Perform Find patterns: find, constrain, extend, and omit

Beginner

Master the four find operations -- Perform Find, Constrain Found Set, Extend Found Set, and Omit -- to build precise, composable searches in scripts.

What you'll learn

How to script a basic Perform Find with multiple criteria
How Constrain Found Set narrows an existing found set
How Extend Found Set adds records to an existing found set
How Omit Record and Omit Multiple Records remove specific records
How to handle the "no records found" error (error 401) gracefully

FileMaker's find model is more powerful than a single "search" -- you can compose finds by constraining (narrowing) or extending (broadening) a found set, and you can omit specific records from the result. Scripting these operations correctly lets you build complex multi-condition searches without writing a single line of SQL.

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Script a basic multi-criteria find

Enter Find Mode, set fields for each criterion, then Perform Find. To add a second request (OR logic), use New Record/Request while still in find mode before setting the second criterion.

FileMaker Script

# Find all open invoices for a specific client
Enter Find Mode [ Pause: Off ]
Set Field [ Invoices::Status ; "Open" ]
Set Field [ Invoices::ClientID ; $clientID ]
Perform Find [ ]

If [ Get ( LastError ) = 401 ]
  Show Custom Dialog [ "No open invoices found for this client." ]
  Exit Script [ Text Result: "none" ]
End If

Exit Script with result: structured return patterns Delete All Records safely with confirmation and privilege guards