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Formulas using data from different tables

6 replies [Last post]
Rafael Davila
User offline. Last seen 6 hours 28 min ago. Offline
Joined: 1 Mar 2004
Posts: 5229

At the links table I want to transfer the Preceding Activity Finish Date from activity table to a user defined field on links table, same goes for Succeding Activity Start Date. Is there a way to do this?

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Best regards,

Rafael

Replies

Rafael Davila
User offline. Last seen 6 hours 28 min ago. Offline
Joined: 1 Mar 2004
Posts: 5229

Photobucket

Vladimir,

Today I was using this new formula functionality with formulas of my own and in order to be able to pull down the field names from the source table I moved to the source table "Activity" and created the formula there even when in order to execute it I have to move to the "Calen" table. Maybe the functionality can be programmed in a way also the table names can be pulled down or inserted by the software. Tables compatibility might depend on the fields but maybe the software can take care.

Perhaps when editing or creating a formula you should be able to move from table to table within the formula box allowing for easier context sensitive formula creation, especially in this type of new powerful but simple formula that can span two tables. Leave the ? operator visible, so we remember and can create the formula manually if we want to do so.

I do not need hundreds of functions, but making the few I use context sensitive even if on a single table would be of help, something similar to Excel.

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Best regards,

Rafael

Rafael Davila
User offline. Last seen 6 hours 28 min ago. Offline
Joined: 1 Mar 2004
Posts: 5229

Vladimir,

Beautiful, this is what I was looking for, it works as I was expecting, just that I would like to have for future reference the syntax rules.

Even when you have a long chapter on Reference Books after you learn the logic on how to setup transfer of fields no more instruction is needed, perhaps a diagram showing field pre-requisites to transfer other fields, it is that it takes more time than formulas. 

With this formula it is about the syntax you can forget and need a handy reference. I will look for a full syntax rule after you finish it. In plain Spanish, I am curious abouth things like how the ? operator is designed to work.

Easy.

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Thanks a lot,

Rafael

Download new Spider version.

Now Formulae look like this:

PredFin = Fin [Code, ?PredCode, Activity]

SuccStart = Start [Code, ?SuccCode, Activity]

But the syntax is not final.

Best Regards,

Vladimir

I expect that new version with this kind of formulae will be released tomorrow. Then we will discuss if the formula syntax shall be improved.

Best Regards,

Vladimir

Rafael Davila
User offline. Last seen 6 hours 28 min ago. Offline
Joined: 1 Mar 2004
Posts: 5229

Vladimir,

Probably some predefined "lookup" formula that will only return exact matches can do it. I can handle very easily reference-books but takes time, a formula I can also handle, but cumbersome database syntax can be difficult.

Just to practice the use of Reference Books I transferred the data but it takes a couple of steps, the formula method will even be easier, leave Reference Books for more complicated tasks that cannot be performed with simple formulas.

Photobucket

Thanks for your response.

Best regards,

Rafael

Rafael,

at the moment it can be done using reference-book functionality but using formula would be nice.

We'll do it soon.

Best Regards,

Vladimir