You want to use the Replace function. Be careful. Be very, very careful.
Do it on a copy of eBase first. There is no way to recover from a bad
Replace other than resorting to a backup.
Given that, you might want to consider simply exporting the data to Excel,
making the changes there, and re-importing.
But if you're feeling reckless and want to learn, here's an example. You
would replace the contents of FIRST NAME 1 with this calc:
Upper(Left (FIRST NAME 1, 1)) & Lower (middle (FIRST NAME 1,2,20))
- The Upper (Left (fieldname, start char, num chars)) capitalizes the first
letter.
- The Lower (middle (fieldname, start char, num chars)) lowercases the rest,
up to twenty characters. For addresses you may need to increase the last
integer.
These are very easy to screw up, so it may take a couple of tries to get it
right for each field. If you get it wrong (and you will, believe me),
you'll get things like:
"Did" for "DAVID"
as I did, using the wrong start char. Address fields will be particularly
difficult, since they contain multiple words.
If you go with this run your replaces on a copy of eBase first. I'd build a
script for each replace so you don't have to retype it in every time you get
it wrong. Then import the scripts (if you have Filemaker 5) and run them on
the live data once you're sure you've got it right. Make sure no one's
using the database, since a locked record won't be affected by the replace
function.
Colin
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Colin Keefe
Filemaker Consultant
phone: 718 782 5470
cell: 347 683 7133
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
PO Box 203 Cooper Station
New York NY 10276-0203
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
on 3/10/01 3:40 PM, Ileen Weber at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> In our old database, people had entered name and addresses sometimes in all
> caps. When I merged the data into ebase that formatting remained.
>
> When I print a letter from ebase using the merge fields for name and
> address, those all cap names and addresses come through. I understand in
> the labels format ebase is set to do this and that's fine but not in a letter.
>
> Is there someway I can change this in a batch rather than going through
> each record and using Format - Style - Title case?
>
> I tried viewing the data as a table thinking I could use the shift key to
> select more than one name and address and change them in batches. This
> didn't work. Is there a way to select more than one field at a time to do
> this kind of batch change?
>
> I'm using ebase 103 with Filemaker Pro 5 on a PC.
>
> Ileen Weber
> Pilchuck Aududon
> Everett, WA
>
>
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