In this post, we will talk about how to create the Master-Detail view in FileMaker 17. It is an extremely useful feature available in FM 17.
Master-Detail View in FileMaker 17 Explained
Master-Detail View or Master-Detail Layout is a new feature recently introduced in FileMaker 17. This layout was one of the updates given in their press release for the launch of FileMaker 17.
If you are unaware of what Master-Detail View is or what it does, let us give you a rundown.
Master-Detail View: Overview
The Master-Detail View uses a portal to display the Master List. The Detail fields of the selected record can be viewed on the same layout. In the past, app developers would have used the Self-Joins, Portal Filters to accomplish this functionality.
Here’s how you can take advantage of this brand new FileMaker feature.
Master-Detail View: Configuration
To use Master-Detail view feature, configure a portal via the Portal Setup dialog with “Show records from” as “Current Table” option. In this feature, we select the same table occurrence that the layout is based on, rather than selecting a related table.
Take a look at the following example. We select the same table “Projects”. We are now able to navigate between the records using the portal.


Pretty neat, right?
Master-Detail View: Merits
Now that Master-Detail View has been introduced, the FileMaker 17 experience has been enhanced. There are three big benefits of using this view, which are:
• Filtering of the portal can be done by the user’s found set (e.g., via finds and omits).
• Sorting the current record set will sort the portal records.
• Creating or deleting the records in the current found set will delete the records in the portal.
This was definitely a necessary update and we are glad that Apple introduced it to the latest version of FileMaker.
FMDBSolutions are FileMaker Masters
That’s it for this article and now you know more about Master-Detail View in FileMaker 17 than before. For more on other FM 17 attributes, there’s our post, Key Features of FileMaker 17 Explained.
FMDBSolutions is a team of custom FileMaker app experts with massive knowledge and wide understanding of FileMaker. We have many projects under our belt, which you can see by viewing our FileMaker Portfolio.
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