Global fields in relationships: dynamic joins

Expert

Use global fields as relationship predicates to build user-driven filters and popups that update instantly without scripted finds.

What you'll learn

How global fields on one side of a relationship create dynamic joins
How to update a global field and refresh the portal in one step
How multi-user solutions are affected by global fields in relationships

When a global field is used on one side of a relationship predicate, the relationship acts as a live filter: changing the global field value immediately changes which records appear in portals and calculations based on that relationship. This enables search-as-you-type portals, cascading dropdowns, and context-sensitive lookups.

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Setting up a dynamic relationship

Use a global field (Storage: Global) on one side of the relationship. Every time the global value changes, the related record set updates to reflect the new value.

FileMaker Script

// TO: Products_ByCategory
// Relationship: Globals::gSelectedCategory = Products_ByCategory::Category
// Portal shows all products in the selected category

// Change the category:
Set Field [ Globals::gSelectedCategory ; "Electronics" ]
Refresh Window

Cartesian joins and cross-product relationships Go to Related Record: navigation and found sets