending upon when you got the error. May be for one record or an entire column. You need to verify your results.
You are right again. Many Records were not included in one of the tables. I made several adjustments in the Calc sheet and recovered most of them but there are more. Is there a better way to find the “Values too long” records than plowing through thousands of records individually? I’ve gone cross-eyed.
You haven’t explained exactly what the problem is. How large is the receiving field? What is the size of the data in Calc? Insure the receiving field is large enough to hold the data you are transferring. This seems to be the likely cause.
As stated in an earlier comment (actually my first comment above), transfer one group of data at a time. You have me at a disadvantage since I cannot see what exactly is transpiring & the actual data you have.
It is the size of the data in Calc vs. the field length in the Copy dialog that I do not have correlated. I went back and doubled and tripled in one case the field lengths and tried again. I still get the "Value too long in statement [INSERT INTO - - - ". and it lists every field. This adjustment in field length does yield every record in the Filemaker table tho. I suppose that there may be cell data loss and I don’t know how to verify that. 10.200 records, 12 fields, 3.2 GB. 1 batch.
There is no easy answer to this without looking at all the possibilities. This, however, is not possible through the forum as data is limited. You need to figure out which column is causing the problem & insure it is large enough to receive the data.
yes. Is there an easier way to get cell sizes in Calc? Has anyone made a glossary of terms for LibreOffice? Should these two things be brought up as new questions?
Don’t know of a method to get text length from a cell - maybe a new question.
Any terms are located in the LO documentation found here → User Guides. Can’t say there is a glossary though. There are numerous Wiki pages with terms but can be difficult to find just what you may be looking for if you don’t already have a general idea.
Thanks. I have searched myself, including the User Guides. For my own interest I am creating my own glossary to increase the slope of the learning curve. I am also compiling my notes in a step-by-step “guide” out of which I expect to write an ‘explanation’ of the process. As a teacher, I believe, as Einstein once said: “If you can’t explain it as a process, you don’t understand it.”
I am currently learning to build forms, queries, and reports. Many new questions.
Please feel free to ask questions but please ask as new questions if a search comes up empty. You may be surprised how many of your questions may have already been answered.