>However, at the beginning of this year, the only way for me to tell whether >or not I already have a kid in our database is to use the USER ID (Student >ID) as a means of comparison with the new extracted tab-delimited file that >I get from our school system. So during the ebase import routines, I map >the Student ID field in my school system file to the USER ID field in ebase >(and map the remaining fields accordingly). I select this duo as the "match >field" combination, select "Update matching records in the current found >set" and check "Add remaining records." > >I assumed that following these procedures would mean that ebase would >identify which USER IDs (Student ID#s) already existed in ebase (simply >update the remaining fields for these records) and then only create NEW >records for the students which were not already in ebase. But it doesn't >work! Instead, ebase shows that there are NO records to "update" and that >there are only NEW records to create. Consequently, I get many duplicate >student records when I finish the import process. > >What am I missing? (I've checked to make sure that both "Student ID" and >"USER ID" are the same data type)
During the ebase import process mapping your record ID to Legacy ID is most useful if you have to subsequently import payments, which need to be matched based on your record ID, not the new Record ID that ebase assigns as part of the import process. For your purposes, using another field such as a USER ID to capture the Student ID should work fine. As Walt pointed out, the ebase import process consists of two steps. During the first, ebase imports data from your data file to a buffer file called Import1_.103. Checking the"update" box in the import dialog during this step doesn't accomplish what you want, since there is no existing data in this file to compare to. Once your data is in Import1_.103, you get the opportunity to check for duplicates between the import data and your existing data in ebase. If you select this option, ebase finds duplicates, based not on record number, though but on a calculated dupecheck field. It is at this time you have the opportunity to mark a record as "update". For the process you describe, to import into ebase only those records for new students and update others, based on a match field you select, I think you need to bypass the ebase import process and use the FileMaker menu item File>Import Records. Then do the field mapping as you have described, selecting UserID and Student ID as the match field, and check the "add new records" box. This will update existing records, and add new records, to the names file, based on your key field match. BUT... At this point, the new records will exist only in the names file, and not in the related files custom, profile, and summary. These are important to the operation of the ebase system. You should immediately select the script "Check for Related Records" from the scripts menu to add the new records to these files. -- -- Dave Shaw H4 Consulting tel: 206-954-7526 fax: 206-625-1338 ------------------ Reminder to each recipient: To change your list account preferences, go to http://email.sparklist.com/scripts/lyris.pl?enter=support and enter the email address you used to subscribe to the ebase support list:: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ebase - Relationship Management for Nonprofits, http://www.ebase.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------
