Hi Guys,

I just noted, that when I correct ie the email address from a Contact and this contact is Primary Contact for a Project it doesn't automatically correct the email address in the Project table. I have to manually go to the Project and correct it again. That doesn't make any sense.

How can I change it so it automatically updates emails and phone numbers?

Thanking you in advance.

Kind regards

Regine

Hi Regine,

I'll dive into this on a stock copy of Complete and get back to you with more details.

Regards,

KC

Hi Regine,

The ContactName, ContactEmail, and ContactPhone fields on the Projects table are all auto-enter calculations, so their values are only going to change when you change the selected contact for the Project. If you want the phone and email to automatically update when the contact info is updated, you could:

- Change these fields to calculated fields, rather than auto-enter calculations.
- Point directly to the related contact fields on the Project layout
- Modify the scripts for when a contact record is modified to find all the projects where they are the primary contact and update the associated fields on the project records.

Keep in mind that the first two options will prevent you from being able to change the email or phone for the project to something other than the contact's default information. The idea is that a contact record can have its own default contact information, where that same contact might have a separate email or phone number for a specific project.

If you'd like help applying any of these changes to your file, we'd be happy to do that as part of an implementation package. Packages can be used for consulting, coaching, or modifications like these and start at blocks of 3 hrs for $190/hr. When the time comes, you can use this link and with a day or two notice we can schedule our first screen-sharing session:

http://sites.fastspring.com/seedcode/product/implementationpackages

Sincerely,

KC

Hi KC,

Sorry for the late response. Because the email notification is not working for me, I forgot about it until today when I had correct an email address.

Anyway, I have made the change to show the related Contact fields and not use the separate project fields at all.

I understand what you guys are trying to do, but I think the approach is not right.

Instead of having independent fields for the project, that are not auto updating when the original record in Contacts is updated/corrected, I would rather suggest, that you can choose which one of the connections Contact phone and email records is the "Project Primary" record.
Basically similar to choosing a Primary email and phone number in Contacts you can choose a Primary phone and email from the Contacts record in each Project. You could have even a marker in the Contacts screen, indicating that this is a primary record for a Project.
When you correct a phone or email address in Contacts, it should automatically update the Project record, or as a minimum ask if the related project record should be updated as well.
If you enter a new email or phone number in Contacts you can then go to the project and choose it as a new primary phone or email address.

The main issue I am seeing with the current way of separate fields in Project is, that when you have a data entry error in an Contact email or phone you need to remember to update the phone/email in the project as well, which defies the purpose of a database. Possibly an opportunity for improvement for the next version?

Thanks

Kind regards

Regine

Thanks for the feedback, Regine.

I'm glad you got that implemented into your file. I can definitely see how that could be preferred in some solutions. That's the beauty of using a FileMaker starter solution that you have full access to modify and customize to suit your needs, rather than a locked-down CRM solution.

Sincerely,

KC