Skip to main content

Replace Field Contents

How to use the replace function to change data in a field for many records in bulk in Music Monitor

Overview

Music Monitor makes use of the Replace Field Contents function in FileMaker. This is a powerful tool that can make time consuming tasks much quicker. It can also cause significant error if not used very carefully. This document will use example cases to demonstrate proper use of this function.

Basic Replace

In this example, the ensemble "ECM Kazoos" will finish up at the end of semester so we want to terminate all its enrolments at that time. We will use the Replace Field Contents function to enter a Finish Date for all students in the ensemble.

Note: This commits immediately at the final step, and there is no way to reverse it in bulk — check your selections carefully before committing.

  1. Go to Home > Student Activity > Ensembles

  2. Select Find in the black top bar

  3. In the Name of Group field, select "ECM Kazoos" from the drop-down. In the Status field select "Current".

  4. Music Monitor will display all current enrolments in the ECM Kazoos ensemble.

    Enter the desired Finish Date in one record.

  5. While the Finish Date field is still selected on the correct record, go to the grey top bar and select Records > Replace Field Contents

    • Tip: The keyboard shortcut for this operation is (Windows) Ctrl + = or (Mac) Cmd + =
      ​

  6. In the dialogue box that opens, check three things:

    1. It will replace the contents of the correct field

    2. It will replace contents in the expected number of records

    3. It will replace these records with the expected content
      ​

  7. If you are satisfied, select Replace. Music Monitor will enter the same Finish Date for all the Ensemble Enrolment records on your current list.

Replace With Calculated Result

FileMaker allows - and therefore Music Monitor allows - for much more advanced replace actions than that. Instead of replacing the field in all records with one identical result, you can replace it with a result calculated from other data.

As above, select Records > Replace field contents, and then select Replace with calculated result.

You will now see a screen where you can specify the calculated result.

In the middle is the space where the result will be calculated.

On the left are all the fields that you can use to calculate this result. The list that comes up at first is all the fields in the file you are currently in. Using the drop-down at the top, you can change to also bring in fields from any other related file.

For example, one conservatorium had very out-of-date or blank data in the Year Level field for their students. To fill in the field with approximately-correct data before reaching out to families to verify it, they performed a Find to bring up a list of all students aged 6-17. Then they performed this Replace with calculated result process:

  1. Open a Students record and select the Year Level field.

  2. Go to Records > Replace field contents > Replace with calculated result.

  3. In the calculation screen, double-click Age to add it to the result panel.

  4. In the narrow list of operators to the right of the result panel, double-click the - (minus) symbol.

  5. Type the number 5.

Select OK.

That fills in the Year Level field of the found set with a number that is 5 less than the student's Age, so 6-year-olds were listed as Year 1, up to 17-year-olds listed as Year 12.

As you can see, there are many fields and many operators to choose from, so it is possible to perform a wide variety of complex calculations.

For more detailed help on this, see FileMaker's help page on Defining calculation fields.

Related Articles
Did this answer your question?